Pinterest

St. Louis – Fancy Feast Gourmet Cat Food is launching a Pinterest sweepstakes called “Cheese Affair Pin to Win.” The contest, promoting the company’s new line of cheddar cheese-flavored products, offers cheese-themed prizes including a trip to New York to attend an event hosted by cheese expert and author Liz Thorpe. Consumers are eligible to win prizes by pinning certain cheese-themed images from Fancy Feast on their Pinterest boards during certain time periods through Aug. 11.

Minneapolis -- Target is making a concerted effort to pick up business from college students with a multifaceted omni-channel marketing campaign. At the center of the campaign is the Bullseye University Digital Experience, a new live online experience featuring popular YouTube personalities in a digital dorm. From July 15-18, college kids will be able to shop products from the digital dorm rooms, interact with the YouTube personalities, enter to win prizes and participate in live-streamed events such as concerts and workout sessions.

Retailers share online insights

Speakers at the recent Internet Retailer Conference & Exposition in Chicago discussed how the retail industry is using a number of digital technologies to assist performance in areas such as CRM, marketing, driving customer traffic and converting sales. Following are a few brief highlights:

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Domino’s is offering a new program called “Second Hand Logos” on Pinterest. Ten artists are using old materials featuring the old Domino’s logo, such as uniforms and signage, to create artwork which is displayed for sale on Domino’s Pinterest page. In addition to selling products, the Pinterest page will also provide updates on art projects and information on the artists. A separate dedicated e-commerce page will also bring visitors directly to the Domino’s Pinterest page.

HSN may have been a pioneer in using TV as a shopping channel, but the retailer is using emerging technology to become a much broader enterprise. As HSN CEO Mindy Grossman detailed during a keynote session at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago, this is not your mother’s HSN. Not by a long shot.

“We’re engaging consumers away from TV,” said Grossman. “There is a dramatic transformation of the consumer. They are being reshaped by technology, social networks and mobility.”

North Wilkesboro, N.C. – Despite discussions about the need for retailers to develop a “social media strategy,” the reality is that social media is not a monolithic entity. Different social media platforms reach different types of consumers, are used for different purposes and draw traffic at different times of the day. Thus, a social media strategy really needs to be a collection of smaller strategies that are built around the dynamics of each individual platform a retailer chooses to leverage.

Little Rock, Ark. – By focusing on its brand story and collaborative boards, Southern lifestyle retailer Bourbon & Boots has dramatically increased cross-channel traffic through its presence on the Pinterest social network.

Founder Matt Price described how Bourbon & Boots has maximized the value of its Pinterest activities during a session at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago.

By Lee Cote, [email protected]

San Francisco – Pinterest, the social sharing network that many retailers use to promote products, is allowing users to share more information with their pins. Pins may now include data such as pricing, availability and where to buy products, recipe information and detailed information about movies.

So far, retailers including Home Depot, Anthropologie, eBay, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Wal-Mart are partnering with Pinterest to make more product information available on pins originating from their e-commerce sites.

Social media giant Facebook is generating lots of buzz with the debut of its app launcher, Facebook Home, which turns existing Android smartphones into a Facebook-centric mobile device. (App launchers are applications that allow users to customize the home screen on their personal devices and add various other functionalities to it.)