Promo Interactive

If you’ve seen it in a theater,you may know by now that James Cameron’s “Avatar” is the most innovative product to hit American movie screens since D. W. Griffith said, “Hey, maybe some close-ups would make the Civil War more interesting.” Whatever you may think of the story, if you’re like most audience members, you’re going to be blown away by computer-generated animation that’s at once totally lifelike and completely unlike life as we’ve ever seen it in the movies.

That’s why I was so anxious to get to my local McDonald’s and order up a Big Mac: because the quick-service chain went to great lengths to ballyhoo an elaborate tie-in with the movie’s Dec. 18 launch, promising everything from online game experiences (including some unlocked by access codes from Avatar packaging) to my particular interest: a set of augmented-reality “Avatar Thrill Cards” available on Big Mac packages that, held up to a computer camera, offered interactive visits to the movie’s planet Pandora.

The Internet reality may be augmented, but the commercial reality is that among the several McD stores near my office and home, I couldn’t find one that offered the Thrill Cards in the first five days after the movie opened. more

Coupons.com, which offers members digital discount offers via Web and mobile phone, has expanded its platform with a new portfolio of services, including the ability to save discount offers to selected retailer loyalty cards, the company announced today.

The Mountain View CA-based company also unveiled enhancements to its popular Grocery IQ shopping list app for the iPhone, as well as an iPhone app version of its Coupons.com Web site and a new optimization of the http://www.Coupons.com site for other feature phones. more

Did you realize that October 5 to 9 was National Layaway Week? Value retailer Kmart did—after all, they called the holiday– and celebrated by launching an online center where customers can find, hold and make installment payments for the items they want to pick up in-store and give this holiday. more

Retailers and brands that sell online are stampeding into social media, a new survey finds—some for fear of looking less modern than their competitors, and others out of concern that they may be getting bad-mouthed without their knowledge.

According to the survey, fielded by multichannel retail consultant The E-tailing Group and consumer review platform PowerReviews, a surprising number of social media tools have achieved wide adoption by brands and retailers in the relatively short time they’ve been available. Eighty-six percent of the brands and merchants who responded to the “Community and Social Media Study” poll said they now use a Facebook fan page. more

Sears has unveiled the social media campaign that will promote its back-to-college sales this season, a package of three integrated Facebook tools grouped under the heading “Campus Ready”.

The tools, available on the Sears main Web site or on Facebook, are intended to help first-time college students and their families prepare for the experience by helping them to identify and then pay for the furniture and furnishings they’ll need for dorm life. more

Sears has unveiled the social media campaign that will promote its back-to-college sales this season, a package of three integrated Facebook tools grouped under the heading “Campus Ready”.

The tools, available on the Sears main Web site at http://www.Sears.com/campus or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/campusready, are intended to help first-time college students and their families prepare for the experience by helping them to identify and then pay for the furniture and furnishings they’ll need for dorm life. more