Marketing Tactics

Why has Google arguably become the most popular advertising platform on the planet, attracting a whopping $36.5 billion in ad spending in 2011?  And why has Facebook, with an expected IPO valuation of around $100 billion, become such a juggernaut in digital marketing?

The short answer is both Internet platforms combine huge audiences and some capacity to understand individual preferences (based on online behavior and conversation) in order to help brands engage the right consumers with more relevant advertising content and dialogues. 

The most exciting news coming to Target stores this year isn’t some new designer exclusive or enhancement to REDcard Rewards, but rather a return to operational normalcy as the PFresh remodeling program winds down. This phenomenon won’t generate the same publicity as a Jason Wu pop-up store, but the impact on shoppers and sales promises to be greater.

New York -- McDonald’s, Whole Foods Market and Best Buy are among the retailers participating in a new American Express program that allows shoppers to load discounts onto their American Express cards via Twitter.

Seattle -- Starbucks will open its largest location in Europe, in the center of Amsterdam, on March 9. The 4,500-sq.-ft. store is located in the vault of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank, a landmark building on Amsterdam’s famous Rembrandt Square.

Walmart is guilty of greenwashing to enhance it corporate reputation, and it would take the company three centuries at the current pace to reach its goal of being supplied 100% by renewable energy, according to a group critical of Walmart sustainability efforts that others have lauded.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy Tuesday made its Sacramento, Calif. debut with the opening of two new stores in the region. The retailer plans to open five new stores in the Sacramento area this month.

Target has some ambitious growth plans for the next five years, and to help suppliers participate in that growth Retailing Today has partnered with the consulting firm Sales Is Not Simple to host a unique event on April 26 in downtown Minneapolis.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens customers can now access exclusive offers when they check in at any Walgreens store through Foursquare.

The drugstore chain said customers that check in via Foursquare instantly will receive a unique scannable coupon via their smartphone, which is redeemable in the store and does not require texting, reply or other steps.