March 11, 2013
Print isn't dead, and NewPoint Media proved it with a clever, simple campaign designed to drive awareness of print as an evolving—and thriving—medium.
February 01, 2013
What's in our mailbox this month: home furnishings catalogs. Let's get cozy.
October 23, 2012
Data isn't new and neither are most basic marketing techniques. Put the two together, though, and magic could happen.
July 01, 2012
Outdoor furniture/entertaining: Which catalog would you want to invite to your backyard party?
January 01, 2012
In addition to long-standing tenure in the retail space, Wal-Mart Stores and Sears Holdings Corp. apply a similar approach to direct marketing, including direct mail, email, social media outreach, loyalty rewards and extensive e-commerce platforms.
December 16, 2011
Online retailer Zappos.com has launched Zappos Now, a digital catalog and lifestyle magazine app that includes editorial content on current fashion trends and the ability to shop directly within the app, the company said Dec. 16.
December 01, 2011
Office supply chains Staples and Office Depot started the year in equally disappointing fashion.
November 03, 2011
David Friedman, Sears Holdings Corp.'s SVP and president of marketing, will resign his post in January. Imran Jooma, SVP and president of e-commerce at Sears Holdings, will manage the retailer's online, marketing, financial services and pricing business units.
September 16, 2011
Jeff Hassemer, VP of product strategy at Experian Marketing Services, discusses his company's upcoming digital catalog app and how brands can leverage marketing technology to build customer loyalty.
Google has launched an app for Apple's iPad tablet that enables retailers to digitize print catalogs and embed rich-media content, such as videos. Catalogs from retailers including Macy's, Pottery Barn and Sephora are available through the Google Catalogs app at launch.
Retailer IKEA has hired McCann NY as its global Agency of Record for its catalog, the company said on August 3.
Sears Holdings has named Edgar Huber president and CEO of Lands' End, the company said in an August 1 statement. He will replace former CEO Nicholas P. M. Coe, who left the company in May to become CEO of Bath & Body Works Brand Management.
Mike Boylson, CMO of JCPenney, retired this month after more than eight years as the retailer's marketing leader and 33 years at the company. JCPenney has yet to name a replacement.
Zappos.com, best known for its online shoe store, is expanding its presence in consumers' mailboxes.
The US Postal Service said March 24 that it will eliminate 7,500 positions in the next year as part of an effort to cut $750 million in costs. The USPS will cut the positions through a combination of buyouts, layoffs, and the elimination of some jobs.
The Postal Regulatory Commission said March 24 that the US Postal Service overestimated its potential savings and underestimated potential lost revenues in its proposal to move to five-day-per-week home delivery. The commission's five members issued varying opinions on the plan to cut Saturday delivery, which Congress is expected to debate this session.
March 24, 2011
Pitney Bowes has named Chuck Cordray the first president of its Volly platform, effective April 4. He previously worked as SVP and GM of Hearst Magazines Digital Media. Pitney Bowes is planning a second-half 2011 launch for Volly, which will enable brands to send messages such as bills, promotional mail and catalogs directly to consumers through an app.
The city of Chicago began a mail preference service earlier this month that provides residents with the ability to opt out of receiving selected direct mail materials. The effort, created by nonprofit Catalog Choice, is designed primarily to enable Chicago to save money on sanitation and rid the city of tons of millions of pounds of paper waste.
The US Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union tentatively agreed to a new four-and-a-half-year contact on March 14. The deal, which would run through May 20, 2015, includes a 3.5% wage increase over the life of the contract, with the first raise taking effect in November 2012.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Main Street Fairness Bill into law on March 11, requiring all retailers doing business in the state to collect and remit sales tax. The law, which is effective immediately, requires out-of-state retailers, such as e-commerce merchants with affiliates in Illinois, to collect sales tax on customer purchases and remit them to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The US Postal Service reported a net loss of $451 million in January when mail volume at the organization decreased 1.3% year-over-year to 13.7 billion pieces. The organization, which has said it could run out of money this fiscal year, decreased work hours by 3.3% in January, compared with the prior year.
Retailer JCPenney's 2010 fiscal year net sales increased 1.2% compared with fiscal 2009, the company said February 25. The company's Internet sales increased 4.4% to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2010, compared with the prior fiscal year.
Sears Holdings Corp. named Lou D'Ambrosio president and CEO, effective February 24. He replaced Bruce Johnson, who served as the retail company's interim president and CEO since 2008. D'Ambrosio served as CEO of Avaya, a business communications technology company, from 2006 to 2008.
Outdoors retailer Cabela's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue from direct sales increased 0.5% year-over-year to $386 million. However, revenue in that sector dropped 5.5% during the full year to $999.8 million, compared with the prior fiscal year.
Clothing retailer H&M will launch a US e-commerce site at the end of this year, as well as expand its catalog operations. The Stockholm-based retailer made the announcement January 27 during its fourth quarter earnings when it reported worse-than-expected results, including an 11% year-over-year drop in profit.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Colorado law that required out-of-state online retailers to notify the state of residents' purchases in order to collect sales tax from individual shoppers. The law also required multichannel retailers to notify consumers what tax they owed the state.
Pitney Bowes plans to launch Volly, a consumer-facing communications application, in the second half of this year, the company said January 6. The platform will enable brands to send messages, including bills, promotional mail and catalogs, directly to consumers through the app.
Home furnishings giant Ikea named the finalists in its "Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest" on December 13. The company is using the program, part of a larger initiative including in-store seminars, an employee challenge and advertising, to drive opt-ins for e-mail and catalog requests. The retailer is encouraging consumers to vote on the winner.
Company of the week R2C GroupR2C creates, produces, distributes and measures messages that inspire and compel consumers to do something with a brand to drive commercial advantage. The full-service advertising agency specializes in creative, production, media, analytics and performance. |
What's in our mailbox this month: fitness postcards from Retro Fitness, American Woman Fitness Centers, Union's United Taekwondo Academy, and Bally Total Fitness. (We're totally pumped.)
Social data can improve a brand's bottom line and customer relationships. Just ask brands Infiniti and Diamond Nexus.
Here are three must-have data sets that every marketer should include in his or her email strategy.
