Social Media

By Ken Nische, [email protected]

There are many trends — practical, psychographic and attitudinal — that are incubating during the retail “reboot” that’s taking place in the U.S. economy. This reboot is affecting all types and sizes of retail, brick-and-mortar and online. The key is putting these trends to work for you.

Wayne, N.J. — Toys“R”Us raised $4 million and collected nearly 350,000 toys during its 2012 charitable holiday campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

The toy retailer teamed up with retired NBA basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, and encouraged customers to “Give Back with Shaq” by making new, unwrapped toy donations in Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores nationwide, as well as monetary contributions in-store and online.

NEW YORK and ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — Leading global e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Inc. has rebranded Buy.com, which it acquired May 2010, to Rakuten.com Shopping.

Between now and January 30, merchants and consumers will still be able to go to Buy.com to access Rakuten’s U.S. subsidiary. Starting January 31, however, the site url will change to Rakuten.com. Anyone going to Buy.com will be redirected to the new url.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Select Kmart locations will carry apparel and accessories collections developed by pop superstars Adam Levine and Nicki Minaj in an effort to boost sales. Both collections will also be available via the ShopYourWay.com social shopping platform.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The Sembler Co. announced Monday that, in celebration of the firm’s 50th anniversary, it has launched a new website, Sembler.com.

This is the second major revision to the website since the initial launch in 2002. With technology and social media changes, the new site enables better interaction among The Sembler Co., its clients, vendors, and associates.

CINCINNATI — Bounty touted the absorbency and strength of each small sheet of Select-A-Size paper towels at the 2013 Rose Bowl Game’s VIP Tailgate.

Beyonce and Pepsi are reaching out to football fans to participate in a unique crowdsourcing initiative for this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Super Bowl XLVII is scheduled for February 3 in New Orleans and Beyonce is the featured entertainer for the Pepsi sponsored half time show. What’s different about this year’s event is the beverage brand and entertainer have issued an open call for fans to submit a poses that will be used in an opening video that welcomes Beyonce to the stage.

PLANO, Texas — Dr Pepper has launched its latest advertising campaign featuring real people and their “one-of-a-kind” stories.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine is extending its reach into cyber territory to offer consumers home-improvement project ideas for the New Year.

Since its launch in 1998, the nearly 15-year-old magazine has enjoyed what it touts as one of the largest circulations for a free publication nationwide. Evolving with the times, the magazine now has a top-rated free iPad app in the iTunes Newsstand, as well as a robust following on Pinterest and more than 1,000 how-to videos available online at YouTube.com/Lowes.

The way in which retailers market to consumers has undergone considerable change in recent years, particularly in light of the popularity of social media platforms. Indeed, social media has become essential to retailers’ marketing efforts, according to a recent BDO USA survey, which found that 86% of retail CMOs included social media in their holiday 2012 marketing plans.