Easy listening for loyal guests

It doesn’t take a marketing genius to know that such incentives as half-off coupons and doorbuster prices are sure-fire tactics to generate customer traffic. They are the blunt instrument of marketers and subject to widespread usage throughout the holidays, and Target is out there with the best of them in this hyper-promotional season.

Even so, the company hasn’t overlooked the more subtle brand building efforts that foster enduring loyalty. A case in point involves the soon-to-be released collection of holiday songs from various artists on an album called “The Christmas Gig” that will be available for free download beginning Nov. 28. Eight of the 12 songs on the album will be used in Target holiday commercials and played in stores so by the time the free download becomes available holidays shoppers will have heard snippets of the song in TV ads, on line or while roaming stores. The collection of Christmas songs is said to be an eclectic mix of music that includes country, folk, hip-hop, Latin and pop.