Cause Marketing/ Community Programs

An unknown donor brought holiday cheer to some Walmart customers in Pennsylvania.     A mystery person under the name "Santa B" paid off $46,265.59 in layaway items at Walmart’s store in Everett, Pennsylvania, CNBC reported. The amount covered the balances on 149 layaway accounts.    

PayPal tapped noted designer Jonathan Adler to personalize gift cards for the payment company’s person-to-person (P2P) payment service. Consumers who opt to use the service to give  money to friends and family, can now choose from six exclusive yet customizable digital holiday and generic gifting cards — a move that personalizes their “gift of money,” and adds a chic touch to an often impersonal gift option.  

Outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia saw record sales on Black Friday that blew past all estimates — and it plans to donate all the revenue.   

To help its shoppers get in the holiday shopping spirit, Express is launching exclusive holiday Snapchat filters. To celebrate the biggest shopping day of the year, Express will roll out a series of five Black Friday and holiday-themed national Snapchat filters throughout the day on Black Friday, Nov. 25. The Express-sponsored filters include "It Runs in the Fam," "But First Coffee," "Black Friday Beast Mode," "Leftovers are Lit," and "The Party Starts Now.”

To help its shoppers get in the holiday shopping spirit, Express is launching exclusive holiday Snapchat filters.   To celebrate the biggest shopping day of the year, Express will roll out a series of five Black Friday and holiday-themed national Snapchat filters throughout the day on Black Friday, Nov. 25. The Express-sponsored filters include "It Runs in the Fam," "But First Coffee," "Black Friday Beast Mode," "Leftovers are Lit," and "The Party Starts Now.”  

Talk about commitment.   Patagonia announced that its plans to donate 100% of its store and online sales on Black Friday, Nov. 25, to grassroots environmental organizations.   "These are small groups, often underfunded and under the radar, who work on the front lines," Patagonia CEO and president Rose Marcario wrote in a post announcing the company’s plans. "The support we can give is more important now than ever."   

The age of the Goliath brand is over. Now, the Davids are running the show.   The commerce landscape has consistently been dominated by giant corporations, whose brands became extremely broad, and in some ways generic. Think about Gillette. What does Gillette mean to you?    Unless you get really excited about the prospect of a 37-blade razor, Gillette as a brand probably doesn’t mean much to you. It’s just the standard razor you buy at the store.  

Ikea has brought the horrors of the Syrian civil war home to customers at its flagship in Slependen, Norway.   In a joint fundraising effort, the Swedish home furnishings giant, in partnership with the Norwegian Red Cross, has recreated the small, unfurnished apartment of a Syrian mother and her children in the middle of the store. The space is based on a real-life apartment in Damascus, according to CNN.   

Butler Enterprises has named a Gainesville insider to promote and market its Neighborhoods at Butler project in that Florida college town.   The complex’s new director of marketing, Mary Reichardt, arrives at Butler from the Visit Gainseville-Alachua County Tourism Development Office, where she served as marketing chief. There, she created the county’s first brand strategy to establish awareness across the U.S. and in Europe.   

Barneys New York is charting a different course this holiday season.   The luxury retailer is known for its satirical, often outrageous holiday window displays. But this year Barneys’ windows, in response to what it called “the world's current climate of chaos and divisiveness,” will be built around the themes of love, peace and joy.