Entertainment Tie-ins / Licensing

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.”  

Google is expanding its brick-and-mortar presence.     Following the opening of its New York City pop-up store last month,  Google has partnered with Best Buy to amp up its retail presence.     

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.  

Lord & Taylor takes customers on a whimsical winter journey in the 79th annual holiday window display at its Manhattan flagship on Fifth Avenue.    With an Enchanted Forest theme, the five windows portray scenes of a winter wonderland and are filled with 34 hand-sculpted holiday animals. Each vignette is enhanced with over 350 square feet of LED walls. The store’s façade features more than 9,000 ft. of mixed garland, foliage, twinkling lights and holiday music      

Saks Fifth Avenue is transforming its stores into a candy wonderland for the holidays.   The retailer’s holiday theme this year is called “Land of 1000 Delights” and it will appear in all 41 Saks’ full-priced stores in the U.S. and Canada. Jumbo swirl lollipops, whipped cotton candy and mounds of rock candy are just some of the colorful décor that will make up each store’s visual displays.    

Macerich’s tech-driven, HGTV-sponsored Santa Claus experience will be expanded to five properties in California, Chicago, and metro New York this Christmas season.   Kids can download an Elf-Ray Vision app to their smartphones—or used a provided tablet — to explore “Santa HQ” in 3D, take an Elfie Selfie to insert themselves in a customized holiday video, or test their gift-worthiness on the Naughty or Nice O’Meter. A 10,000-bulb synchronized light show at the attraction plays the Carol of the Bells.

Taubman is taking the Santa experience to a higher level — literally — at 12 malls this holiday season.   On Nov. 11, the mall owner and manager will debut “Santa’s Flight Academy,” where kids will be able to register as members of the jolly old elf’s flight crew, help Sleigh Mechanic George or Reindeer Caretaker Flash prepare for liftoff and engage in what Taubman is describing as an “immersive holiday experience.”