Ask knot what target can do for your wedding

Targe t's Club Wedd business continues to be one of its most successfully run programs, thanks to the retailer's effective brand marketing, promotional efforts and big-name partnerships. Last April, Target announced that it was teaming up with The Knot, the world's most trafficked wedding planning Web site.

"Our partnership with The Knot is the perfect union for our guests," said Gina Sprenger, senior vp of Target Stores, in a statement. "The Knot members will now have access to Club Wedd's extensive registry assortment--from bedding and cookware sets to iPods and camping gear--at their fingertips. We are making the process of registering simpler and more fun."

The partnership with The Knot provides Target with a great deal of extra exposure for Club Wedd. According to The Knot, 3,600 members join its Web site each day, and approximately 2.1 million visitors look at its Web site each month.

Club Wedd, which started in 1996, generated 26 million gifts in its first year, and it has only grown from there. By 1999, sales had increased 38%, according to published reports. The program is supported by an inclusion of vendors in the Club Wedd catalog (which spans more than 100 pages and is offered online), advertorials in national consumer magazines and Target-sponsored bridal shows.

Within its first year of online deployment, its bridal registry had grown to more than 40,000 registered couples, according to data from Interactive Arts, a Twin Cities-based, full-service Web development company. More than 80,000 products are offered through Club Wedd. The program is sponsored at 1,300-pius stores nationwide, according to data from The Knot.

Target has used Club Wedd to promote its "Design for All" tagline, especially in its home department. In 2002, it sponsored a Michael Graves Dream House sweepstakes. Each couple that registered for Club Wedd between March and December of that year was automatically entered in the contest.

"Target is proud to have one of the most popular gift registries in the nation," said Gregg Steinhafel, president of Target Stores, in a statement. "Michael Graves designs have always been popular registry items."

More recently, Target has been plugging its Isaac Mizrahi Home collection on The Knot's Web site, in addition to promoting its "trusted brands" and "great design at affordable prices."

Couples can register many places--including most regional and national department stores, private-label home stores like Bed Bath and Beyond and Crate & Barrel and even at other mass players like Wal-Mart. Despite being a relative newcomer to the business, Target has been able to beat out its wedding registry competition because of its brand-name marketing, according to retail experts.

"Target is everywhere, and everyone knows Target," explained Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a national retail and investment banking consulting firm. "Target has a very strong mix of great design and great value. Plus, the ease of couples being able to register online, and having others being able to access their registry online, is crucial."

The retail industry has experienced an online growth of about 25% in the past four years, according to Davidowitz. Online capabilities and prowess is crucial to reaching the market of young engaged couples, all of whom are used to dealing with the Web regularly, Davidowitz said. That's why partnering with big players like The Knot is a huge key to Club Wedd's future success, he explained.

"Target has really hit a home run with its brand-name marketing, its great design, its value message and its partnership with The Knot, which is only going to fuel more online growth," he said.