Marketing Tactics

NEW YORK — Macy’s is turning to its customers for its next commercial, the retailer’s first national crowd-sourced spot created in celebration of America by Americans. 

HANOVER, Pa. — Synder’s of Hanover is using the 30th anniversary of National Pretzel Day to create a series of nationwide events to engage with consumers.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Strength in the games category enabled Hasbro to increase first quarter revenues by 2% to $664 million compared to $649 million for the same period last year. 

First quarter revenues were negatively affected by $3 million due to the impact of foreign exchange and one less week in the reporting period. The first quarter 2013 was a 13-week period compared to the first quarter 2012, which was a 14-week period.

CINCINNATI — Tide will get in on the 2013 NFL Draft action by offering an endorsement deal to the first player drafted to each of the 32 NFL teams, in celebration of their new colors. 

Tide will also reward fans with a gift delivered via Twitter by each of the contracted rookies during the first and second rounds of the draft. The rookies will also ask the fans to share what team colors mean to them by tweeting out using hashtag #AboutOurColors.

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. — Walmart will exclusively offer the 5-Day Nutrisystem Jumpstart Your Weight Loss Kit at nearly 2,000 stores.

The new 5-Day Nutrisystem Jumpstart Your Weight Loss Kit, including 15 entrees plus desserts, a free meal planner and program guide with access to free weight loss counseling, can be purchased in-store for $44.98. There is also a 5-Day Nutrisystem kit designed for people losing weight to help manage their diabetes available in the pharmacy section of select stores.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — H-E-B, Pampers and Interactions have teamed up to offer an exclusive 60-stop H-E-B Baby “Little Texans Tour,” sponsored by Pampers. 

The tour aims to promote healthy families and the assortment of infant and baby products offered at H-E-B stores. 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart and its foundation gave more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind contributions throughout the last fiscal year, the company announced Monday. 

It’s the most money and in-kind donations given by Walmart or any U.S. retailer in a fiscal year ever , according to the company. The growth in global giving was largely due to increased in-kind donations in the U.S. to local food banks and families impacted by disasters.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. reported Friday a loss of $28.4 million for the quarter ended Feb. 2, compared with a profit of $24 million in the year-ago period. Results, impacted by costs associated with the company’s November 2012 IPO, edged analysts’ expectations.

Revenue surged 30% to $398.1 million from $305.2 million last year, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $390.5 million. Same-store sales advanced a hefty 26%.

Chairman, president and CEO of Fast Retailing Tadashi Yanai is among the 2013 Time 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

Yanai was the only retail and CPG company executive to make the list. Other notables with a connection to the retail industry included Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon, Paypal co-founder Elon Musk and fashion designer Michael Kors. The complete list will appear in the April 29 issue of Time, available now.

Walmart has rolled out a new line of Disney paints and specialty finishes available exclusively at select Walmart stores.

The Disney Paint line consists of “112 exclusive colors grouped into three palettes, with imaginative Disney-themed names, designed to give parents and children options at every stage, from infant to tween,” said Jason Stewart, director of softlines product development for Disney Consumer Products.