Marketing Tactics

Seattle – Starbucks Corp, is partnering with one of the world’s best-known media brands to provide an elevated news experience for users of its mobile app. As part of an expanded agreement with the New York Times, top news of the day as well as a selection of other articles, will be available for free via the Starbucks mobile app for My Starbucks Rewards loyalty members.

Maryville, Tenn. - Ruby Tuesday Inc. has appointed David Skena as chief marketing officer.

During the past nine years, Skena progressed through PepsiCo Inc. with increasing levels of responsibility, most recently serving as the VP of premium and value brands.

In the chief marketing officer role, Skena will be responsible for developing and implementing effective marketing strategies and initiatives to build brand awareness and customer loyalty through traditional media, digital and social channels, and other innovative platforms.

Men's Wearhouse is enlisting the professional sports community to rally fans and reach a lofty goal for its eighth annual National Suit Drive.

In a classic case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Neiman Marcus is deepening its relationship with an organization that could be viewed as a competitor.

LIDS Sports Group has selected a new charity partner that may resonate with many of its customers.

The company's philanthropic arm, LIDS Foundation, has named Our Military Kids as it 2015 national partner. The foundation presented a check of $200,000 to Our Military Kids to help sustain its efforts in keeping military children engaged in athletic, fine arts and tutoring programs.

One of the hottest new shows on HGTV is "Fixer Upper," and now Wayfair is looking to leverage some of that popularity by using the stars of the show in a new ad campaign.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says the Apple Watch is off to “a great start,” although the company did decline to provide specific sales figures for the watch in its third quarter report on Tuesday.

The quest for innovation in the retail industry often requires unconventional partnerships, as Williams Sonoma has proven with its new Harvard smoker.

The retailer tasked one of Harvard University's engineering classes to come up with a better way to barbecue and smoke meats. In the end, a team of students invented a smoker that can eliminate hot spots and keep a constant and precise low temperature both in the smoker and the meat itself. The retailer is now is in the process of developing and producing the unit, which could retail for under $1,000. 

Washington, D.C. - While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ list of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers. According to the State of Retailing Online 2015 report, conducted by Shop.org, Forrester Research Inc. and Bizrate Insights, 25% of retailers surveyed cite Facebook as a top acquisition platform.

Charlotte, N.C. – Belk Inc. is getting the vote out when it comes to selecting that certain look. Working with digital marketing provider HelloWorld, Belk is allowing customers to both submit and vote on “looks” such as dorm room, game room and night out, created with Belk merchandise.