Kyle Harrington

Are you maximizing your loyalty program to drive both customer acquisition and retention? If your program isn’t working to attract new customers, it’s only pulling half its weight. Ulta Beauty aims to do just that with its Ulta Beauty Rewards program. With over 40 million members and projections of 50 million by 2028, loyalty is a central growth lever, and Ulta is using the program to deepen engagement while attracting new customers in a highly competitive market. In a recent investor meeting, Ulta set cautious expectations for 2024, marking 2025 as a transition year. Despite major investments like Warren Buffett’s $200M stake and a collaboration with the movie Wicked, Ulta stock is down ~22% YTD, indicating that competition, particularly from Amazon’s expanding beauty category, is pressuring margins. Amazon's partnerships and Prime benefits make it an increasingly formidable rival in cosmetics. As Ulta rolls out Early Black Friday Deals, loyalty members gain exclusive benefits beyond discounts, providing an ideal opportunity to retain members and drive incremental sales. Ulta’s expansion plans for its stores and eCommerce will be critical in capturing market share. Still, the question remains: Can Ulta’s loyalty strategy sustain growth across its 600+ brands and 1,400 stores? Here are five standout loyalty benefits for members this holiday season: 1️⃣ Enhanced Points Multipliers: Ulta frequently offers bonus point multipliers during the holiday season, allowing members to earn points faster on their purchases. These promotions make it easier for shoppers to accumulate points for future discounts, turning holiday shopping into opportunities for even more savings. 2️⃣ Exclusive Gift Sets and Bundles: Ulta introduces special holiday gift sets at various price points, offering great value across categories like makeup, skincare, and fragrance. These curated sets are designed to maximize savings and are often exclusive to loyalty members, making them ideal for both gift-giving and self-care. 3️⃣ Gifts with Purchase: Ulta provides exclusive "gift with purchase" deals for loyalty members, where specific purchases come with additional items at no extra cost. These bonuses vary across product categories, adding a festive bonus to members’ holiday shopping. 4️⃣ Personalized Offers and Early Access: Platinum and Diamond members often receive early access to holiday sales and product launches, giving them the first pick on popular items before they sell out. Additionally, Ulta tailors its holiday promotions based on member preferences, ensuring relevant and personalized deals. 5️⃣ Revamped Birthday Gift Options: Although available year-round, Ulta’s birthday gifts have been revamped to offer more choices across various popular brands. Members can select from various options, adding a personalized touch to this benefit. #loyalty #rewards #marketing #retention #personalization

6

🎉 Really excited about this one.... An interesting thing is happening in the performance marketing ecosystem: digital media has become slower and more aggregated in terms of feedback, while OOH and DOOH have become more granular with faster reporting, meaning there's a 'meeting in the middle' and OOH is earning its rightful place in the sales funnel. There's a lot to unpack, but looking forward to chatting on it! #performancemarketing #ooh

43

1 Comment

📈 Rising insurance costs are reshaping the game for California renters, homeowners, and investors. For GPs and MDs, success means staying ahead with proactive risk management and innovative strategies. 💡 Here's how smart leaders are navigating this challenge: [link in comments]

9

Brand safety is kind of a given in terms of marketer expectations in 2024, but the reality of making brand safety happen is a bit more complex. Let's talk about it at the TAG "State of the Fight" event during Advertising Week New York!

50

This is a worthwhile watch, great overview and discussion on how important designing with purpose is and the impact it can have on driving your business forward.

1

The Mars Agency's Lindsey Simcik and Kristin Wall joined over 800 practitioners last week for the Salsify Digital Shelf Summit in Nashville, Tennessee, to network and gain insights into the evolution of the omnichannel space. Across the different sessions, five themes emerged: 🧠 Artificial Intelligence 📋 Product Quality ⚖️ Data Governence 📊 Measurement 🌱 Digital Transformation Get their key takeaways here 👇

20

‼️ICYMI ‼️Rachel O'Hara, Laura DeCristofaro, Sammy Natour, and Matthew Tilley sat down with AdExchanger to talk about the evolution of contextual targeting last week. 🚨SPOILER ALERT 🚨— traditional taxonomies are out, custom AI-enabled categories are in. Watch the full webinar here — https://lnkd.in/earNZGhZ

23

Learn how Tractor Supply's Loyalty Program drives more revenue.

5

To anyone wishing to help the victims of the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, please be wary of scammers (unfortunately, this needs to be said.) Ensure your donations go to actual people affected and not scammers, with these two options: 1) GoFundMe.org has an official 2025 Wildfire Relief Fund, which they use to provide direct relief to people in need after a wildfire. The donations allow them to send critical cash grants quickly and directly to people who need them. https://lnkd.in/grvfgyYr 2) As well, they have also compiled a centralized hub of all VERIFIED fundraisers related to the LA wildfires, with those impacted by the Pacific Palisades, Hurst, and Eaton fires in the section nearest the top. https://lnkd.in/gpDhhwgv

3

Ignite innovation and productivity with 5G for SMBs! 📶 Check out this article from Forbes to discover the opportunities that come with 5G technology. Businesses everywhere, in every sector, can innovate and bring new services to customers with help from 5G. To explore 5G devices and technologies for your business, contact Bubble Cloud/ Bubble Social Media Marketing.

1

B2B Marketers: 🚨 One Week Until the Bay Area Marketer Meet-Up! 🚨 This is your chance to be among the first to get a sneak peek of our annual State of Demand Gen Report results! During next week’s event, we’ll reveal exclusive insights from the latest survey of B2B tech marketers—just like you. You’ll get early access to the hottest trends, strategies, and challenges shaping B2B marketing for 2025. From sales alignment to the impact of AI, we’re covering it all, and you won’t want to miss out on the latest details from our brand-new research. Why Attend? ✔️ Exclusive Preview of the State of Demand Gen Report ✔️ Networking with top marketers from Uber, Lenovo, ServiceNow, and Egnyte ✔️ Actionable Insights to fuel your 2025 marketing strategies ✔️ Networking with 50 other revenue marketers  ✔️ Free Professional Headshots Event Details: 📅 Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024 📍 Location: el PRADO Palo Alto 🕒 Time: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM PST Don’t miss the opportunity to be at the forefront of industry insights and connect with fellow B2B marketers. Secure your spot today—space is limited! 👉 Register Now! Click on the image below...

9

2 Comments

The AI conversation in retail often gets stuck on automation, but here's what excites me: AI's potential to create intensely personal, human experiences at scale. It's not just about efficiency - it's about crafting those meaningful moments that make customers feel truly seen and understood. 🤝 Michele Fitzpatrick nails it in this Retail Today roundtable - it's about using AI to transform digital interactions into deeply personal connections. Think less 'robot efficiency' and more 'digital empathy.' This piece beautifully breaks down how retailers can harness AI to create those magic moments that turn shoppers into loyal advocates. Great read for anyone passionate about using technology to deliver intensely personal human experiences in retail. The future of retail isn't just automated - it's authentically and personally connected. 🎯 #RetailInnovation #RetailTechnology #AIinRetail #RetailStrategy #FutureOfRetail #CustomerLoyalty #AI #MarketingAutomation

16

The 2 questions you should be asking if you want to be successful in licensing. I love me a good Cinnabon. They're soft, super indulgent, hot and gooey Cereal unfortunately is none of those things. Marketers, before you approach a brand to license you need to ask these 2 questions. 1. Can I bring this experience to life in an authentic way? 2. Ask question number 1 again with a little more honesty. Master this and watch your licensing success rate soar, become the partner everyone seeks out, and save a ton of money in the process.

7

1 Comment

Too often, these conversations miss what's important for brands when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI is important for identifying with your customers; the majority of people are not being targeted. In this case, it's not even about what's "right," it's about what's good for business. Reaching specific people through targeting is essential for positive business outcomes. Unfortunately, marketing is still a place where you walk into a room where a conversation is being had between people who have no sense talking about what they’re talking about. For example, it's commonplace to see men talking about women’s beauty, non-vets talking about military service, and the like. Despite all of the tech we have, why are we still struggling to get the right people in the room? These are big questions we need to start addressing if we want to make meaningful progress. A lot of this backlash is driven by misunderstanding and outrage based on pretenses, and it hurts the bottom line of these firms. #AdTech #DEI #Leadership

27

In my latest article on Martech Zone, I dive into how marketers can build cohesive brand stories to drive meaningful connections. At Inspira, we’re dedicated to helping brands succeed through integrated marketing, and this article explores the challenges of brand storytelling, how to maintain consistency across channels, and key elements of a cohesive brand story. Click the link below to learn more.   

17

As summer comes to a close, typically the market sees a boost in seasonal hiring heading into Q4 as businesses gear up for year-end initiatives. Watch our latest Labor Market Minute to get quick takeaways to help you prepare for what's next. #JobsReport #RobertHalf

3

1 Comment

CTV ads + first-party data = your new marketing power couple 🤩 Want to learn how brands like Kroger and Nielsen are making the most of CTV? LiveRamp's CTV Activation Guide for Brands is here to help you turn viewers into buyers, one ad at a time. https://lnkd.in/dkJbZUch

18

Have you ever seen someone get punched over a $3 flash drive? I did and it made me the client services guy I am today. I spent about 10 years in retail, working at multiple Best Buys up and down California between 2004-2014. I applied to both Best Buy and Circuit City on the same day and ended up getting a call back from the blue box instead of the red one. One of those "sliding door" moments that I think about a lot... But back to the uppercut. After doing 10 Black Fridays, you see just about everything humanity has to offer. Every archetype of the human experience is your customer and if you are savvy enough to take some notes, you begin to notice patterns. You begin to have "old standby" retorts and methods of interacting with them. If you have a good manager (I sometimes did), you also learn how to handle it when those people inevitably become upset over a $3 flash drive. After I saw that knockout bunch of a piece of plastic not worth its weight in garbage, I decided it was time to move to greener pastures. What I quickly found was that even though Digital Marketing was terrifying and new, the moment I was hopping on a call with a client and they weren't swinging on someone over a flash drive, it all felt so natural. Like swinging a bat with a weight on it in the On-Deck circle: once I was able to just focus on one thing, it was very comfortable to slide in and handle just about any issue. I'm not alone in this - peers and colleagues I've worked with over the years that come from retail or the service industry are always the most patient, understanding, and deft at interacting with other humans. All this to say that if you have that background, please bring that humanity and lead with it in all ways. Retail and service jobs build character and when you're up against a tough moment or scary call, just think: "I could be watching two dudes duke it out over electronics right now."

22

5 Comments