How Macy's mixes tradition with new media

In this article, Jennifer Kasper, group vice president, digital media and multicultural marketing, at Macy's, the department store group, discusses how it leverages traditional and digital channels to enhance its annual Thanksgiving Parade.

How Macy's mixes tradition with new media

Geoffrey PrecourtWarc

Macy's was a lynchpin of social media long before anybody recognized the importance of authentic, exclusive content. Since 1924, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - a kick-off-the-holiday-season celebration that NBC started telecasting in 1948 - has been an American buzz machine for the New York City department store. And, in 1947, the film Miracle on 34th Street permanently locked Macy's into the US Christmas tradition.

Cultural history - even at peak shopping season - is stretched when it comes up against a new kind of always-on global digital marketplace. But, according...

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