Loyalty Marketing

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Olympic gold medalists Dara Torres (swimming), Mia Hamm (soccer) and Lindsey Vonn (skiing) will star in Kohl's latest marketing campaign. Debuting on March 19, the new campaign titled “Shop to Win,” follows each of the three female athletes as they experience Kohl’s extensive fashion assortment, world-class brands and incredible value, the company said in a press release. It is the first time Kohl’s has used Olympic athletes in its marketing efforts.

Dallas -- Alliance Data Systems Corp. announced that its Canadian coalition loyalty business has signed a new multi-year agreement with Toys “R” Us, Canada to issue air miles reward miles in its 73 stores across Canada effective March 23, 2012.

The Air Miles Reward Program is Canada’s premier coalition loyalty program, with approximately two-thirds of Canadian households actively collecting reward miles.

New York -- The average gift card dollar volume growth on a year-over-year basis increased 10% during the last six months of 2011, with consumers shopping earlier in the holiday season for prepaid cards and adding more value to their purchases than in 2010, according to a study by First Data Corp.

Tide laundry detergent is so popular with shoppers that it is regularly featured on the cover of Target’s weekly circular as a means to generate customer traffic, but it appears the detergent brand’s popularity is causing it to generate the wrong kind of traffic. A story by the Associated Press points out this week that Tide has become a frequent target of shoplifters at retailers nationwide and the new currency of an underground economy.

The number of eco-labels in the marketplace continues to grow. According to Ecolabelindex (http://www.ecolabelindex.com/, Oct 27), 426 labels circulate in 246 countries and 25 industries. Most commentators are quick to point out the negative consequences: consumer confusion, disinterest and mistrust. However, there is a growing wave of large companies that pursue product certification to appeal to and meet compliance demands from their B2B customers, including retailers.

Las Vegas -- Digital gift card solution-provider Transaction Wireless said Tuesday that Applebee’s expanded its offering with the Transaction Wireless platform to provide its sports fans with personalized digital gift cards as part of its “Catch the Game” invite application on Facebook.

The app is timed to launch in concert with the March Madness NCAA basketball series. Basketball fans visit the Applebee’s Facebook page and schedule a viewing party at any Applebee's location to invite family and friends to attend.

Boston -- Wifarer said Tuesday that it has partnered with Boston’s Prudential Center to deliver promotions and deals to customers based on their location inside the shopping center, as well as to provide insights into visitor traffic and venue usage.

Wifarer’s indoor positioning technology uses a venue’s WiFi infrastructure to pinpoint the inside location of a user’s smartphone within four and a half feet and without burdening large venues with extraneous hardware, infrastructure or extra WiFi needs.

Boston -- New research released by Brodeur Partners uncovered that Baby Boomers and Generation Y’ers think differently about the shopping experience.

According to The Brodeur Partners’ Retail Relevance Study, Boomers see the ideal shopping experience as getting a good deal on a decent product. For Gen Y, it’s more about a stimulating, sensual, “sharable” experience.