Target Took a More Focused Approach to Back-to-School

In 2026, Target's back-to-school campaign delivered 781M retail media impressions across July and August, down -66% YoY. Back-to-school messaging also claimed a smaller share of Target's overall activity during the time period, falling from one-third to less than one-quarter of all impressions (24%).

The number of participating brands declined more modestly, down -28% YoY to 236, setting up a back-to-school campaign that was built around fewer, bigger bets.

Exclusive Brand Partnerships and Style Took Center Stage

But where exactly did these brands allocate their budgets? For the Retail Beauty category as a whole, the breakdown was as follows:

Crayola led Target's 2026 back-to-school campaign with 94M impressions, the highest total for any leading advertiser in the past three years.

Close behind were Overtime (75M), Pokémon (53M), and LoveShackFancy (43M). Overtime and LoveShackFancy are new exclusive brand partnerships that Target highlighted as part of its effort to put apparel at the center of the season. After tech brands led in 2024 and cleaning brands in 2025, this year marked a clear turn toward partnerships and style.

Together, the top 8 advertisers accounted for 46% of all back-to-school impressions, up from 15% in 2025 and 9% in 2024.

Target Shifted Back-to-School Impressions Toward OTT and Instagram

Facebook remained Target's top back-to-school channel in 2026, though its share of impressions fell to 27% from 41% last year.

Instagram and OTT picked up much of that share. Instagram posted the largest gain (+13 pts), with 120 brands active on the channel. OTT climbed to #2 at 22%, with all of its impressions coming from just 7 advertisers, led by Overtime's apparel partnership.

TikTok moved in the opposite direction, falling to 2% of impressions, after earning 9% in the past two years.

Finding the “Right Thing” Defined Target’s 2026 Campaign

Last year, Target’s “All of the Above” campaign highlighted the breadth of its back-to-school assortment. This year, the focus became more personal. The hero message, “Find the Right Thing So You Can Do Your Thing,” leaned into individual interests and self-expression through brand partnerships like Pokémon, Overtime, and LoveShackFancy.

A complementary theme of “Let’s RTT,” or Run to Target, positioned Target as a fun destination for practical back-to-college needs like mini Keurigs, Nori handheld irons, and Tide detergent.

Outside of these broader themes, brands also ran their own back-to-school messaging, including the #1 advertiser Crayola, who used Facebook to promote their Ultra-Clean Washable Markers & Crayons.

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