TARGET BACK TO COLLEGE: MULTI-SITE BRAND ACTIVATION PRODUCTION
Target’s Back to College program was a national experiential marketing campaign designed to position Target as the destination for first-year college students during move-in season. The concept centered on an exclusive after-hours shopping event, bringing students into Target stores in the hours after move-in day to make their first brand connection in a new environment. Executed across dozens of university campuses simultaneously, the program required producers on the ground at each location managing every element of delivery.
Multi-site event execution · Brand ambassador management · Client brand standards · On-site logistics · Cross-functional communication · Event recaps and reporting
My Role
I was selected as an On-Site Producer responsible for managing brand activation across four university campuses: University of Arizona, Boston College, Northeastern University and Tufts University. Each activation required independent travel, setup, team management and execution against Target's exacting brand standards, with no central support on-site beyond the team I managed directly.
What I Managed
Across four events over three weeks, I was responsible for managing Brand Ambassador Managers and their Ambassador teams, implementing Target brand standards across on-campus promotions and in-store shopping events, coordinating with campus administration and Target store teams at each location, and maintaining communication with Periscope's home base team throughout execution.
Each event required its own logistics: navigating new campuses and store environments, briefing teams who hadn't worked together before, managing student-facing experiences under time pressure, and completing full event recaps within 24 hours of each activation.
What This Built
This was foundational training in high-stakes, multi-site event production: the discipline of executing to a brief without a safety net, managing people you've just met, and delivering a consistent brand experience regardless of what the day throws at you. The skills built here (rapid onboarding, team management, on-site problem solving, stakeholder communication under pressure) have underpinned every production role since.
Laura Farbo 