Loyalty Marketing

Atlanta – Close to half (45.1%) of brands reported that ‘measuring ROI and results’ is their greatest challenge when using the Twitter platform for marketing, followed by ‘building an audience’ (42.1%) and ‘engagement’ (36.8%). According to a new survey from Social Media Marketing University (SMU), 65% of brands say that Twitter is an effective marketing tool, while 30.6% are undecided. Other notable findings include: • 96.2% of brands using Twitter as a marketing tool report having challenges using the platform to achieve specific goals.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. opens a new store in Davenport, Iowa on March 20. As of March 20, DSW will operate 398 stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

DSW Rewards is a free loyalty program in which customers earn certificates toward future DSW purchases and receive special member-only offers. Customers can also participate in a Shoe Lover community on Facebook to receive exclusive offers and giveaways.

It’s official. Amazon is raising the membership fee for Prime and Student Prime customers.

The company sent out emails today to Prime and Student Prime consumers letting them know of the new fees. Prime customers will be paying an annual rate of $99 whenever their membership renews — that’s up from $79 per year.

Student Prime consumers will pay $49 a year, up from $39. Students with questions about renewal rates should click here for details.

The digital marketing initiative known as “My Weekly Ad” is helping CVS Caremark grow sales and deepen engagement with loyal customers by providing them with personalized versions of the retailer’s weekly ad.

The My Weekly Ad program was launched last fall and Wednesday morning during a presentation at the IRI Summit CVS Caremark SVP of merchandising and retail pricing Judy Sansone shared additional details regarding the program.

Williams-Sonoma president and CEO Laura Alber credited the strength of the company’s brands across retail and e-commerce for its performance in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2.

Houston – Cardtronics, Inc. has expanded its relationship with Tedeschi Food Shops, a Rockland, Mass.-based convenience store company. The broadened agreement names Cardtronics the exclusive ATM services provider for Tedeschi Food Shops. Cardtronics is the world’s largest retail ATM owner.

Lay's potato chips has issued a last call for submissions in its search for its next potato chip flavor. Fans now have less than a month to submit their "Do Us A Flavor" contest submissions for a chance to win a $1 million grand prize.  

Submissions are open on www.dousaflavor.com until 11:59:59 p.m. (EST) Saturday, April 5. This marks the second time the Lay's "Do Us A Flavor" contest has been held in the U.S.

Campaigns on the social platform get results, according to Erin Hunter, global head of CPG strategy at Facebook, assuming they involve great creativity and speak to shoppers in the right voice.