Retailer Campaigns

By Mike Moriarty, A.T. Kearney

Well, well, well. Amazon is opening a store.  Isn’t that nice!

Now, does that make the company an enormous on-line retailer with “a store”, or does it make Amazon a small to mid-sized retailer with an enormous online presence?

It almost doesn’t make any difference — and that in itself makes a difference. Welcome to planet Earth, Amazon!

Big Lots is preparing for the grand opening celebration of its newest store at 9 a.m. Friday, October 17, and baseball great Mariano Rivera will be in attendance.

Rivera, who spent 17 seasons with the New York Yankees as a relief pitcher, will kick off the store opening with an autograph session from 10 a.m-noon.

"What better way to celebrate our new store in North Bergen than by welcoming New York Yankee great Mariano Rivera to join us on this special day," said CEO and president David Campisi.

Dallas -- EnTouch Controls awarded Corner Bakery Cafe the company’s annual Environmental Sustainability Award for its commitment to energy efficiency. The award is given to businesses that have made a significant positive impact on the environment.

eBay plans to leverage its latest global brand campaign, called “Shop the World,” to position itself at the forefront of shoppers’ minds during the holiday shopping season.

eBay’s brand advertising and marketing campaign, which debuts Oct. 13, aims to support sellers by engaging existing eBay users and attracting new ones.

By Jeremy Geiger, Retailigence

The headline is bold, but yes, 2014 is the year of hyperlocal mobile advertising, and there are three very important trends converging today to make this happen. The first is smartphone proliferation; according to eMarketer, smartphone users worldwide will total a record-breaking two billion in 2014. Now billions of people around the world have the devices needed to make hyperlocal ads possible.

Hasbro has signed a global licensing agreement with Pez International to develop a My Little Pony-branded line of Pez dispensers, Pez dextrose fizzy candy and fizzy rolls.

Hasbro will begin rolling out the new line beginning in early 2015 in Germany, France and Austria followed by additional markets worldwide. The new dispensers and candy will be on display at Hasbro Booth #D020 at Brand Licensing Europe in Olympia, London, October 7-9.

The 2014 holiday shopping season will be characterized by cautious spending, while economic realities create one of two American holiday shoppers — survivalists and selectionists — according to a new report released Tuesday from PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. and Strategy, titled "2014 Holiday Outlook: Top trends, consumer behaviors and implications for retailers."

The makers of Jimmy Dean products have launched Sunniest Day of the Year — a one-day campaign advertising the brand’s new lunch and dinner offerings. The Jimmy Dean brand Sun character is traveling across the US and documenting every step of his adventure on social media.

In addition to the robust digital content, the Sunniest Day of the Year also includes a national television advertising integration with a guest appearance by the Sun, the launch of a custom microsite (www.sunniestday.com) to track the cross-country journey and a national consumer sweepstakes.