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How to add product videos to Target+ listings

Meet Target's video requirements and submit videos for your listings.

Product video on your Target+ listings helps guests picture the item in use — Target reports up to a 17x lift in conversion when a guest views a product video on the page. Submitting video is a manual process outside Acenda, but this guide covers the requirements, how to submit, and where to find the IDs you'll need along the way.

Who does what: Acenda's Target+ integration does not send video today — there's no video field on the Target+ posting template or item record. Submitting and hosting video happens entirely outside Acenda, either directly with Target or through Target's video service partner, StoryXpress. Each step is labeled each step below so you know who's handling it.

Before you start: Per Target's current guidance, video can only be submitted for an item's primary "variation parent" — see How to use the Group attribute to set products and variants and How to manage variant groupings on Target+ for how Acenda's product/variant structure maps to that. You'll also need the item's TCIN on hand (see Troubleshooting & FAQ below), and you'll need full usage rights to the video content before you submit it.

Video Requirements

Before submitting, make sure your video and its supporting files meet Target's technical, accessibility, and content requirements below. These are Target's current specifications and may change without notice — if a submission is rejected for a spec reason, check with Target or StoryXpress for the latest version.

File & Formatting Specifications

  • Item association: Every video must be associated with a TCIN. If one video applies to multiple items, list every TCIN it should attach to.

  • Video format: MP4

  • Closed captioning format: VTT — a VTT file is required for every video to meet Target's accessibility standards.

Technical Specifications

  • Length: Up to 3 minutes (30–60 seconds recommended).

  • File size: Between 1MB and 500MB.

  • Resolution: 1280×720 (720p). Higher-resolution video is automatically transcoded down to 720p.

  • Bitrate: 3000 kb/s or lower.

  • Video codec: H.264

  • Audio codec: AAC

Additional Requirements

  • You must hold full usage rights to all video content you submit.

  • Video must align with Target's brand values — Target will not upload content it considers inappropriate.

  • Links to YouTube or other video hosting platforms are not accepted; Target needs the actual video file.

How to Submit Your Video

You have two options for submitting video, both outside Acenda. Either way, Target's team (or StoryXpress, if you use them) will need the MP4, the VTT file, and the TCIN(s) the video applies to.

Option 1: Email Target's Content Team (Target-side)

  1. Email CAM.ProductContent@target.com.

  2. Say that you're a Target+ partner requesting to upload a product video.

  3. Target's Product Content team will reply to your email with a secure upload link.

  4. Upload your MP4, your VTT file, and the list of TCIN(s) the video should attach to.

Option 2: Use StoryXpress (StoryXpress-side)

You can also work with Target's video service partner, StoryXpress, to produce and submit your content.

  • Pricing (at the time of writing — confirm current rates with StoryXpress directly):

    • $10 per video submission; one video can be applied to multiple TCINs.

    • $50 per video for VTT file creation, if you don't already have one.

    • A bulk discount is available for submissions over 500 videos.

  • To get started: contact the StoryXpress team at contact@storyxpress.co.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

  • Where do I find my TCIN? In Acenda, go to CHANNELS > Integrations, open your Target+ integration, and on the Products tab click the download icon in the upper-right corner — the exported file includes alternate_id_name and alternate_id_value columns; for Target+ items, alternate_id_name reads tcin and alternate_id_value is the TCIN itself. (See How to export marketplace IDs (like TCINs or ASINs) for background.) You can also generate an Inventory and Price Report from Target's own Partner Portal, where TCINs are listed in Column A. For a single item, check its Channel Status > Target+ tab under CATALOG > Items — the TCIN appears there as an Alternative ID.

  • Which TCIN do I use for a grouped product — the parent or a child? Use the parent (variation parent) item's own TCIN. Open the parent item itself under CATALOG > Items and check its Channel Status > Target+ tab the same way.

  • It's been more than 5 business days and the video still isn't showing: This is a manual process on Target's side, so turnaround can run longer than the typical window. Reply to your original email thread with Target's content team (or follow up with StoryXpress if you submitted through them) before resubmitting.

  • My submission was rejected for a missing VTT file: Every video needs a VTT captioning file, even a short or simple one. If you don't have one, StoryXpress can create one for you (see Option 2 above).

  • A YouTube or hosted video link was rejected: Target only accepts the actual MP4 file, not a link to an external hosting platform. Submit the file directly through one of the two options above.

  • The video was applied to a child variation instead of the parent: Per Target's current rule, video only displays on the primary variation parent item. Confirm which SKU is the parent in Acenda (see How to use the Group attribute to set products and variants) and resubmit with that item's TCIN.

  • The file was rejected for size, resolution, or codec: Double check it against the Technical Specifications above — H.264/MP4, AAC audio, 720p, 3000 kb/s or lower, and between 1MB–500MB. Target automatically transcodes higher resolutions down to 720p, but a file outside the other limits will be rejected.

Once you submit, Target's content team reviews it and processes the upload manually — there's no support ticket created for this. If there's an issue with your links or files, they'll reply directly on your original email thread, so keep an eye on that inbox.

Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and include the TCIN (for example YOUR-TCIN-12345678) and whether you submitted to Target directly or through StoryXpress.

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