Marketing

The focus of this year's Direct Marketing Association Annual Conference & Exhibition was reflected in its title, The Global Event for Data-Driven Marketers. That focus on data-driven marketing was evident throughout the show. The seminars were packed and a majority of the talks had a focus on and link to how direct marketers manage and use vast streams of multichannel data. Keynote speaker Nate Silver, who rose to fame with his incredibly precise predictions of the 2012 presidential election, reflected on the reliance that marketers have on data and the value of knowing how to use and interpret data correctly.

Less than three months after JC Penney named former Kraft Foods exec Debra Berman to lead the retailer's marketing strategy, she's brought in a whole new agency team, including Doner, EVB and Victors & Spoils, to step up the company's advertising. Their first order of business? A holiday campaign. Ms. Berman, senior VP-marketing, said she determined in September that the

Few retailers have a robust plan ready for the "shortest runway to Christmas since 2002.″ I've had hour-long meetings with nine retailers in the last 20 hours at the Shop.org Annual Summit. One thing that strikes me as surprising as well as concerning is the lack of preparedness for a very short holiday season — only three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most retailers that I met with are still unable to fully fathom the impact of one less week (25 percent less time) on online demand. 

Chic apparel and accessories retailer Tory Burch is leveraging digital channels to fuel its dynamic growth. In addition to its thriving e-commerce business, the retailer has opened company-owned brick-and-mortar stores in growing markets such as Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore, not to mention its wholesale presence in leading department stores such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. Yet there's one constant within all these different channels: a commitment to providing customers the best experience possible.

With our seemingly endless fascination for "The" holiday shopping season — which culminates in important religious holidays like Christmas, Kwanza and Chanukah — we often lose sight of Halloween. But if you've ever worked for a party supply retailer and/or costume supplier (which I have), it's a holiday you never forget. Before the chaos we now call "doorbusters" that occur Thanksgiving weekend, there were the three days before Halloween.

Macy's sees plenty of value in data-driven marketing and believes consumers should hear more from marketers about the benefits. But that doesn't mean the retailer will be secretly tracking shoppers by their mobile phone signals and linking the data with their transactions and home addresses. Speaking yesterday at the D2 Digital Dialogue conference in Cincinnati, Julie Bernard, the retailer's senior vice president, customer strategy, said marketers should speak up more often and forcefully to defend data use and counter negative media coverage. But she said they also need to show restraint.

Macy's is looking to enhance its appeal to Millennial customers by expanding its athletic apparel assortment, which will include Nike, North Face, Under Armour, Calvin Klein Performance and Ideology, to more stores this fall and the addition of Helly Hansen in select locations. This expansion is part of the retailer's Millennial strategy designed to attract a new generation of customers looking for trend, style and value. Macy's will begin rolling out new product for men, women and kids to stores and on macys.com this month.

Fashion designer Kenneth Cole has once again drawn the ire of the internet with a tweet making light of the Syrian conflict. With the debate over America's potential intervention in the Syrian civil war raging, on Thursday the shoe guru tweeted from his personal account: "'Boots on the ground' or not, let's not forget about sandals, pumps and loafers. #Footwear." The reaction online was swift, with legions of Twitter users branding Cole insensitive. "Mocking war to sell fashion? Really?" one user tweeted.

Bass Pro Shops, which mailed its first catalog in 1974, has introduced a new interactive digital catalog app for the iPad to view its several catalogs. The interactive catalog app is available for free on the App Store. "With the launch of the 2013 Saltwater Specialist Interactive Catalog, Bass Pro Shops is leading the way in retail with an app that showcases products and provides shoppers with product demonstrations, tips, and more robust product descriptions and presentations," said Stan Lippelman, vice president of marketing.

Never mind that we've barely bid farewell to swimsuit season. Retailers are already looking ahead to the all-important holiday shopping season. And this year, that means they're looking ahead to … "Thanksgivukkah"? That's the made-up name some are giving to a very real and remarkable coincidence of the calendar — namely, the fact that Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights that normally starts close to Christmas, fall on the same date in 2013 (Nov. 28, to be exact).