Stay out of the dog house

J.C. Penney Company Inc. is the recipient of this year's World Retail Award under the "Best Digital Retail Advertising" category for the mid-tier department store's "interactive viral marketing campaign" it calls Beware of the Doghouse, which targets younger shoppers.

The award was presented to JCPenney at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona in May for our innovative marketing efforts. Beware of the Doghouse has proven to be a fun and engaging campaign, building on our success of developing new and innovative strategies that connect with younger consumers on their terms.

Voted by industry experts from around the world, the Beware of the Doghouse campaign received high ratings for its creativity and multi-channel integration. Calling it “truly 360 degree" and one based on a “witty and intelligent” idea, the campaign was described by judges from the World Retail Congress as having “bubbled out into the media, creating great value for the money.Divided into four key media categories – traditional media, in-store advertising, direct marketing and new media – the retail advertising section of the World Retail Awards includes a diverse selection of campaigns. Across each of the categories, the awards annually go to companies that offer "the very best of retailing in all its key areas of operation, assisting retail businesses to secure a vital edge in winning business and gaining market share".

JCPenney, which operates 1,101 units in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, first launched Beware of the Doghouse – which centers on women who to comically reprimand their loved ones for bad gift choices – on November 21. Throughout last year's holiday season, the campaign logged more than 7 million visitors to www.BewareoftheDoghouse.com and more than 14 million total video views.