Digital Marketing

Oak Brook, Ill. – As official NFL restaurant sponsor, McDonald's is launching the national McDonald's Tailgate Photo Sweepstakes. McDonald's customers can use QR codes on McDonald's medium beverages with NFL-themed packaging to access exclusive online NFL Now video content.

Customers can also use QR codes on McDonald's medium fries to access the McDonald's Pick The Play Sweepstakes and enter for the chance to win NFL-related prizes – including a trip for two to Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona.

While gift cards are still made of plastic, digitally formatted gifts cards are increasing in popularity. (According to research by payments giant First Data, electronic gift card sales grew 71% from 2012 to 2013.) Consumers particularly like the customization options — including video and audio in some instances — that some retailers offer with digital cards.

New York - Nook Media, a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble Inc., together with video game manufacturer Rovio, will make the upcoming “Angry Birds Stella” game available for preview exclusively at Barnes & Noble stores from Aug. 29 to Sept. 3. During that time, customers can come to any Barnes & Noble store nationwide and visit the Nook Counter to play the game, before anyone else, on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook in-store demo devices.

Detroit – Office and school supply e-commerce retailer Chalkfly has launched a redesigned, fully responsive website that leverages SLI Systems search technology. Chalkfly’s use of SLI’s intuitive site search functionality enables customers to quickly and easily find and purchase items amid more than 60,000 products in office and school supply categories.  

Los Angeles – Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG), owner of the Juicy Couture brand, is launching a new multiyear partnership to expand the scope of e-commerce services for Juicy Couture, with Onestop Internet, a full-spectrum e-commerce solution provider.

Boston - Nearly 80% of college students describe themselves as “more cost-conscious this year than a year ago.” However, according to a recent back-to-school survey of 1,420 U.S. college students by college marketing agency Fluent, students said they are willing to make an exception to the low-spending rule and anticipate spending “more than they should” in select categories, specifically clothing, technology and dorm room accessories.

Following are key highlights from the survey:

Indianapolis - Simon is launching Lookbook Live, a joint fall fashion program spanning print, digital, social media, and live events in collaboration with Glamour and GQ magazines. Kicking off in Glamour's and GQ's September issues with a nine-page custom-shot Simon Lookbook insert, the program extends online with significant presence on Glamour's and GQ's digital properties, including his-and-hers videos, which provide an in-depth look into how to wear fall's trends.