Mobile Marketing

New York -- Fast Company magazine and Target are sponsoring a competition, the Target Retail Accelerator, that will award $75,000 to a developer who creates the best new mobile app or mobile website for the retailer.  

Fast Company will chronicle the developers' efforts on the website of its new technology vertical Co.Labs.

MCLEAN, Va. — Capital One has teamed up with ShopSavvy to deliver personalized deals from the Capital One deals program to ShopSavvy app users while they shop and search for deals.  By incorporating Capital One’s deals into ShopSavvy’s leading mobile shopping community, customers can receive targeted merchant offers when they matter most – while they shop.

LARGO, Fla. — Coupon distributor Valpak took to Facebook last month to ask consumers to show what they love for the chance to win cash in the first ever Facebook promotion featured on the front of the Valpak envelope.

Since the "Show Us What You Love" Sweepstakes started last month, Valpak has had an overwhelming response. Photographs of adorable babies, furry puppies and sunny beaches filled with families – have been sent in through the Valpak Facebook contest.

NEW YORK — L'Oréal Paris is relaunching LorealParisUSA.com, which will include a first-to-market content production and syndication partnership with AOL, the company said Tuesday.

The company described the site as the first major one to be designed for all devices, making it easy to navigate for users on desktop computers, tablets and mobile phones.

Encino, Calif. -- Yogurt chain Menchie’s said Friday it has launched a new mobile app, Yumm Finder, for iPhones, featuring location finder capabilities and featured promotions.

Menchie's partnered with RAZUR, based in Atlanta, to develop and release the app.

CHICAGO — Retail executives are moderating their expectations for 2013 following uneven sales in December and January, according to a new survey of CFOs by professional services form BDO USA.

LOS ANGELES — Ikea has been named "best small space solution" by The Intelligence Group, a consumer insights firm, publisher of the Cassandra Report, which highlights youth trends and behavior.

Ikea was one of the winners of the group's first Cass Awards, which were awarded to companies and brands that best reached Generation Y through their marketing efforts last year.

Palo Alto, Calif. -- The shopping app Shopkick on Wednesday announced that Nielsen ranked Shopkick No. 34 out of approximately 1 million apps in December 2012. While still trailing giants like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter overall, Shopkick dominated the shopping category during the holiday season, with more frequent and prolonged usage than all physical retailers' own apps including Starbucks, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger and Safeway, the app developer noted.