When Sears hired Robert Raible a little more than a year ago, it was a clear sign that the retailer was ready to think about its marketing in a different way. As the company's first VP of integrated marketing communications, he has big plans for integrating all forms of communications, from PR and advertising to in-store and online.

“If we were doing sky-writing, I would want that in,” Raible notes.

Sears' first big foray into integrated marketing came in spring ...