Marketing Tactics

Seattle – In the aftermath of the Ferguson riots, Starbucks Corp. asked store employees and managers to be extra sensitive to customers who may be feeling emotional about racial issues. Now Starbucks is asking workers in stores to show financial sensitivity.

According to Fusion, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sent an internal email to employees and managers in stores asking them to recognize and respond to customers who are experiencing stress and anxiety resulting from the recent global stock market crash.

Indianapolis -- Two of the nation’s largest athletic brands are teaming up.

The Finish Line has joined with Puma for the launch an in-store shop concept called the Puma edge at Finish Line.

Finish Line will open 10 initial Puma shops within targeted retail locations across the country and online at FinishLine.com in August. The experience includes expanded product offerings with a unique approach to marketing and content creation designed specifically to connect the Puma brand to the Finish Line consumer.

Sherwin-Williams is launching a new omnichannel tool designed to radically simplify how customers pick a paint color.

ColorSnap is a comprehensive system with an in-store display that helps customers select colors -- in 60% less time than with the previous display, according to in-store testing conducted by Sherwin-Williams. ColorSnap will also be available for iPhone, iPad, Android and online, allowing customers to scan each take-home color chip for instant access to inspirational room scenes.

Cleveland – Sherwin-Williams is launching a colorful omnichannel program designed to ease the process of selecting paint colors. Called ColorSnap, it integrates online and offline tools and includes a new in-store display.

Cambridge, Mass. – It’s not only middle-aged women that like to browse retail stores.

Bucking demographic stereotypes that suggest men and millennials are more tech-oriented, it turns out both groups are more likely than other consumer groups to browse in-store.

At least that’s according to a new study from Adroit Digital, “Marketing to Millennials,” which found that 57% of millennials do the majority of their retail browsing in-store, close to the 61% of consumers 35 and older who are in-store browsers.

New York -- Coming soon: a theatrical spin on the drama surrounding American Apparel and its controversial founder and ousted CEO Dov Charney.

The play, entitled “Unseamly,” is due to make its off-Broadway debut on October 8, at the Urban Stages theatre. The drama, which first ran in Montreal in 2014, was written by Oren Safdie a first cousin of Charney. (Safdie has had several plays produced off-Broadway).

Burlington, Mass. -- Another iconic brand has opened its own freestanding store.

Ice hockey equipment giant Bauer Hockey, founded in 1927, has opened its first-ever physical store, in the Boston suburb of Burlington, Massachusetts. The 20,000-sq.-ft. store, called “Own the Moment Hockey Experience,” is the first of 10 locations the company plans to open in the United States and Canada. A second is set to open this fall, in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Just in time for back-to-school, Lands' End has a new partner for bringing moms and dads the latest information on parenting and child development, enabling them to get back into the new school year with ease.

The retailer is teaming up with the Child Mind Institute to create digital content that helps parents raise strong, compassionate and curious kids.