Marketing Tactics

Young America (YA), a leading multichannel marketing promotions company, has named two of its executives to industry board and councils.

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm is launching what it calls “We Love Local Small Business Grant” contest, designed to support U.S.-based artists, makers and designers as they grow and scale their businesses.

The contest launches Aug. 12 with open online submissions, followed by in-store portfolio reviews in five stores across the country. The public will vote online for one of 20 finalists selected by West Elm, and the winner will be announced on Nov. 19.

Austin, Texas -- A Shoppers Trend report released by RetailMeNot found that, once kids leave the nest, parents are just as ready as their kids to start a new chapter in life. In fact, nearly three-in-four parents (74%) surveyed indicated they would do things differently once their kids leave the house, with traveling (42%), spending time with friends (37%) and pampering themselves (33%) topping the list of changes.

Home furnishings retailer West Elm, the fast-growing division of Williams-Sonoma with 58 stores and counting, plans to launch a contest called “We Love Local Small Business Grant.”

Designed to support U.S.-based artists, makers and designers as they grow and scale their businesses, the small business grant contest will this week with open online submissions.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot, Inc. has amped up its military hiring efforts by teaming with Military.com to provide job opportunities to veterans.

Cleveland -- WorkPlace Impact found in a recent survey that 49% of working female consumers are making millions of trips between Monday and Friday. What’s more, 46% of the women that WorkPlace Impact surveyed reported that they regularly purchase groceries on their way to or from the office or during a lunch break.

Further affirming that working women often have groceries on their mind during the workday, the study also found that 84.4% of the women surveyed said they regularly or occasionally add items to their grocery shopping lists at work.

Nordstrom has launched its first-ever private label give-back brand, Treasure&Bond, which will be available in the T.B.D. clothing department at 86 stores around the country and on nordstrom.com.

Five percent of net profits of Treasure&Bond will go to nonprofits that work to empower women and girls.

New York -- The latest SpendingPulse report from MasterCard showed that U.S. retail sales rose 4.6% year-over-year in July, the largest year-over-year gain since October 2012.

Lodging, Airlines and Restaurants were among the top categories for U.S. retail sales last month, while Automotive, Grocery and Luxury items (excluding Jewelry) were less sought after by consumers.