Marketing Tactics

Real-time broadcasting and commerce company Brandlive announced that it would be partnering with New Balance for a four-day campaign to debut additions to the shoe company’s 880 line.

Through Aug. 14, Brandlive will introduce retailers and New Balance to the sneakers, and New Balance will use the platform to train field representatives and brief them on the new line of shoes.

Boise, Idaho - More than half of back-to-school shoppers will not purchase computers this year. According to the Crucial.com Back-to-School Shopping Report, which includes responses from 1,000 adults in the U.S., found that 57% of respondents do not plan to purchase laptops, desktops, tablets, or mobile devices for school this year, as a vast majority of consumers are increasingly concerned with becoming more frugal.

San Francisco – The Grand Cities Mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota leads all U.S. shopping malls in both the presence of shoppers who live and the presence of shoppers who work within three miles.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – The Wet Seal Inc. is launching its new Wet Seal + Plus banner with 30 new stores opening Aug. 16. The stores are opening in California, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

San Francisco -- Gap is launching the inaugural GapKids Class of 2014, a social media contest inviting parents to submit photos of their kids for the chance to be featured in a 2015 GapKids marketing campaign. This is Gap's next generation of Casting Call, a marketing program that lasted six years.

Grapevine, Texas - A new, streamlined trade-in program will launch nationwide at all GameStop stores on Aug. 18 that simplifies all the variables that affect the amount customers are eligible to receive when selling a game in a store. As a result, GameStop now has more than 100 games worth $20 or more.

Eden Prairie, Minn. – Supervalu Inc. is hosting the company’s first-ever national sales expo, a three-day trade event, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The expo will feature more than 20 educational sessions and more than 330 expo booths, providing more than 3,900 independent grocery retailers from more 1,250 stores the opportunity to gain insights, merchandising ideas and grocery retail solutions from industry experts.

North Bergen, N.J. - The Vitamin Shoppe will host its latest "Share the Health" expo on Aug. 16, in more than 600 stores nationwide. As part of this event, each store will offer its own specialized festivities, such as free product samples and consultations with local wellness partners.

This marks the ninth Share the Health Expo hosted by the Vitamin Shoppe since 2012. The Vitamin Shoppe stores will host wellness partners from their communities throughout the day, ranging from local gyms and spas to chiropractors and product representatives.

Retail trade event organizer Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) name media veteran Joseph Tarnowski to the newly created position of chief content officer.

Tarnowski will lead the development of ECRM’s content platform to deliver actionable information and insights to retail buyers and suppliers such as original research and insights from ECRM Data, the company’s business intelligence division.

The smart home phenomenon is coming to dinner this Thanksgiving and Jennie-O and smart thermometer manufacturer iDevices are bringing the technology.