Marketing Tactics

The OfficeMax Green Tie Ball will be held this weekend to raise funds for the beautification of Chicago.

The retailer on Thursday morning disclosed it was the title sponsor of the 21st annual event being held Saturday, September 15. The event is hosted by nonprofit organization Chicago Gateway Green, which is dedicated to greening and beautifying Chicagoland's expressways, gateways and communities. OfficeMax has a strong business presence in the Chicagoland area between its headquarters in Naperville and 45 stores and two distribution facilities.

By William Dudley, [email protected]

We, as a consumer society, are increasingly becoming “mail-order,” or more precisely, online patrons.  Companies such as Amazon, Ebay, Overstock.com, and other specialty retailers are putting increased pressure on traditional brick and mortar shops by offering customers mobile-friendly apps and browsers, adding convenience to their shopping experience.  

GRAPEVINE, Texas — The struggling video game category should see a much-needed boost with the arrival of Nintendo's Wii U.

GameStop is wasting no time getting in on the buzz by announcing that it has begun taking pre-orders for the platform along with many popular Wii U games, including "Call of Duty: Black Ops II," "ZombiU," "New Super Mario Bros. U" and "Batman: Arkham City: Armored Edition."

TORONTO — Target is bringing its REDcard Rewards program to Canada. The company announced that its Canadian customers will receive an additional 5% off every day when shopping at Target with its REDcard products, which include the Target Debit Card and Target RBC MasterCard. Similar to the REDcard Rewards loyalty program in the U.S., the additional savings - which apply to almost everything at Target - will be applied instantly at time of purchase.

OMAHA, Neb. — ConAgra Foods has been named to two leading sustainability indices. For the second straight year the company has earned a spot on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and for the first time, the company has been added to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP’s) 2012 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index.

Fort Lee, N.J. -- The majority of shoppers take notice of such packaging claims as "made in the USA," and most of them are more likely to purchase a product after breaking down demographics.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s Department Stores announced that in support of curing type one diabetes and improving the lives of local children, more than 1,300 Kohl’s associates, friends and family will take part in the JDRF Kohl’s Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sept. 15 at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

And the award for most effective use of social media in the pet category goes to…

Global pet care leader Nestle Purina has created a new national contest called "The Friskies" with a $15,000 grand prize that is sure to set off a new round of online cat videos.

According to the company, many great art forms have awards for the best new work created each year. Films have the Oscars, TV shows have the Emmys and now Internet cat videos have The Friskies.