Loyalty Marketing

The newly created position of chief member officer at Sam’s Club has been filled by veteran marketer Tracey Brown who has been given a wide range of member marketing, acquisition, engagement, retention and analytics responsibilities.

Calgary, Canada – Shell Canada has signed a multi-year renewal with LoyaltyOne, the Canadian coalition loyalty business of Alliance Data Systems Corp., as a national sponsor of its Air Miles Reward Program. Shell Canada issues Air Miles reward miles for automotive fuel purchases made at its Shell-branded retail service locations across Canada.

Macy’s hopes to ignite passion for the National Heart Association with its Go Red For Women promotions.

The retailer, a founding national sponsor of American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign, will offer merchandise and in-store events this February, all fashioned to bring awareness and funds to the cause of women’s heart health.

Kohl’s rolled out two omnichannel campaigns in January underscoring the company’s stated focus on giving back to the community.

The company says it will award $400,000 in scholarships and prizes to more than 2,500 students who have made a positive impact on their communities. Nominations for kids ages 6 to 18 will be accepted until March 13 at kohlskids.com and in stores.

Hundreds of retail industry power players and leaders helped the National Retail Federation raise $1.2 million for student scholarships at a gala in New York City.

San Luis Obispo – In what could be a preview of Sunday’s Super Bowl performance, Patriots fans have been outselling Seahawks fans overall in the month of January by 258%. According to data from Shopatron, although in total Patriots fans have spent more, individually their Seahawks counterparts have been more zealous, spending an average of 15% more than Patriots fans on each individual order.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Kohl’s Department Stores will be the exclusive department store retail partner for The Color Run, a national paint race event series. Select Kohl’s stores will serve as the packet pick-up location in more than 100 cities across the county.

Kohl’s will have a social presence at each race and will encourage participants to take and share celebratory photos with their friends and family across social accounts using #MakeYourMove.

By Scollay Petry, OtherLevels

Top of mind for retailers wanting to better engage with shoppers in their brick-and-mortar locations this holiday season are in-location technologies (e.g. beacons) and the personalization tactics they make possible. According to MediaPost, about 20% of retailers already use iBeacons, while 54% plan to implement the technology by 2015. With the promise of immediacy and “in-store engagement,” others undoubtedly will jump on the beacon bandwagon soon.

Toys "R" Us is expanding its partnership with the Special Olympics with a whopping $1.25 million commitment toward sponsoring the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.

The Games, which will welcome 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing 177 countries, to Los Angeles, Calif., from July 25 to Aug. 2, is the flagship event of the Special Olympics and biggest sporting event of the year. The 2015 World Games marks the first time in 16 years that the Summer World Games have been held in the United States.

Walmart shoppers who read Harlequin novels and who also have a fondness for bull riders are in for a treat.