Leap Day--A day for marketing

Leap Day is as good a reason as any to plan a special promotion. On this extra day in February, what are marketers putting on offer? Here are just a few of the special deals:

• 'Ladies Be Bold...The Ultimate Leap Year Proposal' is a Leap Day special, offering a honeymoon to Antigua as the grand prize for the most creative marriage proposal by a woman to her special one (top image).

• Crabtree & Evelyn UK is offering a 29% discount on 29 selected products for 29 February only (see left).

• Lensway UK has a one-day special on Joseph Marc spectacles for £29.

Nike's nontraditional marketing

The athletic apparel company behind "Just Do It" is reaching out to customers in new ways. Television adverts are less important these days than digital connections with sports-minded buyers. Nike+ (digital tools to help users measure and track their performance) is one of the company's priorities because it makes the brand an integral part of customers' athletic efforts, whether they're running for fitness or training for a marathon.

Nike is also expanding its product line to showcase new items in this Olympic year. For example, it has partnered with Paralympic athlete Sarah Reinertsen to design a sole for her prosthesis, which she uses when competing in marathons, triathlons, and other events. Note the swoosh on this item--Nike's brand symbol.

What about the environment? Nike Better World is the company's Web center for showcasing its green cred and social responsibility. Nike is also racing toward closed loop products, which means no material is wasted and everything is recycled--a race that never ends.

Retail losers, retail winners

The retail industry is going through a challenging period. Centre for Retail Research has a fascinating list called 'Who's Gone Bust in Retailing'. The list for 2005-2011 covers UK store chains that went into administration (including some retail companies that ultimately survived). That list includes: Borders, Barratts, Alexon, T J Hughes, Jane Norman, Habitat, Focus DIY, Floors-2-Go, the Officers Club, Oddbins, Ethel Austin, Faith Shoes, Adams Childrenswear, Thirst Quench, Stylo, Mosaic, Principles, Sofa Workshop, Allied Carpets, Viyella, Dewhursts, Woolworths, MFI and Zavvi/Virgin Megastore.

PricewaterhouseCoopers says that multistore retailers closed '14 stores a day on average across Great Britain in 2011'. Among the losers: electricals, home furnishings, menswear, book shops and travelshops.

At the same time, PwC's report notes that some retailers are doing well, including: convenience food stores, supermarkets, charity shops, pawn brokers, pound shops and shoe shops. 
 
Financial Times is featuring the latest financial results reported by UK retailers...and the post-Christmas 2011 news is decidedly mixed. Tesco issued a profit warning; HMV didn't do well; Ocado issued a profit warning; Mothercare didn't do well. On the other hand, Asos did well; Wm Morrison did well; Kingfisher (B&Q) did well; and John Lewis did well. 

Not surprisingly, strong online retail sales helped the industry overall. Does this mean high street stores will continue to disappear as people click to buy instead of pushing a trolley?

Sport Relief 2012 Goes Social

Ready for Sport Relief? The high-profile fundraising event, put on by Comic Relief, is back next month, all for a good cause. (Last year, during Red Nose Day, Comic Relief raised more than 100 million pounds to help poor people in the U.K. and in Africa.)

The next six weeks will put Sport Relief in the traditional and social media spotlight. Its Web site has interactive games for kids, an online store with logo socks and other products and dozens of ideas for organizing fundraisers in local schools, businesses and communities. Online donations can be made in pounds, euros, US or Australian dollars.

Already, 85,000 people have "liked" Sport Relief on Facebook. Its Twitter account has more than 100,000 followers. Dozens of videos are up on its YouTube channel. A new app has just been released. Get ready!

China-owned auto brands steer into UK

If you haven't seen a Great Wall Steed pickup (above, right) or a Geely Emgrand (left) in the UK, you will very soon. The two are part of a new wave of China-made vehicles that are looking West for sales growth.

Already, London's famed cabs are assembled in the UK from China-made parts. And MG Motor UK, owned by China's top automaker, SAIC, has been enjoying record car sales as economic conditions improve.

Competition remains a major challenge, however, and the Chinese auto brands will have to educate consumers and differentiate themselves to highlight their benefits and advantages.

Diamond Jubilee marketing

Today, Accession Day, marks 60 years of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Many marketers are releasing upmarket, limited-edition products for the occasion, leading up to the official Diamond Jubilee celebration in June.

Diageo has created just 60 of the Diamond Jubilee product above, a special blend of rare 60-year-old whiskies in a stately Baccarat crystal decanter, priced at £100,000. Profits from the John Walker and Sons product, announced in 2011, will go to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust. (And of course, the Queen gets a bottle for her own celebration.)

Gordon & MacPail will sell just 85 of the £8,000-per-bottle, 60-year-old single malt it bottled at cask strength last week. The company devotes a microsite to explaining the Queen's accession and promoting the limited-edition Glen Grant's unique taste.