Daniel Griffis, 42, has been in his current position at Target Corporation for just over four years, and it’s rare that he has a free moment. During his tenure, the Minneapolis-based event pro produces some 185 experiences per year on behalf of the retailer, which represent a 30 percent increase since Griffis took the post. That high number of annual events is no accident.
“Experiential tells a very important part of Target’s story,” says Griffis, whose team is about 40 members strong. “Our job is to feed our guests with content that touches their passion points like sports, music, and popular culture.” A small sampling of 2014’s major events include a Twilight Zone-theme launch for Target’s design partnership with Joseph Altuzarra at New York Fashion Week in September. In October, the brand hosted its first Skeletown Square, a bicultural Dia de los Muertos and Halloween celebration in Los Angeles. In the winter, Target was the title sponsor of the Maui Women’s Pro surfing championship in Hawaii, and in March, it hosted a social space at the TED Conference in Vancouver.
[PULLQUOTE]
Another significant part of Griffis’s job is upholding Target’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. “We are one of the original trailblazers in the concept of ‘cultural leadership,’” he says. “Target was founded by the Dayton family, who fundamentally believed in the concept of giving back to the communities in which we serve.”
In 2014, some of the largest C.S.R. events included Target Presents People All-Star Teachers. Held in June in conjunction with Major League Baseball, the event let the public join in on an online campaign to nominate and recognize “all-star” schoolteachers. Ultimately, some 30 teachers were selected to attend the All-Star Weekend activities in Minneapolis, and Target expanded on the program by hosting school library makeovers in cities with M.L.B. teams.
During the 2014 holiday season, the retailer partnered with philanthropic brand Toms to create a limited-edition line of home goods, apparel, accessories, and shoes. The goods were sold online in a way that supported Toms’ “One for One” giving model, so that each item purchased translated into a donation for those in need. To launch the partnership, Target teamed up with Toms founder Blake Mycoskie to host an event at the Book Bindery in Los Angeles. The event featured decor that was inspired by the spirit of community and giving. The launch also had a goal of zero waste.
Additionally, Target hosts quarterly festivals for the patients and families of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the St. Jude Target House. The festivals take on themes that reflect the changing seasons, and the December carnival featured a nearly full-scale production of the classic Christmastime ballet The Nutcracker. On average, Target donates $4 million a week to various charities and communities. “We don’t do it because it’s trendy,” Griffis says. “We give because it has been in our DNA for more than 50 years.”
Back to the Most Innovative People in Events and Meetings list
