Marketing

As Zellers gears up for the holiday shopping season, the retailer has decided to put its fans in charge of holiday planning during the busiest time of the year. The Festive Finale campaign will see Zellers' shoppers making the tough decisions — choosing the Facebook exclusive coupon each week, picking the in-store music playlist and recording the radio ads for national broadcast.

Toys"R"Us will air two beloved TV ads from its archives which celebrate the heritage of the Toys"R"Us brand. In addition, the toy retailer will air ads that feature exclusive products on major networks.

The tracking of user activity via smartphones isn't too uncommon these days. Now, an Australian shopping center will obtain fit receivers that track shopper's locations within two meters by identifying unique mobile phone radio frequency codes.

The week before Halloween is always zombie week. This time last year, Sears hit it big with a zombie campaign that turned its website into a zombie-infiltrated dot-com of the walking undead, including the "Blue Zombie Crew, your trusty undead experts."

Tommy Hilfiger just signed on with DailyFeats. In the new campaign, users earn points by completing feats such as having family fun, calling your parents, walking the dog, riding your bike and spending an evening at home. The Hilfiger brand will reward participants with a $10 donation in their name to Millennium Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating poverty, to which the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation announced a $2 million commitment in 2009.

Old Navy has partnered with Telemundo to launch a telenovela-style miniseries for the web. The Spanish-language web novela, "Estilos Robados" (Stolen Styles), is a six-part miniseries that launched Oct. 14 and will air on Fridays through Nov. 18.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month turns even the manliest organizations like the NFL into pink-laden landscapes, all in support of breast cancer research. One way consumers can show their support is by shopping for the cause. Many popular retailers and brands are currently offering products with some or all of the proceeds going to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. For a more comprehensive list of participants, consult the organization's Corporate Partners page.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Mom365 released a new whitepaper titled Direct Marketing to Moms. The joint study by Mom365 and the DMA is the first study of its kind on direct marketing behavior and attitudes of new mothers.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) honored Gilt Groupe with its 2011 Marketer of the Year award at DMA 2011 in Boston. The DMA Marketer of the Year award honors either a company or an individual for outstanding achievements in the multichannel direct marketing community. This year, DMA CEO Lawrence M. Kimmel presented the award to Gilt Groupe.

For marketers determined to improve direct response effectiveness through integrated digital marketing across channels, here are five tips to keep in mind as you roll out or enhance an existing integrated marketing program.