Marketing Tactics

As demand for American baby products increases among Chinese shoppers, Babyhaven not only saw an opportunity, it ran with it.   Babyhaven is an online retailer of baby and children’s merchandise in the United States. Like other brands however, the company is feeling pressure from competitors like Amazon, Walmart, and other traditional category retailers, such as Babies “R” Us, that can not only compete on price, but can offer speedier delivery windows.   

Pilot Flying J has added a new title to its management team.    The company announced that Whitney Haslam-Johnson, previously VP of brand and customer experience, has been named to the new position of chief experience officer at Pilot Flying J. Johnson is also a member of the company’s board.   

New subscribers are bolstering marketers’ subscription bases by leaps and bounds, yet click rates continue to decline.   New subscribers make up an average of 6% of marketers' subscriber bases. This is an 8% increase year-over-year (YoY), and 30% jump over the last three years, according to “Q1 2017 Email Marketing Compass: The New Age of Email Marketing,” a report from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.   

Snapchat’s newest filters are moving beyond the selfie.   The company is rolling out a new augmented reality ad division that lets users overlay marketers’ life-like filters on any photo they snap with their smartphone, according to ReCode.   Warner Brothers is the unit’s first advertiser, tying the lenses to promote its new movie, “Everything, Everything.” Dunkin Donuts and Netflix are next in line to launch the service, the report said.  

The countdown is on to the highly-anticipated U.S. debut of a sequel to the popular holiday-themed movie “Love Actually.” 

Outdoor retailer REI is setting up shop in a fast-growing gym niche.   REI and Momentum TM Indoor Climbing are launching REI Co-op Climb, which will serve as a hub for climbing gear, programming and events at each of Momentum’s new climbing gyms. Expert instructors from REI’s Outdoor School will help Momentum members and guests gain skills and confidence through gym to crag classes.   

Nordstrom is welcoming its newest retail curation — one that is centered on wellness.   The department store chain is creating an experience around goop, the modern lifestyle brand founded by Gwyneth Paltrow, through its Pop-In@Nordstrom concept — an ongoing series of themed pop-up shops. Pop-In@Norstrom, which was developed and curated by Olivia Kim, VP of creative projects at Nordstrom, is designed to feature a different brand of new, often exclusive merchandise every four to six weeks.   

JCP ended its last fiscal on a moderately upbeat note -- especially on the profit front, where it managed to push into the black. These first quarter results change the mood music to a much more somber tone and undoubtedly represent a setback in the company's recovery plans.