Marketing Tactics

New York - Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer of TripAdvisor, has been appointed to the XO Group board of directors and will serve as an independent director on the board's Compensation Committee. XO Group is parent company of wedding and pregnancy sites including The Bump, The Nest and The Knot.

As today’s healthcare market continues to evolve, CVS Caremark’s portfolio of enterprise assets is enabling the company to provide innovative solutions and products that are delivering results, as evidenced by its “strong” second-quarter results released Tuesday morning.

As an article that appeared recently right here in Chain Store Age noted, there is something interesting going on with back-to-school shopping this year.

Pittsburgh -- Smartphone-generated revenue by consumers to retailer smartphone-optimized websites was up 97.6%, from July 2014 versus July 2013, according to Branding Brand, a mobile commerce platform.  

The firm’s Mobile Commerce Index for July 2014 shows that smartphones generated 34.9% of total online visits (61.8% iOS, 37.4% Android) up 19.9% from July 2013. Meanwhile, the market share of non-mobile (desktop) visits decreased 13.7%, from July 2013 to July 2014.

Hillshire Farm is introducing its Hillshire Farm Naturals line of lunchmeat ahead of the start of the school year.
 
The meats in the lineup are preservative-free and don’t contain any nitrates, nitrites, or any artificial coloring or flavors. The new variety will come in black re-sealable tubs, and include two varieties of turkey breast — slow roasted and smoked — as well as black forest and honey roasted ham.
 

Fitness guru Jillian Michaels and Kmart this month plan to launch a new line of performance activewear branded as Impact by Jillian Michaels as part of Kmart's strategy to expand and strengthen health and wellness offerings.

The product line will be available online beginning August 10 for Kmart’s Shopyourway.com members and in stores on August 17 with prices ranging from $10.99 to $36.99. The line of apparel and accessories encompasses categories such as core training, running, yoga and lifestyle.

Parsippany, N.J. - Facebook and RB, a provider of health and hygiene products, have entered into a multi-year, nine-figure global partnership. The two companies have committed to integrating members of their global sales, marketing and creative teams to connect RB brands like Lysol, Mucinex, MegaRed and Air Wick with consumers on Facebook.

Build-A-Bear Workshop CEO Sharon John will be joining Jack in the Box’s board of directors, effective September 18.

John has more than 25 years of retail marketing, branding and executive management experience in the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Build-A-Bear Workshop in 2013, she served three years as president of the Stride Rite Children’s Group, a footwear division of Wolverine Worldwide with more than 300 stores in the U.S. and abroad.