Marketing Tactics

MINNEAPOLIS — Target announced that it has donated $15,000 in monetary support and product to assist with Minot, N.D. flooding relief efforts. The company said its donation will help four Minot schools, including Long Fellow, Perkett, Eric Ramstad and Lincoln. Each school will receive $3,000 to support classroom relocation efforts due to flood damage.                             .

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- The reviews are coming in, and Domino’s Pizza is streaming them atop a billboard in one of the country’s busiest intersections: Manhattan’s Times Square.

NEW YORK — Discount stores will continue to dominate as the destination for the majority of consumers’ back-to-school dollars this year, with office supply stores also remaining strong, according to a survey by Accenture on parents’ back-to-school shopping plans. The majority of parents (59%) will spend between $100 and $500 on back-to-school shopping this year, with 21% of consumers saying they plan to spend more than $500 this year. That’s down from 28% in 2010, indicating a decline in spending on the big ticket items for school.

New York City -- Aeropostale has launched a fully integrated Facebook Store, powered by Usablenet's technology platform, that combines shopping and social media and extends full e-commerce functionality to the Aeropostale Facebook community.

In addition to being able to purchase from Aeropostale's entire online inventory, the integrated Facebook e-commerce store allows users to easily 'Like' and share items and purchases with their Facebook network - leveraging the viral nature of Facebook's news feed.

With the promise of mesmerizing merchandise, an exclusive assortment of My Little Pony products are receiving special toy department treatment at Target this week. The popular Hasbro property is based on a talking unicorn pony and her unique collection of friends, which has made “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic” that airs on Hasbro-owned channel The Hub the number one television show for kids ages two through 11.

New York City -- According to court papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Borders Group is planning to auction off its intellectual property, including the Borders brand name and the Borders.com website, in a move that will enable the brand to live on after liquidation in a limited fashion.

The Sept. 14 auction, which will sell off the logo, trademarks, website, customer lists and other intellectual property, is expected to draw millions of dollars worth of offers.

NEW YORK — Gilt Groupe Inc., a members-only online shopping destination, has named Melissa Liebling-Goldberg as editorial director for the women's category, effective immediately. In this position, Liebling-Goldberg is charged with expanding the category's editorial voice and building strong, lasting partnerships in the category while producing dynamic content for the website. Liebling-Goldberg will report directly to Jyothi Rao, general manager of Women's at Gilt Groupe.

North Bergen, N.J. -- Vitamin Shoppe reported Thursday that net income in the second quarter increased 64% to $11.95 million, compared with $7.3 million in the year-ago period. The retailer cited strong sales both in-store and online for its improved performance.

Revenue rose 12.3% to $215.9 million, topping Wall Street expectations.  Same-store sales increased 8% in the quarter.

Vitamin Shoppe said it is on track to open 48 new stores in the fiscal year.