Social Media

Plano, Texas – Pizza Hut is launching an omnichannel summer promotion tying in to the upcoming release of the Aug. 8 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” live action film. In addition to a custom national television spot and special menu items, the promotion features a number of digital components.

Oakville, Canada – The omnichannel Tim Hortons Duelling Donuts contest kicks off July 7 and at the end of seven weeks, the creator of the next Tim Hortons menu item will be crowned — and they'll win $10,000. New this year, eight finalists will have the opportunity to defend their donut ideas in person to a panel of famous Canadians — Jason Priestley, Jann Arden, Anna Olson and Ben Mulroney.

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook has agreed to acquire LiveRail, an advertising technology company that helps companies serve better ads in the videos that appear on their websites and apps. LiveRail, founded in 2007, also provides marketers with access to premium video inventory and data to help decide where to show their ads.

A lot of retailers hold contests, but few discover winners as worthy of recognition as the difference-makers who participated in specialty retailer Christopher & Banks inaugural Amazing Women contest.

The operator of 543 stores recently named the winners of its Amazing Women contest that was launched in April in conjunction with Mother’s Day. More than 1,700 nominations were received in the contest that sought to celebrate the women who raise, cheer on, care for and support future generations.

Campbell, Calif. – Social shopping site DealsPlus.com has overhauled its site. Starting July 1, DealsPlus users will be able to create, curate and share their own "collections" of products.

Collections make it easy for users to find ideas from like-minded members of the community. For example, users looking for summer home decor inspiration can now "admire" the Summer Home collection and find targeted online deals. As part of the new release DealsPlus will begin working with celebrity and expert collection curators.

No longer content as a social platform for sharing promotional offers, DealPlus.com has relaunched its site to include new capabilities for users to feature curated assortments of merchandise.

Burlington, Vt. - Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Truck is launching a month-long tour in New York City July 1-28 and in Portland, Oregon, July 1-29, giving away free ice cream scoops in an omnichannel promotion. Customers can follow the trucks on Twitter to see where they are located and also send tweets to win direct delivery of free ice cream.

The Walmart Foundation has kicked off a summer-long initiative to help children and families gain access to nutritious meals and learn healthy-eating habits. Walmart is also collaborating with Chef Lorena Garcia, chef and author with TV appearances on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” and NBC’s “Biggest Loser,” to launch the Eat Healthy Together Challenge on Twitter.