NEW YORK—Target has its bullseye on the “Hollaback Girl” singer.
Target is sponsoring a four-minute live video by Gwen Stefani during The Grammy Awards on CBS on Monday, an unprecedented move that capitalizes on the current vogue for live TV events. She'll perform the song “Make Me Like You,” which is being released Friday.
It’s a gamble for Target, since four minutes of prime-time ad time costs millions. And most TV ads are only about 30 or 60 seconds.
It is unclear how much Target spent on the video, but a 30-second spot cost $952,000 in the Grammys in 2014, according to Kantar Media.
Ad experts say the money could be well spent in an age of short attention spans, with more people shifting to watching TV on demand and on their smartphones, capturing people’s attention during big live events like The Grammys is crucial. And attaching a star’s name to a company can have huge returns: For instance, Red Lobster said sales rose 33 percent the day after megastar Beyonce released a video mentioning the restaurant chain.
Live musical TV events, in particular, recently have been a hit. Fox’s “Grease Live” on Jan. 31 and NBC’s “The Wiz Live!” in December both scored huge ratings and much chatter on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
