For the first time in four years, Target offered an after-hours shopping event exclusively for the university.
About 2,000 students made their way to the store’s Muncie location between 10:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20.
Students were bused from Worthen Arena to the store, and some were willing to wait more than an hour to catch the bus for Target's special deals and free gift bags.
“We really wanted to get back to do doing this because it’s a great way to get connected with Ball State,” said Kevin Buck, Target’s team leader. “It’s been an exciting process, and we’ve spent the last several months getting everything together in preparation for this evening.”
The single-night event required heavy preparation from the Target team, and several rounds of staff were scheduled to set-up, manage and cleanup the store.
Communication with the university is crucial for large events like this one, Buck said. Target leaders worked with Lindsey Speer, Ball State's associate director of orientation and new student enrollment to coordinate planning and student outreach.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s really awesome bringing an opportunity like this back to Ball State,” Speer said.
Updates on the Corq app and Ball State’s BennyLink promoted the event, and Speer says freshmen have been responding well to the new commination methods. The Corq app and BennyLink have online guides with the Welcome Week schedules loaded onto them to avoid having to print paper schedules.
“We didn’t have to do a whole lot of advertising for this,” Speer said. “Students seem to be doing really well with the apps, and word about tonight seems to have spread pretty quickly.”
Freshman theater major Dakota Walker headed to Target after hearing about the event on Corq, and although the deals drew him to the store, the large number of students was overwhelming at first.
“It was crazy,” Walker said. “I see this as a great thing for socializing, but there were definitely a lot of people [at Target], and it can get stressful if you don’t have your friends with you.”
Freshman theater major Emma Jo Rohlfing agreed that the atmosphere could get hectic, but good deals made the shopping trip worth her time.
“It is a lot of people in one place, but I got some great discounts on things I needed,” Rohlfing said. “I would do this again — I wouldn’t wait for the buses — but I would come back for something like this.”
Walker and Rohlfing ended up driving to the store after the line for the bus took too long. Alex Barrett, assistant director of admissions, said alternate transportation will likely be promoted for future store events.
“We would like to help move the bus process faster along,” Barrett said. “We know students really want to get here, and if students have cars, that’s a great way for them to avoid some of the stress and waiting for the buses.”
Buck, Speer and Barrett all agreed that despite some stressful moments, the collaboration between Target and Ball State has been a great opportunity for students.
“It’s a great way for freshmen to have an event that’s mainly geared towards them,” Buck said. “They’re welcomed at Target, and we’re really happy to have them in the community.”
A similar event is being held at Meijer’s Muncie location Friday, Aug. 21. Special deals will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. and there will be a free shuttle going from LaFollette Complex and the store during that time.
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