- Brian Morrissey

Target is hoping to make the holiday season merrier and more lucrative by integrating a series of brief Web videos into its online shopping experience.
 
The retailer is rolling out a holiday campaign on its Web site that provides gift suggestions and tools designed to make the hectic season a bit easier for customers. Along with the familiar gift checklists and calendar reminders, Target digital shop Schematic has created a series of Web video vignettes.
 
The clips, running 15-20 seconds, offer lighthearted takes on the holidays, focusing on subjects such as crazy family traditions and other assorted oddities. In one video, for example, neighbors exchange gifts, with one couple giving the other a macrame portable stereo.
 
"We wanted to create something unique, but we don't want to mimic what's going on in broadcast," said Bill Melton, svp of client services at Schematic, part of the WPP Group. "It's snackable content."
 
The videos are not meant solely as a brand play, however. They're all "shoppable," ending with relevant product suggestions. The idea is to make them key parts of the e-commerce experience. Many e-commerce sites pair products with videos, but they're usually of the instructional variety.

Melton said there's room for entertainment content.

"It's part of your [shopping] experience," Melton said. "There's gift inspiration."
 
The added bonus of using the videos on Target.com: they'll get far more exposure than on any microsite, since the retailer's Web venue averages nearly 27 million unique visitors per month, according to comScore.
 
Schematic shot the videos close up with an eye on making the clips available on mobile phones. Target plans to integrate them with its iPhone application. They'll also run in display ad units as part of a media campaign that kicked off this week. Haworth Marketing + Media worked on the media campaign.

See also: "Online Retailers Get Social for the Holidays"