Amazon, Target win over consumers with holiday ads

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December 17, 2010 News for the retail industry   Industry Watch    Poll: Which retailers had the most effective holiday commercials? Consumers may be bargain hunting when they shop this year, but when it comes to holiday commercials they prefer to be won over with humor, according to a poll by NRF and BIGresearch. Almost one-third of respondents favored Target's commercials with a quirky and obsessive shopper, compared with 17% who said they liked Wal-Mart's spots best. Respondents also preferred Amazon.com's whimsical online and e-mail ads to Wal-Mart's practical messages. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (12/16) Neiman Marcus makes more management changes Neiman Marcus Group announced several management changes this week. Ann Paolini was named to head its Last Call division, succeeding Tom Lind, who moved to senior VP for project management. Both will report to CEO Karen Katz, who took over from Burt Tansky in October. Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (12/17) Target dishes up a fresh-food campaign Target has begun a marketing campaign to highlight the fresh food sold at about 350 of its stores. The campaign, which includes TV and radio ads as well as direct mail, billboards and vehicle wraps, focuses on meals that can be created using food purchased at Target. The New York Times (free registration) (12/16) Other News Office Depot to sell Japan unit to Tokyo-based retailer Reuters (12/16) Sears and Kmart to sell boxing brand Everlast CNBC (12/16) Applying Social Data: 3 Best Practices Learn what it takes to create a positive experience for both your users and your business. Download a free whitepaper now.   Retail Trends    Retailers offer late hours and perks for holiday shoppers Retailers are pulling out all the stops in their efforts to win over procrastinators whose annual traditions include putting off shopping until the last minute. Toys R Us is staying open round the clock next week, 7-Eleven is pushing its selection of last-minute gifts and Lands' End has created a procrastinator's hotline with personal shoppers and live video chats. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (12/16) Retailers find novel ways to snare online shoppers Marks & Spencer has launched a "size detective" service to send anonymous e-mails to friend or relatives of customers to ask their shoe or waist sizes. Best Buy UK is offering online customers special discounts on certain products. Liberty offered free delivery on all purchases made on its site on one day. Those are just a few of the promotions and services British retailers are trying to attract online shoppers. Bloomberg (12/16)   Other News Silly Bandz fad cools quickly USA TODAY (12/16) In "How The Vitamin Shoppe Answered the Inventory Question," Tony Truesdale (President & Chief Merchant) and Jason Scheffer (Director of Inventory) discuss how the company quickly raised turn & in-stocks while also reducing working capital needs prior to The Vitamin Shoppe's successful IPO in October '09 — the first retailer to do so in almost two years.   Retail Technology    Boden cuts marketing costs with ad-tracking tags U.K.-based online apparel retailer Boden says tracking tags that measure the performance of online ads helped reduce its online marketing costs. The tags, added last year, help merchants determine where shoppers come from, a key part of measuring the effectiveness of online advertisements. InternetRetailer.com (12/16) Are you prepared to battle fraud in 2011? Watch The True Cost of Retail Fraud Webinar: What an Exclusive Study Reveals for 2010 and learn what trends are setting the stage for retail fraud in the upcoming year, along with powerful solutions and benchmarking best practices that can be used by companies of any size.   Policy & Government Affairs    Fed proposes drastic cuts to debit card transaction fees The Federal Reserve proposed Thursday to cut the fees retailers pay to banks on debit card transactions by as much as 90%. The proposed fee change is more drastic than financial institutions expected. The shift may result in lower prices, but banks may try to make up the difference by charging higher fees for bank accounts and other services, industry experts say. The Wall Street Journal (12/16) , The New York Times (free registration) (12/16) Compare 11 Leading ERP Solutions 119 Ways This extensive Comparison Guide prepares Finance, Manufacturing and Operations professionals by giving you the line-up of 11 leading ERP solutions evaluated across 119 features. Jumpstart your business with a successful ERP implementation! >Download your FREE ERP Comparison Guide   Featured Content    The Weekender: End of Year Recap and More! OPEN Forum Editor Building on Small Business Saturday Susan Sobbott Large Feet? Where Taller Women Can Buy (Stylish and Professional) Shoes Dawn Reiss Sharing the Books and Profits with the Staff John Jantsch 6 Marketing Lessons Learned From A Guy Who Eats Frozen Food For A Living DAVID GARLAND   NRF News  Swipe fee victory a testament to strength of retail industry Swipe fee accomplishments this week include a proposed Federal Reserve regulation that could cut debit swipe fees by 90 percent, and a bit of publicity as NRF's interchange lobbying received recognition on Capitol Hill. In a open letter to the retail industry this morning, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay says these accomplishments are evidence of what retailers can do when they work together. Read more. NRF SmartStat: Dec. 17, 2010 Video games and Fisher-Price toys are the only items that appear on both girls' and boys' top toys list for 2010. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch.   Visit Everything NRF for a chance to win an iPod Touch Everything NRF, NRF's member center at Retail's BIG Show, is the perfect place to speak with NRF staff, schedule a member benefits orientation or sign up to join the world's largest retail trade association. Stop by the Everything NRF booth at our 100th Annual Convention in New York City this January and you'll be entered to win an iPod Touch. Learn more. Learn more about NRF -> Join NRF  |  Govt Relations  |  NRF Events  |  STORES  |  NRF Foundation   Chain Restaurant News  Denny's proves popular with AARP members Denny's attracted more than 2 million AARP members in the past eight months with a promotion that offers 20% off evening meals and $1 coffee all day. AARP membership is available to people 50 and older, a growing business segment for family restaurants. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (12/16) Other News Franchisee of 92 Burger Kings files Chapter 11 bankruptcy Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (12/17) Pei Wei to pick blogger to document culinary tour of Asia QSRMagazine.com (12/17) The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Your personality. Your talents. You have the spark that makes us Walmart. What does that mean for you? It's the opportunity to make a difference in our company and in the lives of our customers. At Walmart, we save people money, so they can live better. We do this by relying on and supporting the people who make us shine bright each day — you. Join Walmart today! Aberdeen Report Sponsored by Escalate: All-Channel Commerce Improves Retailers' Revenues, Customer Satisfaction Interested in learning more about advertising in NRF SmartBrief? Contact Susan W. Kim at (202) 407-7877 or skim@smartbrief.com.    Career Track  James M. Myers Joins Jack in the Box Inc. Board of Directors Maritz Announces Departure of Maritz Travel President & CEO Christine Duffy Gap Inc. Foundation Chief Bobbi Silten Nominated to Serve on White House Council for Community Solutions Christopher & Banks Corporation Expands Board of Directors with Appointment of Morris Goldfarb Director of eCommerce South Moon Under Berlin, MD Senior Software Engineer Bass Pro Shops Springfield, MO Director of eCommerce Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! Egg Harbor Township, NJ Executive Vice President, Merchandising & Marketing Total Wine & More Potomac, MD Director of Marketing & Licensing Spencer Gifts/Spirit Halloween/ToyZam! Egg Harbor Township, NJ Regional Manager Development Program Follett Higher Education Group Multiple Locations, United States Retail Construction Project Manager Teavana Atlanta, GA Assistant Category Manager - Reader's Market Sears Hoffman Estates, IL Buyer - Ladies Apparel - Special Sizes Stein Mart Jacksonville, FL Store Technology Leader PetSmart Phoenix, AZ Vice President of Strategic Planning Rent-A-Center Plano, TX Legal Counsel Kohl's Menomonee Falls, WI Branch Head/Field Operations (Marine Corps Exchanges) Headquarters/MCCS Quantico Marine Corps Base, VA   SmartQuote  It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory." --W. Edwards Deming, American statistician, professor, author, lecturer and consultant   This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy   Advertise Senior Account Director:  Susan Kim (202) 407-7877 Download Media Kit Job Board:  Celia Rothschild (202) 470-1159       Recent NRF SmartBrief Issues: Thursday, December 16, 2010 Wednesday, December 15, 2010 Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Monday, December 13, 2010 Friday, December 10, 2010     Lead Editor:  Megan Conniff Contributing Editor:  Faye Rapoport     Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information