Marketing

Target and Neiman Marcus made headlines last summer when the pair announced they would collaborate on a holiday collection. Now, they're hoping to repeat the accomplishment with an exclusive sponsorship of the Nov. 11 episode of "Revenge," ABC's popular drama. Target's Neiman Marcus collection will be the exclusive sponsor of the Nov. 11 episode of "Revenge," the midseason finale of the soapy Sunday-night series.

Finance chiefs at dozens of U.S. retailers think their companies have so-called showrooming — the phenomenon of shoppers using brick-and-mortar stores to check out merchandise but then buy it online — under control, according to a poll released Tuesday. What CFOs are more concerned about is how consumer confidence may be affected by next month's presidential election, according to an annual poll by BDO USA, the assurance, tax and financial consulting firm.

"Falling for You" is about selling stuff, more or less in real time. Whenever an item appears in the film, it simultaneously flashes on the right side of the screen, where viewers captivated by the lipstick, watch or pants-like apparatus can click on what appears to be either a heart or smudge of insect blood. At the conclusion of the film, viewers can buy everything they've hearted/blood-smudged and social-mediafy it to all their pals. I'm happy to report that the technology works seamlessly.

Q: "I would love to get some advice on increasing catalog orders from retail store customers. We are a tourist-driven business and we want them to order again once they get home from vacation."

Target announced on Tuesday its most ambitious foray into so-called "branded entertainment" with a 12-minute-long film, "Falling for You," that showcased more than 100 home, beauty and fashion items the company is promoting for the fall season.

Yes, the holidays are fast approaching once again. If you havent yet begun to consider how you'll prepare, don't worry, there's still time. Learn more about the state of e-commerce, the evolution of m-commerce and this season's best practices for conversion optimization in several critical areas in this infographic.

In a revealing session at the NEMOA directXchange conference in Groton, Conn. yesterday, David Kravetz, co-founder of Fairytale Brownies, and Wade Lee Jones, director of direct mail and CRM at teen footwear and apparel retailer Journeys, discussed what marketing tactics and channels are driving positive results for their businesses — and which are not. Here's a recap:

Staying true to its 115-year-old brand heritage while evolving to remain relevant to today's consumers is the challenge facing cross-channel retailer Filson. The company's Vice President of Direct Sales Harold Egler outlined those challenges as well as how the company embraces its history in a keynote presentation yesterday at NEMOA's directXchange conference in Groton, Conn.

Listen in as Brad Wolansky, the newly named president of direct and chief marketing officer at Yankee Candle, discusses his new role, his company's integrated cross-channel approach to marketing and holiday marketing plans at Shop.org's Annual Summit in Denver.

There's every indication that during the 2012 holiday season tablets will be as important a shopping accessory as low-interest credit cards. According to the 2012 Shop.org/Forrester Research State of Retailing Online survey, 49 percent of retailers say their average order value from tablet shoppers is now higher than traditional web sales. And nearly three in 10 retailers say they're seeing about the same average order value from tablets as their website.