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Read the following and state the issues. Target Stores: The Hunt for Unvolunteered Truths New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg's research for an article on
Read the following and state the issues.
Target Stores: The Hunt for "Unvolunteered Truths" New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg's research for an article on predictive analytics in marketing had led him to Target Stores' corporate headquarters at Target Plaza in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He approached the reception desk. How would, and indeed, how should, Target respond to his inquiries? Background Duhigg's article in the New York Times Magazine in 2012 reported on an angry father's words to a Target store manager outside Minneapolis. The article read: "My daughter got this in the mail!" he said. "She's still in high school, and you're sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?" The manager didn't have any idea what the man was talking about. He looked at the mailer. Sure enough, it was addressed to the man's daughter and contained advertisements for maternity clothing, nursery furniture and pictures of smiling infants. The manager apologized and then called a few days later to apologize again. On the phone, though, the father was somewhat abashed. "I had a talk with my daughter," he said. "It turns out there's been some activities in my house I haven't been completely aware of. She's due in August. I owe you an apology."1 The article, under the headline "How Companies Learn Your Secrets," started a media storm that would churn for several years. It was written by Duhigg after he had viewed a year-old video titled, "How Target Gets the Most out of Its Guest Data," delivered by a Target staff statistician, Andrew Pole, at a marketing industry event called Predictive Analytics World.2 Forbes magazine retold Duhigg's story under a more arresting headline, "How Target Figured Out a Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did,"3 and other media followed suit under progressively more lurid headlines. The technology website Business Insider trumpeted, "The Incredible Story of How Target Exposed a Teen Girl's Pregnancy."4 Simply typing "Target p" into Google three years later produced the auto- completed suggestion "Target Pregnant" and images of pregnant bellies painted with the Target logo. (See Exhibit 1.)
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