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MARKETING NEWS Pushing the envelope ............................................................................................................................... 1 Top augmented reality campaigns from the first half ............................................................................. 6 Anatomy of an Integrated Ad Campaign ................................................................................................. 8 Creating a good mobile experience ....................................................................................................... 10 U.S. Printing Manufacturers anticipate increases in sales and hiring ................................................... 12

PUBLISHING NEWS Hearst names Joanna Coles new editor at Cosmopolitan ..................................................................... 13 Garden & Gun claws Its way back from the brink ................................................................................. 14 JCPenney spices things up with first-ever Cosmo collection ................................................................. 17 WebMD the magazine gets redesign, increases distribution ................................................................ 17 These new Levi's ads on Flipboard are really giant catalogs ................................................................. 18

RETAIL NEWS Toys "R" Us fishes for early holiday sales .............................................................................................. 19 Increased customer loyalty drives up Kroger Q2 performance ............................................................. 20 Macy's raises $4 million during cause shopping event .......................................................................... 20 Payless 'falls' for value with new shoe line ............................................................................................ 21 Wal-Mart slashes holiday layaway fee in response to customer complaints ........................................ 21

ECONOMIC UPDATE

GDP: 2nd quarter 2012: 1.7 percent

Unemployment Rate: the unemployment rate edged down in August to 8.1 percent.

Consumer Confidence: which had improved in July, declined in August. The Index now stands at 60.6,

down from 65.4 in July.

MARKETING NEWS Pushing the envelope

Erin Dostal , Direct Marketing News . 9/6/2012

Today's media landscape is as complicated as it is vast. As each new channel becomes the shiny marketing object du jour, others get all but cast aside. Nearly lost to some marketers in the mélange of QR codes, online video, social media sites, and mobile apps is print.

Consequently, those marketers who still fully embrace traditional marketing tools such as print catalogs and direct mail have an opportunity to stand out to consumers bombarded by digital pitches. In fact, industry leaders like

September 10th , 2012

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IKEA and Procter & Gamble (P&G) rely on print advertising, catalogs, and direct mail as key components of their brand management strategy.

But these print channels rarely stand alone. Many of the brands that use print media within their direct marketing efforts weave digital tightly into their campaigns. This approach is becoming a must, according to industry experts.

“You want to integrate your campaigns,” says Eric Stein, EVP of online solutions at Epsilon, adding that the integration of print and digital media is necessary because different media have different strengths and weaknesses. Stein recommends supporting that integration with CRM and data solutions. “Your best opportunity to [integrate print and digital] is to use data as the consistent prism through which you view all of these media channels.”

Chris Loll, managing director of Wunderman New York, says that what's most important is “aligning the strategies agnostic of media channels, first and foremost, and then understanding how consumers are engaging in the most practical ways with those channels.”

In other words: Find the right consumers and then target them through the media mix they use. Print lives in a complex ecosystem of direct marketing channels and strategies, but it's still a vital component, as long as customers continue to want to receive printed catalogs, direct mail, and the like.

“It's about considering the cumulative effect of marketing touchpoints,” Loll says. “That doesn't predispose print to being less effective than digital. It just means that it needs to be taken into account how it works with [digital] forms of communications.”

P&G's Sarah Pasquinucci agrees that brands need to bridge the gap between print and digital. Pasquinucci conducts external relations for fabric care for P&G, including such brands as Tide and Gain.

“Our customers navigate easily between the online and offline world in their daily lives, so we need to provide useful, entertaining messages that can travel across marketing platforms,” she says. “For example, we let our Facebook fans vote on our creative for a recent Mad Men–themed issue of Newsweek.”

Sometimes, she says, the connection is even more direct, especially when it comes to using QR codes. “With the launch of [laundry detergent packs] Tide Pods, we used QR codes in print and [outdoor] advertising to drive people to learn more about the product and even request a sample.”

Pasquinucci declined to say if she thought print marketing at Tide would increase or decrease in the future, and declined to specify how the company measures ROI in digital and print campaigns. “We use print when it makes sense for the campaign we're launching, the consumers we're reaching, and in the way that would be most effective and relevant,” she says.

Catalogs build brand loyalty

Although they're one of the simplest and oldest forms of direct marketing, catalogs still play a key role in targeting existing customers, building brand loyalty, and acquiring new customers. Catalogs, experts say, aren't as ephemeral as digital media. They live on consumers' coffee tables and lure potential customers with enticing creative. A tangible piece of marketing in a heavily-trafficked part of a house can be effective for selling certain products, like housewares or infrequently-purchased, big-ticket items.

Catalogs, which are often sent to specific customers and prospects based on CRM data, usually reach those consumers when they're relaxed. As a result, they're more willing to spend time with a catalog, thus more likely to

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consider purchasing the advertised products. Additionally, time spent with a catalog in hand can help drive brand engagement.

In effect, one of the core functions of the IKEA catalog is to build loyalty over time, says Christine Scoma Whitehawk, communications manager at the company. The mailing list for the IKEA catalog is developed throughout the year, and includes past and potential customers who have signed up on IKEA.com to receive it. Although IKEA doesn't have e-commerce options, the catalog still draws customers to research IKEA products online and on tablets.

IKEA publishes the catalog annually in August. It has more than 300 pages of product images and information. The catalog is meant to create brand excitement, says Whitehawk. “It's really inspiration for fans and consumers of IKEA,” she adds.

Ultimately, catalogs and print media simply work, says Rick Ragusa, SVP of direct and wholesale at home goods store Serena & Lily.

“[Print media] stands out,” he says. “It's something physically in [customers'] hands. You can't hit ‘delete,' as you might with an email.” Serena & Lily has no brick-and-mortar locations, so all of its catalog sales are conducted through the company's website. Although much of the company's sales happen via e-commerce, about 65 to 70% of the company's total sales can be traced to print catalog marketing, Ragusa says.

The success of print catalogs and the fast-growing adoption of tablets are prompting an increasing number of brands to format their catalogs into digital assets. Doing so has several benefits, including constant accessibility, according to Joaquin Ruiz, CEO at Catalog Spree, an iPad app that functions as a mall for catalogs. “You never lose it,” he says. “As long as you have an electronic device, you can always have the experience.” He notes that the average amount of time each customer spends using the Catalog Spree app is 34 minutes, which is a significant amount of time compared to other interaction channels.

While digital catalogs also have a price advantage over print, more important, Ruiz says, are the possibilities around measurability and attribution. Catalog Spree tracks which pages customers view and which products they “favorite,” and monitors the path-to-purchase from the digital catalog to a brand's e-commerce website.

Similarly, digital cataloger Issuu provides metrics that help demonstrate ROI. “We're trying to make [each digital catalog] as beautiful as the printed version, but we can monetize it because we can tell how many people picked it up, which pages are most important, and so on,” says Mik Stroyberg, director of consumer engagement and U.S. sales at Issuu. Like Catalog Spree, catalogs hosted on Issuu's platform include hyperlinks that lead potential customers directly to a company's e-commerce website.

But despite the comparatively low cost of digital catalogs and the ability to chart user activity, it's yet to be determined as to whether these marketing endeavors will drive sales effectively.

In the case of Los Angeles-based women's clothing retailer Flying Tomato, using a digital catalog is still a work in progress. The company works with Issuu to digitally distribute its look book and catalogs each month. David Lee, the company's retail and branding manager, notes that its foray with Issuu is largely experimental: Flying Tomato “was looking for other advertising options, and gave it a try.”

Cost was a significant factor. “Digital media is easier,” Lee says. “It's very cost effective. Catalogs, if you send out 2,000, are a lot of money. For digital, it's not that much, really.” However, Flying Tomato's presence on Issuu has yet to bring in new customers. The print version of the look book and the catalogs are more effective and targetable, he says.

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Lee also notes that despite the ease of sharing digital media on social networks, few customers have shared the company's online look book.

Serena & Lily, which distributes about 1 million catalogs each season through spring, summer, and fall (this year, the company plans to add a holiday catalog), has been using Catalog Spree for roughly a year and is still trying to evaluate the success of doing so. When Serena & Lily became part of the digital “mall,” Ragusa says, the company gained a broader reach than through their direct mail strategies. “We're still deciding how to best leverage that,” Ragusa says. “It's driven some traffic, but I don't know that we've seen the kind of revenue that we would hope to drive from those technologies to date. I think these are great solutions, but we're still figuring them out.”

Ultimately, the key considerations brands should make when deciding whether to digitize their catalogs is letting customers choose, notes IKEA's Whitehawk. For IKEA, catalogs in both traditional and digital formats remain a key part of the company's marketing strategy. Every year the company publishes more than 211 million catalogs in both digital and print formats, distributed in 29 languages globally, she says. Whitehawk notes that in recent years demand for digital catalogs delivered on tablets, instead of physical catalogs mailed to homes, has increased and continues to do so, which she identifies as a large marketing opportunity.

This year's IKEA print catalog is the first to contain pages that, when a customer takes a photo of them with a smartphone, unlocks additional digital content. These pages will provide more product information, including colors and potential room layouts; on the back end, the system can gather information on which catalog pages are read and snapped. The interactive pages bring the customer deeper into the brand, and serves up photo galleries and video content, she says. “It's a huge benefit for a product like ours, where people are trying to create their own style. We know that this is going to be a really good way to serve up more information,” Whitehawk says. “The catalog is a huge part of our plan. It's an important communication for us.”

Whether digital or print, catalogs work so well for IKEA because of the company's size and prominence, says Matt Bond, senior director of print production at customer relationship marketing agency Merkle, which doesn't work with IKEA. “It has a built-in model,” he says. “Everyone knows if they want to buy a piece of furniture and not spend a lot of money, go to IKEA.”

For some smaller brands, however, pamphlets or digital-only catalogs might make more sense, Bond says. “For me, print isn't dead; print is evolving,” he says. “It's becoming a powerful tool when paired with the digital world.”

The digital and direct mail divide

If catalogs are designed to promote brand loyalty, then direct mail is often meant to drive customer acquisitions or repurchase.

“What we see from our customers is that direct mail plays a key role in the acquisition of customers,” says Pat Deck, EVP and CMO at direct marketing services provider IWCO Direct. “It's targetable. It's measureable…we think it's here to stay.” A customer might have four email addresses, he says, but the customer likely has only one home address.

Deck echoes a sentiment shared by IKEA's Whitehawk: Once a customer is acquired, it's important to let that customer decide the nature of subsequent interactions, whether it occurs digitally or via print media. Many customers, especially those who are paying bills, like to see a print copy of their mailers, he says. “If they get a paper statement, they see it as a reminder,” he says, whereas emails can get easily lost in the shuffle.

At Pitney Bowes, most well-known as a provider of paper communications, VP of solutions and competitive marketing Chris Giles says that while his company's clients still use direct mail frequently, it's become part of an

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integrated strategy. “A lot of what we try to do is understand what a customer is doing across multiple channels,” he says.

According to Giles, direct mail can be an effective customer “nurturing” tool, meaning that it can give customers a sense that the company is interested in them. Additionally, he notes, “direct mail has a degree of credibility” that digital media doesn't.

Direct mail is a core part of Kenneth Cole Productions' marketing strategy for this very reason, says Amy Choyne, SVP and CMO at the company. Kenneth Cole uses solutions from Experian to send targeted direct mail to announce new product lines, such as the high-end Kenneth Cole Collection, which launched August 15 as part of Kenneth Cole New York.

Choyne says the company sent out direct mailers about the launch to its most high-end, loyal customers. “We're segmenting our top customers,” she says. “It's a look book piece inviting them to come into the store.”

Having a tangible artifact is integral to Kenneth Cole's marketing efforts, Choyne says: “It's the most effective way to present a new product.” Ultimately, mailers are part of Kenneth Cole's integrated marketing strategy, intended to drive customers online or into stores.

Tom Foti, manager of direct mail and periodicals at the USPS, says that although direct mail has dipped since 2008—in part due to the recession—it's still relevant in today's direct marketing landscape. Foti says that in 2008 many companies turned away from direct mail for cost reasons, opting instead to focus on less expensive email campaigns.

Traditionally, measurability has been a key draw for direct mail marketers. Measuring ROI is simple, Foti says. Marketers need only look at who they mailed to, and who responded to the mailing. “With QR codes and mobile technologies, it takes it to the next step,” he says.

“Not only do you know who you sent it to, but the information that could be garnered from the device enables even more trackability.”

Tracking often occurs through traditional methods, like a business reply code. However, a growing number of companies are experimenting with more cutting-edge methods. Loyola University Chicago is one of those organizations. The school plans to increase its direct mail budget this year, integrating digital elements into its mailers. “QR and mobile response codes bring print to life by directing a user to rich interactive content,” says Nicole O'Connell, director of enrollment marketing and communications at the university. “We've found higher response rates to our mailings with the integration of video along with a response form, making it easier for the reader to respond from their mobile device.”

Direct mail, O'Connell notes, has been among the university's most successful direct marketing channels because its trackability is a reliable predictor of future performance. “I can see which schools and products respond at a greater rate using direct mail; it's among the easiest mediums to track,” O'Connell says, adding that direct mail is particularly successful with Loyola's specialty masters programs and graduate students.

Even with successes like that of Loyola University, there are still plenty of marketers who prefer to not add digital elements to their direct mail pieces. “What we've found and are encouraged in seeing is that people have tried digital—and they'll continue to try–but that they're realizing that direct mail is a valuable channel that they need to use to get new customers,” USPS's Foti says. “Ultimately, they always come back to direct mail because it's ‘old reliable.' It's a primary acquisition strategy.”

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Choyne remains skeptical about the efficacy of new technologies around print marketing for her target demographic of fashion-forward individuals. “I love the concept of the QR code, but there's such low usage of it,” she explains, noting that when she was executive director of marketing at Anthropologie, the company used QR codes on direct mailers and didn't see significant returns. She concedes, however, that it may simply be too soon to tell if QR code technology will be effective in the future.

The USPS tries to keep up with digital strategies by incenting businesses to include QR codes and wording on their direct mailers that encourage consumers to visit their websites.

According to Foti, the USPS views mobile as the next frontier for print media. “It's a good fit with direct mail,” he says. “It's a logical fit to have people who are looking at their mail [view a QR code] so that they can easily scan it.”

All of this fits right into current trends, says Michael Greene, a senior analyst of interactive marketing at Forrester Research. Channel silos of search marketing, e-commerce, and social media are beginning to break down. It makes sense that direct mail service providers increasingly integrate with other channels, as well.

“Direct mail has to complement a multichannel campaign,” Greene says. “Our strategy is to go out and tout this. You'll be more successful if direct mail is a part of that campaign.”

Giles of Pitney Bowes says that even though there's plenty of talk of print going away—and there has been for more than 13 years—volume for direct mail is slowing, but plateauing. “We think [our] customers are getting more engaged in terms of who they talk to, and why,” he says. “Customers are critically engaged with what they send.”

Top augmented reality campaigns from the first half

Rimma Kats , Mobile Marketer . 9/5/2012

Move over QR codes, there is a new boss in town. Over the past year, augmented reality has taken over the mobile space and has marketers thinking of new ways to incorporate the technology into their strategies to develop interactive and engaging campaigns.

Currently, a majority of augmented reality campaigns are being incorporated in print publications. However, marketers such as Starbucks are rolling out their own augmented reality applications to boost user engagement.

Here are the best augmented reality campaigns of the first half of 2012, in alphabetical order:

Heat

Bauer Media-owned British pop culture magazine Heat used augmented reality to bring its static pages to life.

Consumers were encouraged to download the Aurasma mobile application to interact with the 12 pages of mobile-enabled content.

Additionally, Heat developed a separate, publication-specific app that uses Aurasma’s technology.

The app educated users on how to properly use the mobile app to interact with the content.

To promote the initiative, Heat placed several calls-to-action on the pages to encourage more scans.

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By using augmented reality, Heat was able to connect with its readers on a deeper level, as well as bring its print ads to life.

Maxim

Maxim tapped augmented reality to boast readership for its September issue.

The publication launched its own mobile app to coincide with the release of its September issue.

The company decided that it was time to give readers a more interactive way to engage with its content without plastering mobile bar codes on its print pages.

When readers hovered their mobile device over the cover, they were taken to a landing page that let them watch a video of cover model Bar Refaeli. For example, by holding a mobile phone over the cover image, the app uses image recognition and augmented reality to deliver an on-page video featuring cover model Bar Refaeli.

Currently, many marketers are taking a different approach with their print campaigns. Instead of using QR codes like others do, augmented reality is a great new way to interact with new and existing readers.

Maybelline

L’Oreal’s Maybelline New York used augmented reality to let consumers virtually try on nail polish.

The company partnered with Blippar to help execute the initiative. Maybelinne incorporated augmented reality into its New York Color Show Nail Lacquer print campaign, which will run thorugh the end of the year.

A sidebar on the opposite-facing page walks users through the process of using their mobile device to interact with the ad.

Consumers can aim their device at the print ad to activate the digital portion. From there, the screen shows a spinning circle of all of the company’s new nail colors.

Readers can try on each of the 40 different nail colors by snapping a picture of their hand.

Marvel

To help promote its “Avengers VS X-Men” comic book, Marvel Entertainment enlisted in an augmented reality application.

The Marvel AR app, which is powered by Aurasma, was unveiled at this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival.

Marvel fans were encouraged to participate by opening up the mobile app and scanning select products, which featured the Marvel AR logo.

Consumers were able to unlock exclusive content featuring popular superheroes such as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine and the Hulk.

By rolling out an augmented reality app, Marvel was able to interact with fans at a big event.

Additionally, but enabling the app to bring its popular characters to life, Marvel was able to engage with consumers on a more interactive level.

Tic Tac

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Instead of incorporating augmented reality into a print campaign, Tic Tac took a different, much bigger, route.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled an interactive Times Square billboard in New York that incorporated augmented reality to enabled passersby to put themselves in the billboard using their smartphones and the Tic Tac Times Square application.

The billboard was part of Tic Tac’s Shake It Up campaign, which encourages millennials to explore new, unconventional ways of doing daily activities.

Tic Tac used a call-to-action to encourage consumers to view the ad through its mobile app.

After consumers scanned the ad, the imagery on the phone switched to show the user’s face on a magazine cover or on a “Vote For” sign, with the app automatically taking a user’s Facebook picture and inserting it in various ads.

Starbucks

Starbucks Coffee is always on trend.

Last year the company unveiled its augmented reality mobile application and updated it for Valentine’s day.

Coffee lovers were invited to download the Starbucks Cup Magic app and interact with the company’s limited-edition hot cups.

When consumers scanned the cups, they were able to watch as their Valentines magically came to life.

An augmented reality campaign such as this is very effective as it lets Starbucks interact with consumers using its own products.

Anatomy of an Integrated Ad Campaign

Bill Mickey , Folio . 9/7/2012

When advertisers aren’t looking for a specific audience segment or a broad brand buy, they’re in the market for something creative—a campaign that stretches across print, face-to-face and digital and leverages a brand’s value proposition in a unique and useful way. Publishers have filled that void by forming marketing services divisions, but really what this comes down to is convening a variety of departments to build a program for a client that’s able to meet customers on any platform they’re on.

That’s easier said than done, and many times, publishers fall flat when they attempt to transition from the pitch idea to execution. Here, we take a closer look at two programs created by The Knot and UBM’s Electronics group that utilize a variety of platforms to maximize exposure and customer interaction through unique engagement elements.

The Knot: Promoting Utility and Authenticity

From an advertiser’s perspective, there are few things to get more excited about than weddings. You can’t have one without pulling out the credit card, which gave rise to a program that wedding specialists The Knot leveraged with Chase.

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Central to the campaign was utility. Couples that are about to get married are essentially embarking on a spending spree and what better way to introduce an advertiser than during the highest spending stages of the process? Yet, for Carrie Reynolds, vice president of sales, branding alone wasn’t enough. “We wanted to make sure this was focuses on delivering solutions for the customer in authentic ways,” she says. “We looked at all the different places the customers were going to make their decisions and planned to connect with them during the highest-spending parts of these different stages—we wanted to integrate a conversation into those areas.”

Chase was looking to promote its Blueprint brand of credit cards and needed a campaign that could showcase it as an authority on financial responsibility. “Like a lot of customers these days, they are looking for conversation and authenticity,” says Reynolds.

Reynolds and her team crafted a program that included print, video and online elements that were attached to specific parts of the spending arc that wedding couples typically go through—the dress, reception, new home furnishings, baby room, and so on. “We pulled all those elements together and created a custom hub that housed them all—a video series, case studies, and so on—and each was focused on specific solutions,” says Reynolds.

The content hub gathered the various elements together in one spot, but individually those assets were also spread across XO Group’s brands—TheKnot.com, TheNest.com and TheBump.com. A custom video series, for example, appeared on all of the sites, and Twitter chats were created that featured conversations with financial experts and XO Group editors.

In print, Reynolds wanted to avoid the typical advertorial approach and devised a way for Chase content to interact with edit without actually integrating the two. While The Knot magazine acts as a source of inspiration, and the Chase content was printed on vellum inserts that layered messaging on top of the fall issue’s content. One insert touts Chase Blueprint as a way to “Pay Off Your Gown Faster” and overlays a pictorial of wedding gowns.

Pricing these programs comes down to measuring production time along with the value of each media. “The way I look at it is production, people’s time and the value of the media,” says Reynolds. “It’s pulling those elements together and the value of the media is based on impressions and how we’re pushing it out. We don’t do the ‘if you by 12 pages we’ll add this other stuff.’”

UBM: Taking It on the Open Road

Like all of these integrated campaigns, clients are looking for “big ideas.” And in UBM’s case, its client Avnet, an electronic component distribution company, wanted something big to help build awareness for its e-commerce group Avnet Express.

Big is what they got. UBM Electronics’ creative services team, now called the Partner Services Group, came up with a year-long, cross-country road trip, during which EE Times editorial director Brian Fuller would drive a red Chevy Volt, making hundreds of stops along the way.

Called the “Drive for Innovation,” the trip was the hook to hang a variety of custom program elements: Interviews with local media outlets; stops at Avnet office locations for interviews with key employees and Avnet supplier partners; a dedicated website that tracked Fuller’s progress and housed all of the content he and others generated from the trip along with integrated social media components; video assets; newsletters; and sweepstakes. The car was featured at several UBM tradeshows and a fully formed PR campaign surrounded the entire project. The car also went through a thoroughly documented teardown to see how the Volt’s technology works.

“You always start with a clean whiteboard and the sky’s the limit, and then ultimately you refine those ideas down,” says Christian Fahlen, UBM Electronics senior director of programs and delivery. “One of the undercurrents was celebrating innovation across America. We threw out some high-level ideas and the one that immediately

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grabbed everyone’s attention was the road trip. This was the one that delivered on their objectives and had some merit from a content perspective.”

With a program this big, execution had to be broken down into its functional units—support for the content team; website development and maintenance; a traffic-driving program; a PR strategy. “Those were the core functional units,” says Fahlen. “On top of all that, we had overall program management and direction which included reporting and general overall accountability.”

Teams gathered weekly for internal meetings and separate meetings with Avnet were also held weekly.

Measurement and Deliverables

Fahlen says deep reporting and metrics, particularly from the program’s website hub, were provided to Avnet on an ongoing basis to make sure expectations were being met. But the key goal was moving the needle on brand awareness for Avnet Express. “We benchmarked that prior to the program, then midway and then post-program,” says Fahlen. “We had to show that we did increase awareness, so research was a large component, as well as traffic to their site, engagement, and registrations at the website as well as Avnet Express’s website. PR was another metric, too.”

The price tag on a program like this is $1 million-plus, and that was arrived at by determining what was needed to spend on its development and then putting a budget behind it.

Nevertheless, a base program was built that met core expectations, but it also included add-ons for additional cost. “With programs of this scale, the client expects, and certainly receives, a breakdown of what each element costs,” says Fahlen. “But inherently you have to give yourself and the client some flexibility. What looked great in June might not look so good by February.”

Creating a good mobile experience

Ryan Dunlap , Mobile Marketer . 9/6/2012

Successful marketers know how important it is to be where their customers are. Considering that by 2013, Gartner predicts that more people will use their mobile phones than PCs to get online, the mobile user has become a key customer demographic.

After all, the mobile Web is growing eight times faster than the traditional Internet, according to Mashable, which means it will also grow in importance as part of any overall Web strategy.

Without a doubt, it is more important than ever to support your mobile users, but how?

You will need thoughtful planning and a laser-like focus on understanding these users and their goals to successfully integrate this objective into your Web strategy.

What do they want?

One of the mobile user’s primary goals is to get information as quickly as possible while completing online tasks on the go.

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You should be there to help these users. Give them a good mobile experience, because a bad mobile experience is going to cost you.

Eighty percent of customers abandon a mobile site if they have a bad user experience. – Limelight Networks Inc., 2011

Forty percent have turned to a competitor's site after a bad mobile experience. – Compuware, “What Users Want from Mobile,” 2011

Twenty-three percent of adult users curse at their phones when a mobile site does not work. – Compuware, “What Users Want from Mobile,” 2011

Remember that “mobile site” does not just mean that a desktop version of a Web site loads on a mobile device. You definitely cannot assume this will lead to a good mobile experience.

What makes a good mobile experience?

So what does make a good mobile experience? Here are a few things to aim for:

Short load time. The mobile version should be lightning-quick. After all, your mobile audience is likely on the go

Less clutter. Know what content your user is after and make it as easy as possible for them to find it. Get rid of fluffy content and bloated navigation

Big user interface (UI) elements. Touch is the new click. Remember, you are no longer dealing with a mouse. Make buttons and other user interface elements large so they can be easily tapped with fat ol’ thumbs.

Biting the bullet/Where to start

After reading this, you might be worried about customers cursing your name over poor mobile experiences. But do not worry.

Assuming that you already have a desktop version of your Web site, your first task in going mobile will be to reduce your current content and site map significantly. Better yet, scrap it all together and start with a clean slate. Go slim. Get to the meat and only the meat.

If your mobile site ends up being only your logo, address and contact information, that may very well be the right solution for you. When it comes to mobile, less is more.

Once you have got a much slimmer site map, it is time to tweak the layout and interface.

Ideally, no design elements will need to be recreated. Most – if not all – of what needs to change can be done with CSS: tweaks to the layout, image sizes, the way that content flows, and possibly even UI elements.

For your own sake, try to implement your changes via CSS and only CSS.

Never touch the HTML files and their structure, if you can help it – this is when things can get hairy.

Trust me, you really do not want two different HTML code-bases, nor does your developer, unless, of course, you want more to manage. If that is the case, definitely have multiple code-bases.

Future thinking/Redesigning

When the time comes around again to overhaul your Web site entirely, try thinking mobile first.

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Remember that by next year, the majority of Internet traffic will come from mobile phones. So why should your site’s concept, structure, and design still be based on a desktop version?

Desktop users are slipping into second place. Thinking mobile first will get you focusing on what matters most to your audience, and it forces you to consider the amount of useless navigation, content fluff and general clutter that is present on the average site.

Here are some great examples of well-designed mobile experiences:

southwest.com

thebostonglobe.com

authenticjobs.com

nytimes.com

Bring it on home

So what did we learn? If you are creating a mobile presence from your current Web site, start with getting slim. Remember, less is more.

Likewise, if you are starting a new Web site altogether, try thinking mobile first. Soon enough, your mobile users will be the majority anyway.

In the end, regardless of the current state of your Web strategy, your mobile presence cannot be ignored and you cannot afford for it to be an afterthought.

Keep the needs of your users in mind and they will be thanking you for their seamless experience wherever they happen to be.

U.S. Printing Manufacturers Anticipate Increases in Sales and Hiring Press Release , Printing Impressions . 9/5/2012

InnerWorkings Inc., a leading global marketing supply chain company, announced the results of its first-ever business and economic outlook study. The study reveals the attitudes and perceptions of U.S.-based printing manufacturers in regards to the economy, hiring expectations and business performance.

“Print manufacturing is a massive industry, generating annual revenue of more than $144 billion in the U.S. alone*,” said John Eisel, COO for InnerWorkings. “It is an industry that remains highly relevant in today’s business landscape, and our goal in commissioning this study is to keep our finger on the pulse of this often overlooked, yet important sector of the economy.” (*According to Smithers Pira.)

A sample of more than 3,300 representatives from InnerWorkings’ network of the leading printing manufacturers was asked to participate in the online survey, from which nearly 1,100 responses were received. The results demonstrate that manufacturers are generally optimistic about the economy, but cautiously so:

56 percent of respondents expect the economy to stay about the same,

27 percent believe the economy is improving, and

just 17 percent believe the economy is declining.

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In terms of their own business performance, printers are more confident. Forty-seven percent of respondents expect their company’s sales to increase, compared to just 3 percent who expect sales to decline.

Similarly, the vast majority of respondents—82 percent—expect to hire or keep their payrolls stable.

In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, respondents were questioned about their views on the election as it pertains to the economy. When asked which of the presidential candidates they perceive as having a more positive impact on their businesses, 79 percent of respondents indicated their preference for Mitt Romney over Barack Obama.

About InnerWorkings

InnerWorkings Inc. (NASDAQ: INWK) is a leading global marketing supply chain company servicing corporate clients across a wide range of industries. With proprietary technology, an extensive supplier network and deep domain expertise, the Company procures, manages and delivers printed materials and promotional products as part of a comprehensive outsourced enterprise solution. InnerWorkings is based in Chicago, employs approximately 1,200 individuals, and maintains 44 global offices.

PUBLISHING NEWS Hearst Names Joanna Coles New Editor at Cosmopolitan

Nat Ives , Ad Age . 9/5/2012

Hearst Magazines has named Joanna Coles editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan magazine, succeeding Kate White, the editor-in-chief since 1998.

Cosmo Editor and Counterculture Thinker Helen Gurley Brown DiesAfter 'Sex and The Single Girl,' Fomented Newsstand RevolutionCosmopolitan Says It Has 100,000 Paid Digital SubscriptionsAchievement Is Encouraging for Brand and Magazines in General

Ms. Coles has been editor-in-chief at Hearst's Marie Claire since 2006. Her new job atop the much larger Cosmopolitan begins Sept. 10. Ms. White will become an advisor at Hearst, the company said.

Cosmo is the top newsstand magazine in the country, but has been increasingly relying on cheap subscription offers to maintain its large reach among consumers as the industry suffers pers istent, large declines in single-copy sales.

Cosmo averaged paid and verified circulation above 3 million in the first half of this year, roughly even with period a year before, according to its reports with the Audit Bureau of Circulations. But its single -copy sales plunged 15.5%, compared with an industry-wide drop of 9.6%.

Single-copy sales comprised 52.7% of Cosmo's circulation in the first half of the year, down from 71% in 1998, when overall paid circulation was 2.6 million.

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Cosmo has found success with digital editions, however, apparently becoming the first magazine to sell more than 100,000 individually-paid digital subscriptions.

Cosmo has also been in the headlines lately with the death last month of Helen Gurley Brown, who edited the magazine from 1965 to 1997 and made it both an advocate and record of the sexual revolution. Her successor, Bonnier Fuller, decamped to Glamour after just 18 months. Ms. White has been editor ever since.

"Kate is a huge talent who not only maintained Cosmo's leadership position over the past 14 years but also launched many brand extensions, including Cosmo Radio, best -selling books and a tablet edition," said David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, in a statement Tuesday.

Marie Claire averaged paid and verified circulation of 988,418 in the first half of the year, up 2.6% from a year prior as single-copy sales held steady and subscriptions rose 3.2%.

Ms. Coles was previously executive editor at More, articles editor at New York magazine and New York bureau chief at The Guardian.

Garden & Gun Mag Claws Its Way Back From the Brink Christine Haughney, New York Times. 9/4/2012

Among the many magazines that were battered by the recession, few survived such a precarious financial state as

Garden & Gun.

In 2009, the two-year-old Southern lifestyle magazine lost financial support from its first publisher. Its employees,

many of whom had relocated from New York City to work here, were left with dwindling buyout packages and the

promise of freelance pay. Real estate developers could no longer afford to buy advertisements, and some new

prospects said they would not give a cent to the magazine until the owners took “gun” out of its title.

David DiBenedetto, the editor in chief, recalled that when the magazine’s color printer broke, the staff did not

have the money to replace it for two months. They had to print out proofs at a nearby Kinko’s.

“You didn’t know if you would be there the next week,” Mr. DiBenedetto said as he picked over a lunch of peach

soup, fried green tomatoes and catfish at Charleston’s Husk restaurant. He and his wife moved here from New

York so he could work at Garden & Gun. “You just didn’t know if the lights would be on.”

It did not help that Garden & Gun’s spare layouts and meandering prose differed radically from the shorter,

flashier articles many magazines were moving toward to compete with Facebook and Twitter.

But now, its provocative name and contrarian approach seem to be paying off in a struggling magazine industry.

The bimonthly won a 2011 American Society of Magazine Editors award for general excellence, and its editors have

a three-book deal with HarperCollins to publish a Southern guide, a collection of dog columns and a cookbook.

With advertisers like Audi, Le Creuset and Brooks Brothers on board, the magazine’s owners forecast that it could

be profitable for the first time this year. While circulation is slipping across the magazine industry, Garden & Gun’s

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circulation grew to 237,837 subscribers in December 2011 from 210,172 the year before, according to the Audit

Bureau of Circulations.

The magazine, based out of a 200-year-old former pharmacy on Charleston’s historic King Street, was founded as

what Jessica Hundhausen Derrick, its vice president and brand development director, described as “a love song to

the South.”

It included articles about backyard gin makers, woodworkers crafting chairs from whiskey barrels, and Southern

produce like Georgia rattlesnake watermelon. Among the lighter pieces by authors like Roy Blount Jr., there were

richly detailed articles like the one from a lifelong friend of Eudora Welty describing how the author feared that if

her dead mother saw her cook, “she’d weep with shame.”

And to feed advertisers’ anxieties, nearly every issue featured unapologetic articles in praise of hunting. There

were essays on quail hunts, hunting clubs and hunting dogs, often written with an emphasis on land preservation

and basking in sumptuous photo spreads to rival Vogue or National Geographic.

But the magazine has also taken a very modern approach to publishing. It began the Garden & Gun Club, which

offers subscribers retail discounts and access to private concerts and talks. So far, 3,000 subscribers are paying $35

to $500 a year for one of three membership levels.

The magazine is holding 30 events this year, including a “Lowcountry Field Feast” in South Carolina, a golf event in

Georgia and a New Orleans beer festival this fall. It also sells its own merchandise, like a limited-edition Garden &

Gun hunting tie and, for the coming holidays, a Le Creuset dish in gunmetal gray.

These kinds of initiatives depend heavily on loyal readers, which Garden & Gun has in abundance. Subscribers

knock on the door daily to introduce themselves. Readers write in about how they tested the Southern road trips

and dive bars the magazine recommended. One reader even threatened to hunt down the editors and shoot them

if they stopped publishing — which the editors emphasize was in jest.

During Mr. DiBenedetto’s lunch at Husk, he attracted more attention from diners and kitchen staff than the senior

officials from the Homeland Security Department noisily taking up the restaurant’s back corner.

“It is probably my favorite magazine,” said Andrew Hastings, a 28-year-old hunter and fisherman from Little Rock,

Ark., who, while dining at Husk, recognized Mr. DiBenedetto from his editor’s note photo.

The magazine grew out of a conversation between two parents in a Charleston kindergarten class. The first parent,

Rebecca Wesson Darwin, was a native of Columbia, S.C., and a former New Yorker publisher who relocated to

Charleston in 2004 because her husband accepted a job as senior pastor at the Second Presbyterian Church.

The second parent was Pierre Manigault, chairman of the Evening Post Publishing Company, which publishes the

local paper. Mr. Manigault’s ancestors were Huguenots who moved to Charleston in the 17th century and shifted

their fortunes into the newspaper business with the decline of rice farming.

At first, Ms. Darwin talked to Mr. Manigault about starting a local magazine. But she quickly decided there was a

greater need for “a national magazine about a region.”

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Mr. Manigault’s friend and Garden & Gun’s first editor in chief, John Wilson, suggested the title after taking a date

to Hank’s Restaurant in Charleston and learning that it used to be a gay bar called the Garden and Gun Club.

Ms. Darwin had never hunted and no longer had time for gardening after moving to Charleston. But as she sat

behind her desk in her sunlit office on King Street, framed by photographs of her children, she said she liked that

Garden & Gun was “a bold name” and “a metaphor for the sporting life.” The title reminded her of working at GQ,

and she said she might someday shorten it to G&G.

The first issue made its debut on newsstands in spring 2007, days before the shootings at Virginia Tech in

Blacksburg, Va. But Garden & Gun’s popularity grew steadily that year, and readers wrote long, impassioned

letters to the editor.

By fall 2008, newspaper executives said they could no longer afford the magazine. Ms. Darwin and Mr. Manigault

negotiated a deal to buy it from them and started making trip after trip to banks for temporary loans.

Ms. Darwin, who ran the daily operations, told employees they could stay and come to work as freelancers. She

did not have the money to print or mail an October/November issue and instead wrote an apology letter to

readers. She avoided asking private equity groups for help because she feared they would sell the magazine

quickly.

The employees who remained worked together to keep the magazine afloat, taking out the trash because they

could not afford support staff and finding backup editing jobs to pay their own bills. They relied on readers’ e-mails

and letters for emotional support.

“There was no guarantee that the magazine was going to survive,” said Sid Evans, who was Garden & Gun’s editor

in chief from 2008 to 2011 before moving to Time Inc. “But there are a lot of people out there who love a good

read. They love being in the hands of a good writer and the insights those writers have.”

By May 2010, J. Edward Bell III, a lawyer from Georgetown, S.C., had become a major investor and the third co-

owner along with Ms. Darwin and Mr. Manigault. Mr. Bell, who discovered the magazine when a country

songwriter gave him a copy to read on a flight back from Colorado, said he was “instantly hooked” because “it

reminds me of growing up in the South.”

Since then, Garden & Gun has had a slow but steady rise. Ms. Darwin brought back most of her staff. In early 2010,

she hired Barbara Bing, an Atlanta-based publisher who had worked on sales for magazines like The New Yorker

and Esquire, to build a national sales team. Ms. Bing refused requests by advertisers to change the name and said

she hoped to increase circulation to 500,000.

She said she thought there were plenty more readers out there. While 55 percent of the magazine’s readers come

from the Southeast, the rest come from other parts of the nation. Judging by the letters page, many of them are

displaced Southerners or people who have married Southerners and fallen in love with the places their spouses

have described.

“You don’t have to be Southern and you don’t have to live in the South to appreciate Garden & Gun,” Ms. Bing

said. “But you do have to have the time to read.”

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JCPenney spices things up with first-ever Cosmo collection

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 9/7/2012

Popular women's magazine Cosmopolitan is leveraging its brand in the retail space by launching its first-ever fashion collection at JCPenney. The collection includes lingerie, sleepwear, footwear and handbags, available now exclusively in more than 600 JCPenney stores nationwide, as well as on JCP.com.

"Millions of readers turn to Cosmopolitan for insights into relationships, beauty, fashion and health, and our first-ever fashion line celebrates the sexy spirit of Cosmo women everywhere," said Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. "We are thrilled to bring our magazine to life through this collaboration with JCPenney."

The lingerie offering will range from $7 to $25 and include a variety of styles including leopard and pops of color. Sleepwear will be priced from $10 to $20 and include soft pajamas, satiny robes and babydolls. Handbags will range from $30 to $65) and include purses and clutches. The footwear offering will be priced from $30 to $95 and include heels, boots and flats in on-trend colors.

"We are very excited to be working with Cosmopolitan to bring our customers a new, contemporary fashion and accessories collection," said Liz Sweney, chief merchant of JCPenney. "Teaming up with Cosmopolitan, the best-selling magazine in its category and an expert in all things lifestyle, allows us to further cater to today's women, offering them the best, most on-trend styles, co-designed by a fashion authority."

WebMD the Magazine Gets Redesign, Increases Distribution

TJ Raphael , Folio . 9/5/2012

Healthy living title WebMD the Magazine is reintroducing itself this September with a redesigned publication.

“We wanted to modernize the look and feel of our site so we thought it was a really good time to refresh the magazine,” says Heidi Anderson, publisher of the magazine. “From a content perspective, we’ve re-examined the architecture of the magazine to create six distinctive sections that are even more closely mapped to our website.”

Through a combination of frequent readership polls and syndicated research of audiences, the title chose six topics that were of greatest interest to readers—both in print and online—and made them the focal point of the reimagined product. The brand is now broken up into the sections of living healthy, healthy beauty, family & parenting, food & recipes, fitness & exercise, and WebMD Checkup.

“WebMD Checkup is an inside look at our patients and consumers that are living with a condition,” says Anderson. “It’s a core health section, and we also have a feature well. We wanted this new architecture to create a seamless experience that even better maps to our content on the website.”

Topics from WebMD online communities will be explored in detail in the print magazine—an effort to further incorporate audience desires and social conversations into the editorial focus of the brand.

“Each page will have almost social cues for the audience,” says the publisher. “We’ll marry the expert opinion or answer to a question that may have popped on WebMD’s community board. We can use the magazine as a place to bring together expert input along with topics that we know consumers are most interested in.”

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Beginning in January 2013, WebMD the Magazine will increase its distribution by 100,000 copies. According to the most recent Fas-Fax report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the period ending June 30, 2012, WebMD the Magazine had a total analyzed, non-paid audience of over 1.3 million, with about 32,400 coming in the form of digital replicas. WebMD.com recieves about 106.9 million unique visitors per month.

“The increase came through a combination of demand from readers and healthcare professionals,” says Anderson. “We continue to look for opportunities to expand our print circulation as well as digitally. We launched our iPad app, which was an answer to reader demand for the magazine outside of their doctor’s office.”

There are several new interactive components through the free iPad app, including expert questions readers should ask doctors; beauty shopping lists; videos; slideshows and online tools. The app will reflect the redesigned magazine look and feel, and included embedded interactive enhancements from WebMD.com

While the iPad app and enhanced content sections give advertisers more options, the company is also looking to reach these groups through special interest publications—WebMD Diabetes launched this year, as did WebMD Campus.

These New Levi's Ads on Flipboard Are Really Giant Catalogs Michael Learmonth , Ad Age . 9/7/2012

Flipboard has long promised to provide publishers with magazine-like advertising that takes advantage of the capabilities of tablets and smartphones. Today it is introducing a new example: a "social catalog" for Levi's featuring the brand's "Go Forth" ads and a branded "magazine" that allows readers to shop Levi's fall collection and share images on Facebook and Twitter.

The campaign runs through October in nine publications' Flipboard feeds: Vanity Fair, Glamour, Details, Elle, Marie Claire, Esquire, ESPN, Fast Company and Rolling Stone. Flipboard worked with Levi's and agency OMD to create the mix of video, ads and images for the magazine.

One question for Flipboard going forward, obviously: Will we see more? The two-year-old startup recently said it has 20 million users -- 1.5 million daily -- and is counting 3 billion monthly "flips," or page turns, so it's reaching an interesting scale.

But some of the social plumbing that makes it unique is under threat. The Flipboard app builds social magazines by pulling content shared by users in social networks and Twitter is an important part of that. But as AllThingsD has pointed out, as Twitter itself moves into content, it's unclear whether it will continue to allow the use of its API for third-party services like Flipboard. If Twitter wants to start selling big display ads for its own apps, watch out.

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RETAIL NEWS

Toys "R" Us fishes for early holiday sales Mike Troy, Retailing Today . 9/4/2012

Toys "R" Us enhanced its layaway program by dropping some fees and Walmart quickly responded.

Toys "R" Us dropped the $5 service fee and minimum purchase requirement from its layaway program in a bid to capture sales of those who begin their holiday shopping early.The company said it changed the rules for its layaway program, instituted in 2009, to waive the $5 upfront service fee and eliminate the minimum purchase requirement for all orders created in stores through October 31.

"Providing our customers flexible payment terms, without requiring an upfront service fee, is our most attractive layaway offer yet," said Troy Rice, EVP of stores and services for the 875 store U.S. division of Toys "R" Us U.S. "We continue to look for ways to help our customers stretch their budgets, and by taking advantage of this free layaway option, they can make a series of small payments over time, as they begin to think about what might be on their children's holiday wish lists."

After October 31, the company will charge the $5 fee and other rules will continue to apply. For example, regardless of when the order was created, there is a 20% down payment requirement and shoppers have 45 days from the time the order was initiated to pay for at least half of the their order. Orders must be paid in full by and picked up by December 16 or there is a $10 cancellation fee.

Modification of the layaway program follows a move announced by Walmart in late August to move start date of its layaway program up by 30 days to September 16. As for fees, at that time of the announcement Walmart had increased the fee to open a layaway account to $15 from $5 last year, but hours after Toys "R" Us announced its program, Walmart said it was "rolling back" a fee it had yet to begin collecting to the $5 level.

"This is a direct response to feedback we received since announcing this year’s holiday layaway program," said Duncan Mac Naughton, Walmart’s chief merchandising and marketing officer. "Customers who make their final payment will receive a refund of the $5 fee on a Walmart gift card. We believe this rollback strengthens our layaway offering. It’s even more attractive to our customers and makes Walmart more competitive in the marketplace."

Other terms of Walmart’s program are comparable to last year such as a requirement for a down payment of $10 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater, but the company no longer collects a cancellation fee of $10 as was the case last year.

The biggest difference in the programs at the two retailers is the categories of merchandise eligible for layaway. All toys in its Toys "R" Us stores and most items at Babies "R" Us store are eligible for layaway, in comparison to when the program was first launched and merchandise categories were limited to large items such as bikes, swing sets, dollhouses and play kitchens. Since then, additional categories of merchandise were added such as video game hardware and tablet computers and last year saw expansion to virtually all merchandise categories. Excluded from the program are categories such as batteries, diapers, candy, food and formula, some seasonal items, health and beauty aids, apparel and doorbuster deals.

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At Walmart, the list of merchandise categories was expanded this year after the program was reinstituted last holiday season. Walmart has added small appliances and select sporting goods such as basketball goals, trampolines and large exercise equipment to electronics, toys and jewelry as categories eligible for layaway.

Increased customer loyalty drives up Kroger Q2 performance

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 9/7/2012

Kroger attributed its gains in sales and earnings in the second quarter to cost control and increased customer loyalty and was confident enough to raise its earnings guidance.

The retailer reported net earnings of $279.1 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $280.8 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, for the same period last year.

Kroger reported total sales, including fuel, increased 3.9% to $21.7 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compared with $20.9 billion for the same period last year. In the second quarter, total sales, excluding fuel, increased 3.8% over the same period last year.

"We are pleased with Kroger's strong performance in the second quarter," said David Dillon, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Kroger shareholders once again benefited from our Customer 1st strategy. Increased customer loyalty and solid cost controls allowed us to grow sales, profitability, and shareholder value."

Kroger has raised its fiscal 2012 earnings guidance to a range of $2.35 to $2.42 per diluted share. The company continues to expect identical supermarket sales growth for the full year, excluding fuel, of 3% to 3.5%. Kroger expects to achieve in the upper end of the range for both earnings per share and sales growth. The previous earnings per share guidance was a range of $2.33 to $2.40.

Macy's raises $4 million during cause shopping event

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 9/6/2012

Macy’s has raised $4 million for March of Dimes and various charitable organizations across the country as a result of its 2012 “Shop For A Cause” event.

Now in its seventh year, “Shop For A Cause” is Macy’s unique, one-day-only shopping event that was created to support local and national charities’ fundraising efforts. Macy’s designated March of Dimes, the leading non-profit organization for pregnancy and baby health, as its national beneficiary of all proceeds of sales of “Shop For A Cause” savings passes in-stores and on macys.com. To date, Macy’s Shop For A Cause has raised $46 million for thousands of charities across the country.

“‘Shop For A Cause’ represents a meaningful way for Macy’s and its customers to give back to the community by raising funds for organizations that do important work locally and nationally,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer. “We continue to be inspired by the millions of customers who support this program, and are proud to announce that $4 million was raised as a result of this year’s efforts.”

This year, more than 7,000 local charities signed up to participate. By purchasing $5 “Shop For A Cause” savings passes from these organizations, customers supported their favorite causes and received 25% off on regular, sale

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and clearance merchandise, as well as 10 percent off watches, furniture, mattresses and area rugs in the store all day on Saturday, Aug. 25, and were eligible to win a $500 gift card.

Payless 'falls' for value with new shoe line

Staff Writer , Retailing Today . 9/6/2012

Payless ShoeSource has unveiled its fall Incredible Value Everyday Collection -- a refreshed line with a range of footwear for women, men and children including dress, casuals and athletic styles at prices starting at $10 for kids, $15 for women, and $20 for men.

Key styles for women include career pumps featuring kitten, mid- and high-heels with exotic, nude patent and classic black uppers, colorful canvas sneakers, athletic styles, as well a range of flats in seasonally right colors such as cobalt blue, rich red and metallics along with popular handbag silhouettes. For girls, the line offers classic Mary Jane and saddle shoe styles, athletics and slip-on flats adorned with bow and ruffle treatments and featuring uppers in a range of colors such as purple, red and metallic silver with glitter finishing treatments. For men and boys, the Incredible Value assortment includes versatile lace-up and slip-on oxfords, dress styles, athletic and skate-inspired styles.

The "Incredible Value" collection is an ongoing program with evergreen products that continue to be offered season after season with refresh styles added throughout the year.

"Our new Incredible Value Everyday line boasts a wide range of styles for the family featuring everything from wardrobe essentials for women and moms like career pumps and casual flats, to closet staples for kids for school, play and special occasions, as well as styles for men," said LuAnn Via, CEO of Payless. "These prices are incredible -- everyday -- and that means shoppers don't need to wait for a sale to grab a great buy."

Wal-Mart slashes holiday layaway fee in response to customer complaints

Katherine Field Boccaccio , Chain Store Age . 9/5/2012

Wal-Mart Stores said Tuesday it has lowered its holiday layaway fee from $15 to $5, saying that the move is in response to customer feedback.

Customers may begin to open layaway accounts under the new fee arrangement on Sept. 15, and it runs through Dec. 14.

According to Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer, Walmart U.S., “this is a direct response to feedback we received since announcing this year's Holiday Layaway program. [It] makes Walmart more competitive in the marketplace.”