Social Media

The holidays are becoming an increasingly social event, as evidenced by the promotional campaigns of two major department store chains this season.

According to Adweek, both Target and Macy’s are heavily leveraging a variety of social media platforms to engage consumers for the 2015 holiday season. Target has increased the percentage of its overall paid media spend represented by social to 12%, up 30% from about 9% in 2014.

Lowe’s has a new chief marketing officer and a new senior vice president of strategy, insights and planning.

Target Corp. has long been an innovator in retail marketing and merchandising. But its latest efforts to think outside the box are taking it even further afield.

REI's plea asking shoppers to skip Black Friday and go outside has prompted nearly 1 million endorsements for the retailer's #OptOutside social media campaign.

REI's plea asking shoppers to skip Black Friday and go outside has prompted nearly 1 million endorsements for the retailer's #OptOutside social media campaign.

The Seattle-based retailer announced Monday that more than 150 other companies, nonprofit organizations and agencies that support state and national parks are also encouraging people to spend Black Friday outside. As Thanksgiving approaches, REI says it plans to recognize the hundreds of thousands of people and partner organizations that are opting to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family.

When it comes to increasing brand awareness on social media for the holidays, a few chains stand out.

For Toys “R” Us chairman and CEO David Brandon, it’s all about having a successful holiday in 2015 — a short-term goal that he believes will pave the way to leveraging longterm opportunities.

Specialty apparel retailer New York & Company is targeting social media-savvy young women with a new promotional campaign that brings jeans into the digital realm.

New York & Company is promoting its new line of Soho jeans with a rich media campaign featuring American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson. Through the trends section of its main e-commerce site (avoiding any content silos), New York & Company displays images of Hudson that can bring the customer directly to a product page for purchase.