Marketing

Sam's Club and WhatToExpect.com, the online home to Heidi Murkoff's What to Expect pregnancy and parenting brand, announced an exclusive retail program on WhatToExpect.com. According to a press release, as the exclusive deals retailer for WhatToExpect.com in 2012, Sam's Club is dedicated to providing baby care resources to its members and WhatToExpect.com moms and dads-to-be.

Mass merchandiser Sam's Club has made a deal with the pregnancy and parenting brand of an author who has signed on to write articles in its in-store magazine. The retailer announced a partnership with WhatToExpect.com to offer baby products on the site. 

Gap, which drew legions of young adults in the 1990s with classic khakis and swing-dancing ads, is again banking on young, hip customers to resuscitate its sales. Too bad they're broke now. Weighed down by higher-than-average unemployment, student loan debt and concerns that the economy will continue to struggle, Americans 18-years-old to 34-years-old are increasingly reluctant to shop, according to researcher WSL Strategic Retail.

Andrew Kordek, co-founder and chief strategist of Trendline Interactive, and DJ Waldow, founder/CEO of Waldow Social, will entertain you while at the same time offering insights, actionable tips and best practices around email marketing.

Target announced today it's donated $37,500 in monetary support and product to assist with tornado relief efforts underway in the Central United States. The donation includes $25,000 cash for the American Red Cross to aid their efforts and an additional $12,500 that can be used either as cash or product donations to local organizations in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri.

Luxury fashion retailer Cole Haan has launched a new marketing campaign strategically designed for New York City dwellers. CQLE HAAN uses the letters of the various New York City subway lines (including the Q) to categorize the different items in its new collection. From social media to traditional and mobile advertising, the company is taking advantage of various channels to support its new line. In the subway, print ads show the brand spelling out its name with iconic subway lines — "Q" line replaces the "O" in its name.

Ellen DeGeneres' ads for J.C. Penney began airing during the 84th annual Academy Awards. They've been mired in controversy ever since the company announced DeGeneres as the spokesperson. The organization One Million Moms has since denounced the company and demanded her removal because she's a lesbian.

Levi's latest ad campaign is all about how its jeans fit different kinds of bodies. Unfortunately, the company doesn't seem to understand what "different" means.

Kate Spade is running mobile commerce-enabled ads as a way to drive sales for its new spring collection. However, it proves to be a combination of great marketing and poor cross-channel execution, therefore a prime example of what not to do.

One father has apologized to a Target employee after storming into a store near Minneapolis. He complained to a manager that his teen daughter was receiving coupons for cribs and baby clothes. Turns out Target knows his daughter better than he did. She really was pregnant.