Are you ready for National Licorice Day tomorrow? It does seem odd to me that it falls during National Egg Salad week, and right in the middle of National Florida Tomato Month.  But I’ll take any excuse for a celebration — especially one that can be turned into a quick and easy Twitter and Facebook… Read More

FOLLOW THE LEADER Unless you are Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber or Mel Gibson (the top Twitter celebrities of 2011), you are going to need to work to get customers to follow your postings on social networking sites such as Twitter.  This sign at a CB2/Crate & Barrel store in Chicago caught my eye, because it… Read More

I love serving on the United Way of Dane County Marketing Committee, because I get to help a great cause and at the same time I always learn something new from the marketing professionals who also volunteer their time.  This week I we were working with Art Barnard of NBS Solutions on what questions to… Read More

Katie Jackson of The Thymes, a Minnesota-based bath and body product line, recently sent out an e-mail suggesting how to promote a fragrance that was recently re-introduced.  “Create an outpost display. Feature Mandarin Coriander away from your other Thymes Bath & Body product and highlight it on its own display fixture. Highlighting a specific collection… Read More

There has been a lot of talk about newspapers being dead, and the Internet taking over advertising. But many shops, like ours, still include print ads in the daily or Sunday newspaper in our advertising mix.  Circulation may not be as robust as it once was, but a significant percentage of our potential customers still… Read More

Ireland instituted a plastic bag fee called the Plastax in 2002, resulting in a 90% drop in the use of  the “carrier bags” so widely used in Europe. The Italians have recently officially said “arrivederci” to plastic bags, and some parts of the US (such as the area included in Los Angeles County) are following… Read More

YOU TUBE AS SALE TOOL A major Chicago Merchandise Mart showroom recently sent out an e-mail blast for those who didn’t make it to the winter show.  Instead of just listing all their lines, and showing an illustration of one or two new products, Sarm & Nastovski sent out links to 10 short videos on… Read More

At a recent retailer seminar at the Chicago Gift Show, interior and commercial designer Mick Santiago encouraged attendees to go back to their stores and check for burned out display lighting. And sure enough, he was right — our store had several bulbs that needed replacing. Santiago is the Chicago Merchandise Mart’s resident interior designer,… Read More

What do jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts, devoted home chefs and amateur Ukrainian egg decorators have in common?  These are all people we are trying to appeal to with special events in our shop over the next month.  It would be ideal to be able to send out a specialized targeted at those customers who would be… Read More

I recently read in the women’s magazine More about the common practice of allowing employees to take home beauty product samples sent in by manufacturers hoping for free publicity. Editor Lesley Jane Seymour decided to ask her staff for $1 for item, with all proceeds going to WIN (Women in Need).  This simple idea has… Read More