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J.C. Penney, Sears get aggressive on gift cards for holiday season

November 13, 2008

New York Times: J.C. Penney plans to devote part of its holiday campaign to reassuring shoppers about the redeemability of its gift cards, much the same way that banks have run ads focused on the safety of a depositor's savings. Because so many retailers have been going bankrupt and not honoring gift cards, "we're going to be more aggressive in our gift-card messaging around the idea that you know J. C. Penney will be around, and the cards are good as gold," said Michael Boylson, chief marketing officer at the J. C. Penney Company in Plano, Texas, which will start the holiday campaign on Friday. Another national chain, Sears Roebuck, is offering consumers an altruistic incentive to buy and use gift cards.

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