Mobile Marketing

Minneapolis -- In a move to further boost its marketing organization, Target Corp. has hired Kristi Argyilan as senior VP, media and guest engagement, effective June 2.

Argyilan comes to the Target from IPG Mediabrands where she was most recently the president at Magna Global, North America. She has also held senior positions with advertising and integrated marketing agencies including Arnold, Hill Holiday, and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

New York – Macy’s Inc. is testing the effectiveness of mobile video ads on Facebook. On May 16, the retailer began running video ads using Facebook’s auto-play feature on the mobile newsfeed in its iPhone app.

The ads appear at the top of the newsfeed and start playing when the user scrolls down. If clicked, they become full-screen size and audio turns on. Users are allowed to like, share and/or comment on the ads.

L’Oréal Paris is bringing the personalized service of a department store to the mass market with its latest in beauty digital innovation — “Makeup Genius.”

Based on the insight that beauty is one of the most “Googled” topics in the world — with about 4 billion searches a year — the group’s innovation incubator decided to respond to the needs expressed by consumers by offering greater customization and interaction with their brand.

When industry experts talk about retailers connecting with today’s mobile consumer, they are generally referring to customers who always travel with smartphones and tablets. But there is another type of “mobile” consumer touchpoint retailers should be targeting, and that is the automobile.

Chantilly, Va. -- Social media advertising revenues in the United States will grow from $5.1 billion in 2013 to $15 billion in 2018, for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%, according to BIA/Kelsey’s latest U.S. Social Local Media Forecast. This year represents the greatest year-over-year jump in social media ad revenues, growing to $8.4 billion in 2014, largely due to increases in mobile and native advertising.

H-E-B and men's grooming brand Axe have partnered with the X Games to launch an innovative shopper marketing promotion that will reward consumers with an exclusive performance by X Games athletes at local H-E-B stores.

Skechers USA has signed hall-of-fame quarterback legend Joe Namath to represent the high-performing men’s Relaxed Fit from Skechers footwear line. A new advertising campaign featuring Namath will begin in the fall.

“Broadway” Joe’s campaign launches with a new television commercial utilizing the same humorous tone set by spots for Relaxed Fit footwear featuring Joe Montana and Mark Cuban. The campaign will extend across all media with Namath appearing in print, outdoor, online and point-of-sale materials through 2015.

Westlake Village, Calif. - Senior retail marketers report that 38% of their total marketing spend is now devoted to digital. According to a research study released by Conversant, nearly 20% of retail marketers reported that digital accounts for 50% to 75% of their total marketing budget.

The new study found strong retailer interest in personalized marketing and advertising. Eighty-six percent of senior retail marketers said that individualized messages can be more effective than mass messages.