Check out Bookmarked, what looks like yet another social site, this time built around bookclubs and books. You can review books, get recipes for a bookclub meeting, invite friends to join, and support or bookclub’s next event. Kind of cool idea. Who’s behind it? Target.

This is functionality as marketing. It’s solving a problem for bookclub members, and its also solving a number of problems for Target (engagement, brand positioning, consumer insights, online sales). This site helps Target as supporting a lifestyle and helping Target guests (not customers) get to a different place emotionally vs pushing products. Watch for more of this.

Jeff Veen:

Give people the tools to participate effortlessly, accept that they own their data, and remember your service is just one tiny piece of a much bigger experience. A simple formula for success.

Link: Making location simple, by Jeffrey Veen.