Marketing Tactics

New York City -- Walgreens’ Duane Reade division on Wednesday will open its most ambitious and elaborate store to date, a flagship in downtown Manhattan. The 22,000-sq.-ft. drug store, located at 40 Wall Street, will have an upscale focus, and feature a number of exclusive services and amenities aimed at the Wall Street clientele.

Houston -- Greensboro, N.C.-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers and Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group announced Thursday that they have entered into a 50/50 joint venture agreement to develop a Tanger Outlet Center south of Houston, in Texas City.

Phase I is slated for 350,000 sq. ft. of brand name and designer outlet stores; the 55-acre site is expected to accommodate future expansion of about 120,000 sq. ft.

Tenant announcements and ground breaking ceremonies are slated for July; the center is scheduled to open in summer 2012.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. announced that it plans to open its first Gap store in Egypt this July and its first Gap and Banana Republic stores in Morocco this October. These store openings will mark the company’s first entry into Africa.

As part of an existing franchise agreement with The Fawaz Al Hokair Group, Gap will open its first Egyptian store in the Mall of Arabia in the capital city of Cairo. Two additional Gap stores will open at Cairo’s City Stars Mall and Sun City Mall this October.

NEW YORK — Barnes & Noble is promoting the Nook by inviting customers to come into its stores to compare their e-readers with company's own version. Beginning July 1, customers can purchase a Nook, starting at $139, and receive an instant Nook Book collection -- 30 free digital titles valued at $315. 

Sam’s Club is at it again this weekend. Attempting to persuade members to upgrade to the $100 Plus membership level by dangling the additional savings possible via the eValues program in front of them during a key seasonal sales occasion. The program is innovative and convenient in that money-saving offers are loaded directly onto members’ cards, but encouraging upgrade activity in the current economic climate is quite challenging, even when the immediate savings available via the eValues program more than offset the additional membership fee.

Quick. Name the winner of this past season’s American Idol.

Did the name Scotty McCreery immediately come to mind? The country crooner’s distinctive voice probably gives him a better chance of commercial success than some other recent winners, and Walmart is doing its part to jump start his career along with other Idol runners up.

Former and short-time Walmart executive Robert Atencio is among a group of marketers slated to interview former P&G chairman and CEO A.G. Lafley during an event called Shopper Insights in Action. The 11th annual event is billed as a riveting brainstorming session in which the former P&G head will share thoughts on the future of research, marketing, retail and the evolution of the changing consumer. Atencio, who formerly served as VP insights and customer strategy at Walmart, is currently VP global insights at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.

Lewisville, Texas -- Consumer deal-seeking is here to stay, according to a new report by Parago. The study, Shopper Trend Report: Values, Deals & How Far They’re Willing To Go To Get Them, provides a comprehensive look at the entire deal landscape, from traditional clipped coupons to mobile applications. It finds that deal-finding has evolved from a necessity for cash-strapped consumers to an attractive, trendy activity that all shoppers now pursue. It also examines how these trends will likely continue to affect shopper behavior.

Indianapolis -- More than half of U.S. consumers who’ve made at least one purchase on their smartphone have done so based on a marketing message delivered via mobile email, according to a new study by ExactTarget.

While calling, texting and emailing remain the most frequent daily activities for smartphone users, the study found consumers are increasingly using their smartphones for more than the basics.


Key findings of the research include:

By Brad Tuckman, ksckreate.com