Marketing Tactics

Louisville, Ky. -- Papa John’s is launching a television commercial starring iconic sportscaster Jim Nantz, and Papa John’s founder, chairman and CEO, John Schnatter, touting the company’s online ordering platform. The commercial also reminds consumers that Papa John’s was the first national pizza company with online ordering at all of its U.S. delivery restaurants in 2001.

The ability to integrate more data from more sources faster than ever to accelerate decision-making forms the core value proposition of an the new SAS Customer Intelligence solution unveiled this week at the software company’s Global Forum.
 

Attica, Ohio -- Affiliate marketer WP Marketing LLC, has opened a new online shopping mall at myextremedeals.com/pine8734. As an affiliate marketing company, WP Marketing does not warehouse or sell products, but instead researches them on the online shoppers' behalf.  

New York — Specialty apparel retailer Express has opened a three-level 28,000-sq.-ft. store in the I. Miller building New York City’s Times Square.

“It’s Express on steroids,” said Michael Weiss, the chairman and chief executive officer of Express. “This is an elevated presentation where the homes for each category are much more defined.”

More than 360 select Loblaw banner stores across Canada nabbed the world record for the most wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese cracked simultaneously, as declared by a Guinness World Records adjudicator. Officially, 1,008 wheels were cracked in more than 360 Loblaw banner stores simultaneously across Canada.

New York -- J. Crew Group Inc. reported a 42% decrease in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit amid higher costs. Net income fell to $5.92 million in the quarter, which ended Feb. 1., down from $10.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue increased 6.7% to $686.2 million. Retail store sales rose 5% to $438.6 million and direct sales jumped 10% to $238.1 million

Same-store sales, which includes direct sales, rose 3%. Excluding a calendar shift, comparable-store sales increased 4%.

Major changes in retailers’ use of digital coupons and free standing insert promotions were evident in 2013 and especially pronounced at Walmart, Target and Kroger, according to an extensive analysis conducted by the Marx division of Kantar Media.

Retailers’ overall advertising expenditures were relatively in 2013 when compared to the prior year; however, there were large spikes in digital coupon events and free standing insert (FSI) coupon promotion pages.
 

American Eagle has had a rough winter. Robert Hanson resigned as the company’s CEO following disappointing holiday sales, and severe winter weather contributed to weak fourth-quarter results.

Interim CEO Jay Schottenstein looked on the bright side as shares dropped nearly 7%, saying that the company was taking steps to bring greater focus and excitement to its product offering and better engage its core customers.