Loyalty Marketing

During the World Cup, Bud Light will donate to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for each goal scored, up to $250,000. Though Budweiser is the official Beer of the World Cup, 2014 is the first year that Bud Light has been a partner of the month-long event.

"Integrating our sponsorship with education is at the core of our company values,” Bud Light Brand Manager Miguel Nigrinis said. “It's a winning recipe for Latinos that aspire to hold a university degree.”

Irvine, Calif. - Baja Fresh is piloting a solution from Sparkfly that will allow it to launch promotions through Google Search, Facebook, Yelp, Opera Mediaworks and UberMedia, and assess the effectiveness of each individual channel with real-time redemption data. Leveraging the technology from the Sparkfly platform, the campaign includes information on basket size and individual items purchased.

New York -- Starbucks Corp. is launching an innovative program in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) whereby the coffee giant will help pay for the cost of an online degree for its part-time and full-time associates who work at least 20 hours a week. In a twist from the standard tuition reimbursement program, Starbucks employees who participate in the program will not be obligated to stay on with the company after graduation.

Austin, Texas – Three-quarters (75%) of retail marketers believe that digital advertising delivers a higher ROI than offline advertising, including circulars and direct mail. A survey of 200 retail marketing decision-makers and influencers commissioned by RetailMeNot Inc. and conducted by Kelton, shows that despite this belief, 51% of respondents said digital marketing spend in retail compared to offline marketing spend is still about 50/50.

Coca-Cola and U.S. soccer team member DaMarcus Beasley are joining forces to help consumers give soccer balls to schools. Through July 13, people can enter promotional codes from Coca-Cola products at coke.com/soccer and donate a soccer ball to the school of their choice.

“The Coca-Cola Company has always shared an enormous passion for soccer and the world of endless possibilities that it offers to youth globally and right here in the U.S.,” Coca-Cola North America’s VP Multicultural Marketing Lauventria Robinson, said.

By Jeff Weidauer, VP of marketing and strategy, Vestcom International

Healthy is hip. That’s the message coming from most media outlets, as well as consumers in general. Overall interest among Americans in healthful meal options is at an all-time high. Yet, at the same time, some healthy-focused retailers are struggling. Whole Foods Market has seen its growth slowing and has issued lower target guidance to shareholders. Smaller companies like Fresh Market are even resorting to closing stores. What’s going on?

Staples' secret weapon this back-to-school season looks to be Katy Perry. The retailer recently aligned itself with the pop mega-star who has the potential to influence the shopping behavior of 50 million Twitter followers and 71 million Facebook fans.

Staples said it will be the presenting sponsor of the North American leg of Perry’s Prismatic World tour when it resumes on June 22 in Raleigh, N.C., and also donated $1 million to the DonorsChoose.org charitable organization which helps fund teachers’ and students’ classroom needs.

Dodgeville, Wis. — Lands' End is launching its "Set Sail" omnichannel sweepstakes. The contest allows customers to play a virtual tic-tac-toe game on Lands’ End’s e-commerce and Facebook pages, with the chance to win gift cards.

One random winner will receive then grand prize getaway, which includes round-trip airfare for four people to Miami and five nights' accommodations. The contest runs June 12-July 12.