Marketing Tactics

Brawny gets ‘tough’ to raise $2M for vets
Brawny paper towels are known for being tough, but now the brand is standing strong with wounded service members in need of help.

Georgia-Pacific, the maker of Brawny, announced it has raised $2 million for the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) following its third year of partnering together. WWP is a national organization dedicated to honoring and empowering wounded service members transitioning back to civilian life through unique, direct programs and services.
Jo-Ann offers vets discount
Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores has reinforced its support of the military by introducing an everyday 10 percent discount for all past or present members of the armed forces and their families.

The nation’s leading fabric and craft specialty retailer with 850 stores said all military members, past or present, and their families qualify for the 10 percent everyday discount. To receive the discount, customers must provide proof of military service or military dependent ID upon checkout. The discount is valid in-store only.

Sears an ‘enormous loser’ this holiday

Former top Sears executive Mark Cohen is at it again with harsh words recently about Sears holiday performance and long term viability.

Cohen, former chairman and CEO of Sears Canada turned teacher at Columbia’s business school, appeared on CNBC to share his views on a holiday season with top line growth that appears to have exceeded earlier forecasts.

“Sears again is going to be an enormous loser,” Cohen said.
Kids Rule at Ruum

Ezra Dabah is no stranger to children’s wear. As the former chairman and CEO of The Children’s Place, he helped create a billion-dollar retail powerhouse. Dabah left the company in 2007, but he returned to the kids fashion business with Ruum American Kid’s Wear, a fashion-forward upmarket concept that bowed in 2012 and operates 24 stores, primarily in malls.
Dunkin’ Donuts runs New Year’s Twitter sweepstakes

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts has launched a special New Year's Twitter sweepstakes. Beginning Dec. 29 and continuing through Wednesday, Dec. 31, followers of @DunkinDonuts will be asked a New Year's themed-question each day. Consumers who tweet an answer using the special hashtag #DDNewYearSweeps will be entered to win one of three daily prizes of Dunkin' Donuts coffee for a year. In addition, each day 15 participants will be randomly selected to receive a $100 mobile gift prize.
Verizon: Dec. 26 has highest online traffic of holiday season

New York - The day after Christmas (Dec. 26) posted the highest traffic for online shopping, with 125 points, since the 2014 holiday shopping season began. According to Verizon Retail Index data, year-over-year, traffic attributed to online shopping was on par (125) with the same day in 2013.
Survey: Eight in 10 consumers will shop post-holiday sales

Austin, Texas – Consumers who didn’t get what they wanted for the holidays are taking matters into their own hands. According to new research from digital deals site RetailMeNot, 81% of consumers plan to shop end-of-year sales. Of these shoppers taking advantage of post-holiday savings, more than half (63%) plan to shop for themselves. Millennials are especially interested in after-Christmas sales, as 92% of respondents 18 to 34 years old said they plan to shop during this time.
Initial holiday results: Women’s apparel, jewelry and dining strong; electronics weak

New York - Retail sales in the United States increased 5.5% from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, fueled by demand for women's apparel, jewelry and dining out, according to MastyerCard Advisors. Spending Pulse holiday report. Consumer electronics, which many industry analysts had predicted would be among the strongest categories this holiday season, was actually among the weakest, according to the report, with sales "basically flat" from Black Friday to Dec. 24 and in negative territory starting on Nov. 1.
Author inspired furniture on sale at Sam’s

Sam’s Club is hoping the popularity of author Nicolas Sparks translates to would-be furniture buyers as the warehouse club has launched a new furniture line with a design aesthetic inspired by Sparks’ latest novel.
Amazon ‘Primed’ for New Year after record holiday

Amazon is poised to set new sales records in 2015 after using the allure of free shipping to expose 10 million people to the wide range of benefits that are part of its $99 Prime service.

The key benefit of Prime is unlimited free two day shipping on roughly 20,000 items so offering a trial version of Prime during the time sensitive holiday season could prove to be an excellent tactic to bolster the ranks of paid Prime membership and drive long term loyalty.
Study: Many shoppers plan to buy gift cards this holiday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Spend on prepaid gift cards is on the rise this holiday season, as a significant majority (70%) of shoppers plan to purchase gift cards this season, according to an interim holiday spending report released by Stored Value Solutions, a provider of gift cards and stored value services. According to the report, 92% of shoppers plan to spend either the same amount or more on gift cards than they spent last year. And for the eighth straight year, gift cards have been the most desired holiday gift.
Plug and Play, Simon host Retail CMO Summit Feb. 4-6

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Business accelerator Plug and Play Tech Center and Simon Properties are hosting an event, “Silicon Valley Retail CMO Summit 2015,” Feb. 4-6, 2015 at Plug and Play’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. The event is open to chief marketing officers and other digital marketing decision-makers in the retail industry, and features expert speakers, a networking dinner, and an afternoon of themed start-up presentations.