• Ad Age, Thursday, September 7, 2006 11:47 AM

Federated Department Stores wants to capture "alpha shoppers" as it converts 400 department stores under the Macy's banner. To do this, it has launched its first national branding campaign, while distancing itself from promotional ads. The aim is to rise above a sales slump that has hurt profits, and to re-emerge as a fashion brand. But there is a question as to whether Macy's can wean from the "coupon shopper," since it is known to rely on cut-out print ads and a multitude of sales. In addition, as shoppers lose some favored department-store brands like Marshall Field's, they may defect for good. A series of ads for Macy's uses live-action animation and a remake of the Motown classic "Dancing in the Streets." It has the look and feel of earlier Target Stores work, the trade mag notes, "with dancing models zigzagging across the screen in an endless parade of fashions and a heck of a lot of red." The campaign is a big test for Anne MacDonald, who was named Macy's CMO after strategy was set in place. "We are spending a lot of energy determining what is the right amount of promotion against fashion," she says.

Read the whole story at Ad Age »