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I've talked a lot about consumer trends in 2012. The evolving consumer is smarter, savvier, and more interested in an experience. Some brands and retailers are responding with new marketing approaches. Let's take a few recent examples to see what this indicates about the consumer.

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When it comes time to evaluate your strategic partners for at-store marketing, how do you make a decision? You are juggling a huge responsibility. You need to find a partner who can streamline your processes, produce the best quality marketing materials, and ultimately drive the bottom line. There are many players involved and you must ultimately do what's best for the business.

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Enhancing the shopping experience is obviously a big marketing focus for most retailers in 2012. As technology continues to advance, consumers' appetite for tools that simplify and enhance their shopping experience grows exponentially.  To expand on this topic, Rick Baker is guest blogging about the value of useful mobile apps as a tool to take the shopping experience to a whole new level of engagement.

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Consumer brands and retailers should be allies in our marketing universe. Instead of focusing on the goals they have in common, however, many retailers and brands often only see their differences. Retailers are focused on getting more people into a store, increasing category purchases, and adding value to the shopping basket. Brands want more product skus, more shelf space, and mass displays in prime locations.

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Last week, Pointwoman and I attended NRF's annual Big Show in New York City. I can say it really was a big show, with over 25,000 attendees from across the industry. There was a tremendous amount of insight to gain from excellent sessions, a keynote from President Clinton, and from seeing the newest technology on the Expo Floor. Here are some key themes I gathered from the sessions.

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We all know that our at-store marketing campaigns are only as good as the support teams we have in the field. Field compliance can often be a challenge with many franchised organizations. How can you give these enforcers of your brand more support and in-turn, have a better enforcement of brand guideline and marketing campaigns?

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We are finally through the holiday craze, but I often think a brand proves itself during the times when there isn't an obvious holiday to promote. How can you capture shoppers' attention and drive them to the point-of-purchase, after they have just spent a great deal of money on gifts, travel, and more in December?

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Happy New Year marketers! As we all begin our resolutions and wrap up our marketing plans for 2012, I wanted some insight on one of the newer social media platforms, Google Plus. Heather Reid recently hosted her first Thought Leadership Hangout last week, so I asked her to share more about the platform. Here is some insight on her chat.

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Well retail marketers – 2011 has been a big year for all of us. We've worked hard to handle changing market trends, figured out new ways to connect to our consumers, and dealt with economic uncertainty. I think if I had to sum up the year in one thought, it would be "Engage the Consumer through Integrated Marketing." We have to listen and participate in conversation across multiple-medium marketing.

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Occasionally, I turn my superpower blog writing duties over to an expert guest. I have been curious about the benefits and challenges involved with retail digital marketing, so I asked a Pointsmith team member, Glen Tyler, to help educate us all. Thanks Glen! What is the future of at–store digital marketing for the retail world?

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