(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Target Stores’ generally have a positive reputation in the community, so I was kind of taken aback when  I saw that the company landed in a political PR firestorm and was being boycotted by a national gay rights group and liberal groups. Now before reading on please note that I am talking PR strategies, not politics. If you cannot separate the two, please check out some other blog posts or comics or check back tomorrow.

The outrage from the two groups stems from Target donating $150,000 to a business group backing Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. According to his website, Emmer is against same-sex marriages and is in favor of legislature banning them. Target may have backed the candidate for his views on jobs and business, but the retailer should have done their homework on the candidate and weighed the pros and cons of supporting him. Politics is a dicey sport and for every good point for a politician, there are equally negative ones that can be found and exploited.

The PR and corporate team at Target are taking lumps right now that I would not wish on anyone; however how they are dealing with them can help set future precedence for other companies.  The Human Rights Campaign is currently asking that the company donate an equal amount of money in support of gay-friendly candidates. This reads like extortion, throw money at our guy and we will stop the boycotts even if this candidate is against everything else Target stands for – a giant catch-22 with no clear way to win for the company.

Dispute this, there are some things that they can do to keep their reputation and political ties intact.

State your position – One way to silence critics is to be 100 percent transparent. Tell the public why the candidate was backed. Also, if Target has corporate policies that are friendly to the gay couples, such as allowing employees to get health insurance coverage for their partners, highlight such polices. If favorable policies don’t exist, note what is being done to incorporate them into company policy.

Preventive strike – As mentioned earlier candidates are never 100 percent vanilla. If the company plans to back a candidate, it needs to do its research and be ready for any scandal surrounding hot button issues. In this case, Target could have made the donation to the candidate but countered with a similar donation to an organization teaching tolerance for the gay and lesbian communities. This is not sustainable but could be used if the convictions for a candidate are strong.

Sit on the sidelines – Every company needs to weigh the benefits and risks of getting into the political game. Lobbying to one side or the other of the issue will always alienate some portion of your customer base. Is it a risk that you are willing to take?

What would you do if you were Target?

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Target Stores’ generally have a positive reputation in the community, so I was kind of taken aback when  I saw that the company landed in a political PR firestorm and was being boycotted by a national gay rights group and liberal groups. Now before reading on please note that I am talking PR strategies, not politics. If you cannot separate the two, please check out some other blog posts or comics or check back tomorrow.

The outrage from the two groups stems from Target donating $150,000 to a business group backing Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. According to his website, Emmer is against same-sex marriages and is in favor of legislature banning them. Target may have backed the candidate for his views on jobs and business, but the retailer should have done their homework on the candidate and weighed the pros and cons of supporting him. Politics is a dicey sport and for every good point for a politician, there are equally negative ones that can be found and exploited.

The PR and corporate team at Target are taking lumps right now that I would not wish on anyone; however how they are dealing with them can help set future precedence for other companies.  The Human Rights Campaign is currently asking that the company donate an equal amount of money in support of gay-friendly candidates. This reads like extortion, throw money at our guy and we will stop the boycotts even if this candidate is against everything else Target stands for – a giant catch-22 with no clear way to win for the company.

Dispute this, there are some things that they can do to keep their reputation and political ties intact.

State your position – One way to silence critics is to be 100 percent transparent. Tell the public why the candidate was backed. Also, if Target has corporate policies that are friendly to the gay couples, such as allowing employees to get health insurance coverage for their partners, highlight such polices. If favorable policies don’t exist, note what is being done to incorporate them into company policy.

Preventive strike – As mentioned earlier candidates are never 100 percent vanilla. If the company plans to back a candidate, it needs to do its research and be ready for any scandal surrounding hot button issues. In this case, Target could have made the donation to the candidate but countered with a similar donation to an organization teaching tolerance for the gay and lesbian communities. This is not sustainable but could be used if the convictions for a candidate are strong.

Sit on the sidelines – Every company needs to weigh the benefits and risks of getting into the political game. Lobbying to one side or the other of the issue will always alienate some portion of your customer base. Is it a risk that you are willing to take?

What would you do if you were Target?

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Target Stores’ generally have a positive reputation in the community, so I was kind of taken aback when  I saw that the company landed in a political PR firestorm and was being boycotted by a national gay rights group and liberal groups. Now before reading on please note that I am talking PR strategies, not politics. If you cannot separate the two, please check out some other blog posts or comics or check back tomorrow.

The outrage from the two groups stems from Target donating $150,000 to a business group backing Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. According to his website, Emmer is against same-sex marriages and is in favor of legislature banning them. Target may have backed the candidate for his views on jobs and business, but the retailer should have done their homework on the candidate and weighed the pros and cons of supporting him. Politics is a dicey sport and for every good point for a politician, there are equally negative ones that can be found and exploited.

The PR and corporate team at Target are taking lumps right now that I would not wish on anyone; however how they are dealing with them can help set future precedence for other companies.  The Human Rights Campaign is currently asking that the company donate an equal amount of money in support of gay-friendly candidates. This reads like extortion, throw money at our guy and we will stop the boycotts even if this candidate is against everything else Target stands for – a giant catch-22 with no clear way to win for the company.

Dispute this, there are some things that they can do to keep their reputation and political ties intact.

State your position – One way to silence critics is to be 100 percent transparent. Tell the public why the candidate was backed. Also, if Target has corporate policies that are friendly to the gay couples, such as allowing employees to get health insurance coverage for their partners, highlight such polices. If favorable policies don’t exist, note what is being done to incorporate them into company policy.

Preventive strike – As mentioned earlier candidates are never 100 percent vanilla. If the company plans to back a candidate, it needs to do its research and be ready for any scandal surrounding hot button issues. In this case, Target could have made the donation to the candidate but countered with a similar donation to an organization teaching tolerance for the gay and lesbian communities. This is not sustainable but could be used if the convictions for a candidate are strong.

Sit on the sidelines – Every company needs to weigh the benefits and risks of getting into the political game. Lobbying to one side or the other of the issue will always alienate some portion of your customer base. Is it a risk that you are willing to take?

What would you do if you were Target?

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Target Stores’ generally have a positive reputation in the community, so I was kind of taken aback when  I saw that the company landed in a political PR firestorm and was being boycotted by a national gay rights group and liberal groups. Now before reading on please note that I am talking PR strategies, not politics. If you cannot separate the two, please check out some other blog posts or comics or check back tomorrow.

The outrage from the two groups stems from Target donating $150,000 to a business group backing Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. According to his website, Emmer is against same-sex marriages and is in favor of legislature banning them. Target may have backed the candidate for his views on jobs and business, but the retailer should have done their homework on the candidate and weighed the pros and cons of supporting him. Politics is a dicey sport and for every good point for a politician, there are equally negative ones that can be found and exploited.

The PR and corporate team at Target are taking lumps right now that I would not wish on anyone; however how they are dealing with them can help set future precedence for other companies.  The Human Rights Campaign is currently asking that the company donate an equal amount of money in support of gay-friendly candidates. This reads like extortion, throw money at our guy and we will stop the boycotts even if this candidate is against everything else Target stands for – a giant catch-22 with no clear way to win for the company.

Dispute this, there are some things that they can do to keep their reputation and political ties intact.

State your position – One way to silence critics is to be 100 percent transparent. Tell the public why the candidate was backed. Also, if Target has corporate policies that are friendly to the gay couples, such as allowing employees to get health insurance coverage for their partners, highlight such polices. If favorable policies don’t exist, note what is being done to incorporate them into company policy.

Preventive strike – As mentioned earlier candidates are never 100 percent vanilla. If the company plans to back a candidate, it needs to do its research and be ready for any scandal surrounding hot button issues. In this case, Target could have made the donation to the candidate but countered with a similar donation to an organization teaching tolerance for the gay and lesbian communities. This is not sustainable but could be used if the convictions for a candidate are strong.

Sit on the sidelines – Every company needs to weigh the benefits and risks of getting into the political game. Lobbying to one side or the other of the issue will always alienate some portion of your customer base. Is it a risk that you are willing to take?

What would you do if you were Target?