Retailer Campaigns

This back-to-school season Old Navy is asking kids at Boys & Girls Clubs around the country what it means to be #Unlimited.

A popular fashion doll franchise is launching exclusively at Walmart stores.

After a few years on hiatus, the core Bratz dolls, Cloe, Yasmin, Jade and Sasha, are back along with the newest member to their group of besties, Raya. Walmart will carry the newly launched collection of dolls and playsets encouraging girls to tap into their creativity and imagination to create their own worlds. Also, Walmart is unveiling a line dedicated to a favorite childhood pastime, "Sleepover Party," available exclusively at Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. is thanking teachers with an omnichannel back-to-school program.

The “Gear Up for School” promotion offers teachers who are part of the free Office Depot or OfficeMax rewards program a 25% off coupon for qualifying purchases during Teacher Appreciation Days, Aug. 1-4 and Aug. 29 – Sept. 1.

New York -- A survey released Monday is in line with other reports that consumers do not plan to spend more this year on back-to-school supplies than they did last year. The survey also lists the 10 most popular retail brands for back-to-school purchases.

Target ranks as the most popular retail brand for back-to-school purchases, just ahead of Walmart, in the 21st annual Back-to-School survey by Brand Keys, the New York-based brand loyalty and emotional engagement research consultancy. Macy’s, CVS and Best Buy round out the top five.

The calendar may only say July, but retailers are already promoting back-to-school.  

Here are four promotional trends the folks at Market Track predict will play out this selling season:

• Retailers/e-retailers creating new mid-year “Black Friday” type events concurrent with Back to School. (e.g., Amazon's Prime Day, Target’s Black Friday in July, etc.)

Barnes & Noble's Get Pop-Cultured campaign is getting a dose of medicine from Dr. Seuss ths month.

Toys"R"Us is supporting the Special Olympics in Los Angeles this year in a new and innovative way.

The retailer is deploying employee volunteers to encourage and cheer on the littlest athletes, as they reach personal victories in a variety of sporting activities. Toys"R"Us has a longstanding commitment to the Special Olympics, and as a Games Level sponsor of the 2015 World Games, is able to help the organization's efforts to bring the benefit of sports to children and adults of all abilities.

Bronto Software has released the 2015 version of its popular Holiday Resource Center to help retailers optimize marketing strategies and drive sale growth.

Office Depot Inc. is thinking teachers first with an omnichannel component at the core of its back-to-school promotion.