Content about Communication

May 15, 2013

Engaging employees with gamification at Walmart

Walmart has partnered with Inward Strategic Consulting to design an innovative way to engage with staff and foster what the company hopes is a fun yet productive work environment that enhances customer experience.

BOSTON — Walmart has partnered with Inward Strategic Consulting to design an innovative way to engage with staff and foster what the company hopes is a fun yet productive work environment that enhances customer experience.

March 8, 2013

Dunnhumby names digital advertising head

Dunnhumby Ltd.,an analyzer of brand value for consumer goods and retail companies, has hired Lung Huang, formerly of Arbitron, as VP digital advertising for global partnerships.

CINCINNATI — Dunnhumby Ltd.,an analyzer of brand value for consumer goods and retail companies, has hired Lung Huang, formerly of Arbitron, as VP digital advertising for global partnerships. In this newly created role, Huang will lead the company’s efforts to expand their integrated suite of solutions across media - both offline (traditional TV and print) and digital (online, mobile, social), across the globe. He will be based in New York City.

November 29, 2012

Multi-channel madness eliminated with new measurement tool

Digital audience measurement firm comScore has launched a new service called Media Metrix Multi-Platform to help advertisers makes sense of how shoppers are interacting with their brands in an increasingly multi-channel world.

November 14, 2012

Retailers poised for most social Christmas yet

Social media will influence how people plan to shop this holiday season nearly as much as word-of-mouth and store advertisements, according to a survey conducted by ConsumerSearch.com, part of the About Group.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Social media will influence how people plan to shop this holiday season nearly as much as word-of-mouth and store advertisements, according to a survey conducted by ConsumerSearch.com, part of the About Group.

July 11, 2012

Coupon search engine names marketing VP

ShopAtHome.com, a coupon search engine, announced that Tim Mayer has joined the company as VP marketing.

DENVER — ShopAtHome.com, a coupon search engine, announced that Tim Mayer has joined the company as VP marketing.

In his new role, Mayer will be responsible for spearheading this objective, overseeing user experience and member engagement.

July 6, 2012

Budget priced brands versus EDLP basics

It may be back to basics in Walmart’s apparel department, but shoppers still crave discounted brands and fashion as evidenced by continued strength at some familiar retailers.

TJX and Ross Stores both posted same-store sales increases of 7% during June, and both companies used the occasion of the better-than-expected results to elevate their profits forecasts. TJX said June sales increase 9% to $2.3 billion, while Ross said its June sales increased 12% to $886 million.

June 27, 2012

Walmart offers more ways to connect with exclusive mobile Internet service

Walmart is offering its customers more ways to connect with the availability of a new prepaid mobile broadband service from TruConnect Mobile.

LOS ANGELES — Walmart is offering its customers more ways to connect with the availability of a new prepaid mobile broadband service from TruConnect Mobile.

Walmart is now the exclusive provider of Internet on the Go, powered by the MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot and a service plan from TruConnect with no monthly fee and where the data balance never expires (if used once a year). This is different from other low-cost prepaid monthly services where unused megabytes are wasted at the end of the month – potentially driving up the cost.

June 14, 2012

Promotional activity contributing to comps

Walmart in May continued its heightened level of advertising activity, hitting the market with an increased number of circulars that contained more pages. For a look at how Walmart’s promotional activity stacked up to other leading retailers, click here to see the last monthly data from Market Track.

April 16, 2012

Leading toy company names new international president

JAKKS Pacific Inc., appointed Carmine Russo president of its international division with responsibility for growing international sales and overseeing marketing, advertising, promotions and distribution operations across all product divisions.

April 2, 2012

Former ad man to head marketing at Target

Target has brought in someone with both advertising and retail experience to oversee its marketing efforts.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target has brought in someone with both advertising and retail experience to oversee its marketing efforts. The company announced that Jeffrey Jones, II has been named as the company’s EVP and chief marketing officer, effective immediately.

February 10, 2012

Walgreens takes circular to the digital age

Walgreens is following in the footsteps of the likes of Target and Walmart in offering a digital edition of its weekly advertising circular that will offer additional items through Walgreens.com and the company's mobile applications.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens is following in the footsteps of the likes of Target and Walmart in offering a digital edition of its weekly advertising circular that will offer additional items through Walgreens.com and the company's mobile applications.

The Sunday circular — read by more than 50 million consumers, according to Walgreens — also will get a new look and feel, designed to improve the shopping experience.

February 2, 2012

Making sense of mobile and marketers tendencies

Mobile marketing has been the “next big thing” long enough that it almost seems like old news. Mobile advertising is projected to reach $55 billion in 2012, and has the distinction of being the fastest medium to reach $1 billion in spending; it took only five years, versus 16 years for the Internet to hit that level of investment.

January 16, 2012

Study: Beauty marketing gone social, marketing forays suggest untapped promise

Beauty brands rapidly are moving ahead with their social and mobile strategies to allow viral campaigns and create new consumer relations opportunities. But there’s no cookie-cutter approach, and brands are experimenting with what approaches work best for their business, according to a new report by consulting and research firm Kline.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Beauty brands rapidly are moving ahead with their social and mobile strategies to allow viral campaigns and create new consumer relations opportunities. But there’s no cookie-cutter approach, and brands are experimenting with what approaches work best for their business, according to a new report by consulting and research firm Kline.

January 10, 2012

Market Track: December 2011

Following a wild ride during Black Friday, the last month of the year in 2011 saw most retailers maintaining similar levels of promotional activities when compared to 2010. The majority of advertisers either saw slight increases in circular and page counts or stayed flat. When looking at both page counts and circular drops overall there was not much change, with a 2% decrease in number of pages and a 1% drop in number of inserts per market.

December 12, 2011

Market Track: November 2011

The Holiday Shopping Season got off to a fast start with sales numbers increasing by 6.6% compared with last year, according to Shopper Trak. Promotional activity started earlier than usual and helped shoppers stay in the know as to where they could find the best deals. Leading up to Black Friday, increases were seen in print for both page counts and circular drops in many instances. In digital there were increases in volume and frequency of online, email and social promotions.

December 7, 2011

Lowe's has praise for the 'creator' customer

During Lowe's annual conference Tuesday, SVP marketing and advertising Tom Lamb defined the company's target customer by first breaking down home improvement consumers into four distinct groups.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — During Lowe's annual conference Tuesday, SVP marketing and advertising Tom Lamb defined the company's target customer by first breaking down home improvement consumers into four distinct groups.

Lowe's target, he said, is on the two largest spending groups, together called "creators."

October 28, 2011

Toys“R”Us holiday promo plans include retro ads and QR codes

Toys"R"Us holiday plans mix technology — QR — codes and retro ads that speak to the company’s heritage.

WAYNE, N.J. — Toys"R"Us holiday plans mix technology, QR codes and retro ads that speak to the company’s heritage.

As part of its 2011 holiday advertising campaign, the chain will air a series of themed television commercials designed to showcase the company's toy expertise and its strengths as a specialty retailer. The commercials include two ads from its archives which celebrate the heritage of the brand. Another group of ads feature products exclusive to Toys“R”Us.

October 25, 2011

NRF concerned over plans to expand Internet domain names

The National Retail Federation announced that it has asked the Commerce Department to delay implementation of a controversial plan to vastly expand Internet domain names, saying retailers and other businesses need more information before moving forward.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation announced that it has asked the Commerce Department to delay implementation of a controversial plan to vastly expand Internet domain names, saying retailers and other businesses need more information before moving forward.

October 7, 2011

HSN takes QR to TV

HSN is bringing Quick Response (QR) codes to a new shopping frontier by becoming the first retailer to use them on television.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN is bringing Quick Response (QR) codes to a new shopping frontier by becoming the first retailer to use them on television.

Through Oct. 10 as part of the company's Innovation Weekend event, HSN will debut QR codes on its HD channel, which currently reaches approximately 43 million households. Customers will be able to scan the QR code of hundreds of products, the company said, giving them access the product information page on their mobile device, learn more about the product and purchase with ease.

September 23, 2011

Whirlpool named to Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Whirlpool announced it has been named to the 2011/2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the seventh consecutive year.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool announced it has been named to the 2011/2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the seventh consecutive year. In 2011, the company's centennial year, Whirlpool was named to both the World and North America lists. The DJSI tracks the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

September 8, 2011

Former Google executive to serve as keynote speaker at PLMA trade show

The Private Label Manufacturers Association announced that Douglas Merrill will serve as the keynote speaker for the organization's 2011 Private Label Trade Show in November.

NEW YORK — The Private Label Manufacturers Association announced that Douglas Merrill will serve as the keynote speaker for the organization's 2011 Private Label Trade Show in November.

Merrill, who served as EVP engineering and chief information officer for Google from 2003 to 2008, will offer attendees perspective on how shoppers and shopping behaviors are changing, and what the coming retail marketplace will look like. The keynote speech will be presented at the annual PLMA Salute to Excellence Breakfast on Nov. 14.

August 29, 2011

Back-to-school ads didn’t make the grade

Target failed to crack a ranking of the top 10 most effective back-to-school ads compiled by Ace Metrix that was dominated by retail competitors and technology companies.

August 15, 2011

Asda customers show off real beauty

Real customers from Walmart's Asda division will be a part of Dove's billboard advertising campaign.

LONDON — Real customers from Walmart's Asda division will be a part of Dove's billboard advertising campaign.

Ten models were chosen as the winners of a competition that ran through Asda earlier this year. Winners were treated to a makeover, colour consultation and professional hair styling before they stepped in front of the camera. George, Asda's clothing division, provided the attire for the shoot.

August 15, 2011

New survey sheds light on QR code use

About 6.2% of 14 million mobile phone users have scanned a quick response or bar code on their mobile device, according to a new ComScore survey.

RESTON, Va. — About 6.2% of 14 million mobile phone users have scanned a quick response or bar code on their mobile device, according to a new ComScore survey.

Among 14,452 users surveyed during the month of June that have scanned a QR or bar code, 58% of them scanned a code at home, while 39.4% and 24.5% of respondents have scanned codes at a retail store or grocery store, respectively. As far as what they scanned, 49.4% said they scanned a QR or bar code found in a newspaper or magazine, while 35.3% scanned product packaging.

July 14, 2011

Whirlpool named to Made in the USA Foundation's Hall of Fame

Whirlpool Corp. announced that it wasinducted into the Made in the USA Foundation's Hall of Fame at an awards dinner on July 2 in Santa Monica, Calif.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — Whirlpool Corp. announced that it was inducted into the Made in the USA Foundation's Hall of Fame at an awards dinner on July 2 in Santa Monica, Calif. Whirlpool was the winner of the Large Kitchen Appliances Category.