Marketing Tactics

New York -- Ann Inc. said Thursday that actress Kate Hudson will continue her role as the face of Ann Taylor for its spring and summer 2013 campaigns.

However, said the retailer, this year Hudson's role will grow as both a design influence and charitable ambassador as well. For the summer collection, she will be developing a capsule collection for the brand. In addition, Hudson will join the Advisory Council for the company's ANNpower Vital Voices Initiative, a program that supports the empowerment of young women.

HAMPSHIRE, U.K. — Retailers are predicted to spend $55 billion on mobile marketing by 2015, which is almost double the $28 billion expected this year, according to a new study by Juniper Research.

BrandMasters is the name of a new experiential marketing agency created by Crossmark, one of the companies that executes in store activities at Walmart under the Shopper Events banner.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target is giving "Twi-hards" an exclusive way to experience the final installment of the "Twilight" series with its offering of a three-disc deluxe edition DVD and exclusive two-disc deluxe edition Blu-Ray. Available only at Target stores on March 2 and for preorder at Target.com now, the exclusive Target version features more than 50 minutes of never-seen-before bonus content giving Twilight fans a new way to experience the saga.

City of Commerce, Calif. -- The founding family of the 99 Cents Only Stores chain has been fired by its owners, with retail veteran Richard Anicetti and Michael Fung taking over top executive roles.

The retailer said that Eric Schiffer (CEO), Jeff Gold (president) and Howard Gold (EVP) are “no longer employed by the company” and that Richard Anicetti has been named interim CEO. Schiffer is the son-in-law of founder David Gold while Jeff and Howard are his sons.

NEW YORK — Actress Kate Hudson is extending her relationship with Ann Taylor by developing a capsule collection for the fashion retailer. In addition, Hudson will return as ambassador of its spring and summer 2013 campaigns. 

BrandMasters is the name of a new experiential marketing agency created by Crossmark.

When Target recently announced its new online price matching policy, I’m sure I wasn’t the only retail analyst whose first thought was: “This could be a pretty big deal.” While a number of retailers (including Target itself) have experimented with similar price-matching or pricing guarantee programs in the past, this new policy takes things to a new level.