Marketing

Six years after the launch of Facebook, North American consumers in the valued 18-34 year-old demographic prefer by a wide margin to learn about marketing offers via postal mail and newspapers rather than online sources such as social media platforms, according to national survey research from ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting.

As the back-to-school shopping season winds down, retailers still have the opportunity to engage consumers by helping them make smart, informed and value-driven choices.

What a difference a deal makes. Groupon launched its first nationwide deal, $25 off a $50 purchase at Gap. The promotion, which was available in every city, briefly crashed Groupon’s servers as deal-happy consumers clicked on the 50 percent discount and pinged their friends.

Piperlime has raised the ire of some of its Facebook fans with a series of cheeky — or "snotty," according to detractors — wall posts last week. The Gap brand began posting updates on Facebook and Twitter such as "Every time you wear sweatpants in public, a single guy leaves New York" and "Let's put Saturday-night effort into Sunday afternoon." While some fans found the posts entertaining, even applauding Piperlime for attacking sweatpants, others were enraged.

Just as recession battered consumers are trickling back to malls, clothes makers in the U.S. face a tough choice. Squeezed by ballooning raw material, labor and freight costs, manufacturers are fretting they might have to raise prices in fragile markets to maintain margins.

In this FREE whitepaper, eM+C has pulled together 13 tips we believe comprise the best mobile tactics and strategies our experts have to offer to succeed in mobile marketing and advertising.

Loyalty programs are frequently evaluated on the basis of biased metrics, which lead companies to believe that the programs are more effective than they really are.

As retailers head into the critical back-to-school season, the industry's second-biggest selling period, they're using an array of new tools and deals to spur consumers to buy.

It's estimated that as many as 20 companies worldwide specialize in the ambient scent marketing and dispersion technology space, with businesses valued between $80 million and $100 million.

Online fashion shopping sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La have been a hit with women since launching over the last three years. A new push to get men to shop in these web boutiques is proving more difficult.