Marketing

Abercrombie & Fitch has long had a marketing strategy that included catalogs and advertisements featuring young athletic men and women, with the males often captured in homoerotic moments.

It seems as though the hiring manager at Old Navy's Funnovations is quite the fanatic of early ’90s sitcoms. After all, "Blossom" star Mayim Bialik revives her giant floral hat for a stint spent deploying "Bee Bots" on spring dresses.

In the quest for fans and movie ticket sales, studios are expanding their marketing arsenal to appeal to home shoppers, a largely female audience of proven purchasers. Universal Pictures and HSN are planning 24 hours of programming at the end of May featuring beauty, home and fashion products created specifically to evoke the sensibility of the coming movie, "Snow White and the Huntsman."

State of the Social Universe: What Marketers Should Keep in Mind, from 4 Experts Who Can Help You Reach for the Stars

They shared their insights on where things are now, what trends are emerging, what marketers need to emphasize, and how they can make the most of it all. Sections include:

1) Drive the Mobile Vehicle Smartly, and Honor Your Email Opt-In Relationships
- Sara Meaney President, Strategy & Growth, Hanson Dodge Creative

2) It's About Location, Location, Location: Know Where Your Customer Is
- Asif Khan Founder and president of the Location Based Marketing Association

3) On the Rise: Social Intelligence
- Doug Camplejohn CEO of Fliptop

4) Start - and End - with Your Content
- Ann Handley Chief content officer for MarketingProfs

The way we communicate is moving-literally. Smart phones are outselling PCs, and tablet sales are expected to outpace desktop sales by 2013. But although the screens may be smaller, the possibilities for engagement are larger than ever.

You'll find the following covered in this handy whitepaper:

- What Does Mocial Mean for Marketers?
- Determining Your Mocial Strategy and Goals
- Growing Your Email Database Through Social and Mobile
- Making Email More Social
- Extending the Reach of Social and Mobile
- Deploying Integrated Programs Across Email, Social and Mobile

Angry Birds Space, Rovio's next big game in the phenomenal mobile game series, launches tomorrow with some major promotions from Wal-Mart.

It's kind of fun to think of a teenaged Ellen DeGeneres working an after-school mall job at the local J.C. Penney, no? As the new spokeswoman for the chain, DeGeneres put together this clever advertorial which films her return to her former place of employment: the Penney's in her hometown of Metairie, Louisiana.

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.