Social Media

The pet products category is hugely important to Tractor Supply and now the nation’s largest operator of farm and ranch stores has devised an innovative approach to drive demand at its nearly 1,500 stores.

Plus-size fashion retailer Torrid has a new model to showcase in its latest omnichannel marketing campaign.

The company has announced the winner of its model search: Lyanna Lynette. The 26-year-old Southern beauty was revealed in a 12-episode Web series on YouTube. The first of its kind in plus-size fashion, the series follows the four finalists as they compete to become the Face of Torrid 2016. The series can be watched, in full, on Torrid's YouTube channel.

Toys“R”Us says its annual nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation raised more than $5.8 million and collected over 200,000 toys.

During the 2015 campaign, customers helped bring holiday joy to some of the 15.5 million kids in need across the U.S. by donating new, unwrapped toys at Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores nationwide and through monetary contributions made in stores and online at Toysrus.com/ToysforTots.

Toys “R” Us says its annual nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation raised more than $5.8 million and collected over 200,000 toys.

During the 2015 campaign, customers helped bring holiday joy to some of the 15.5 million kids in need across the U.S. by donating new, unwrapped toys at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores nationwide and through monetary contributions made in stores and online at Toysrus.com/ToysforTots.

Almost every major brand has experimented with SMS marketing services. Some programs have been wildly fruitful while others were abandoned after only a few months. Having seen both small and large retailers implement successful mobile marketing programs, there is little doubt that SMS can drive customer engagement and increase revenue.

Shoptalk is out to break the mold of what constitutes a retail industry event and the clearest indication of that philosophy is a digital brochure that showcases an expanding roster of speakers and the image of a monkey sitting on a toilet. Seriously.
 

Kmart is launching a new social media campaign called “Fit in the Fun” that promotes the enjoyment of healthy activities while also engaging members of its Shop Your Way loyalty program.

The program includes a dedicated Fit in the Fun website as well as a #FitintheFun hashtag campaign. In addition, celebrity fitness instructor Jillian Michaels (who has an established relationship with Kmart) offers online tips and also sells branded merchandise on the new site.

A new feature on Twitter will let advertisers engage consumers more directly than ever before.

For many years, Twitter has offered advertisers a service called Promoted Tweets that puts their tweets at the top of users’ content stream with images, videos and/or hashtags encouraging retweets, likes and follows. Now, Twitter is expanding the capability it gives advertisers to directly engage consumers with an offering called “conversational ads.”

As we wrap up another holiday season, it’s time to review some of the most innovative and successful omnichannel promotions launched by retailers.

Some of these promotions were brand new, some were updated versions of established favorites. And some directly drove purchases while others built brand awareness and general holiday goodwill. But all five of the selected campaigns engaged customers in ways that should help boost loyalty long after holiday cheer fades.

Harry & David