Sears debuts interactive, online series

Hoffman Estates-bases Sears on Sunday will debut an interactive online series called “Screw D,” about a totally inept guy sent to Craftsman boot camps to learn do-it-yourself projects. For three months, he'll complete, well ... something.

Alan Weischedel of Sherman Oaks, Calif., was chosen among hundreds of finalists as the most unhandy of handymen. During the course of the online series, he'll be put into three locations with only the tools and the online audience to help him get through some tough spots. The show debuts Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and runs through Oct. 16 on CraftsmanScrewD.com via YouTube. Viewers can chat and offer help via help/comments.

“Screw D” is the third such series, following “Down & Dirty” and “Forged,” that Sears has offered online or via podcast, iTunes and other formats to reach first-time homebuyers, said Ryan Ostrom, Sears division vice president of digital media based in Hoffman Estates.

“This is not the typical do-it-yourself show,” said Ostrom. “They're interactive videos that we did at the lab.” The 1-year-old lab is the Sears experience store at Huron and Franklin streets in Chicago. Another such store recently opened in Los Angeles and will be home to more such interactive programming focusing on automotive repairs, Ostrom said.

Sears' online efforts have grown dramatically in the past year, Ostrom said, and they provide a unique way to market both the products and how-to information to consumers. Already about 20 percent more people have signed up for the store's loyalty program to earn discounts and other perks as a result of the online efforts.

As for “Screw D,” the show also will offer a blog at CraftsmanScrewD.com, at Facebook.com/Craftsman and through Twitter.com's ScrewD-Alan. If you miss the live show, you can catch a repeat later through Livestream.com.

“We'll be developing other ideas that have ‘entertainment' properties,” said Ostrom.

Surfing: Kmart, owned by Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings, is targeting the Hispanic audience by launching “Madres y Comadres,” an eight-part Spanish-language miniseries at YouTube.com/MadresyComadres. You also can follow it on Twitter at MadresyComadres as well as Facebook.#376;Gurnee-based EcoTools, a Paris Presents brand, has introduced #8220;EcoTools Gives Back,#8221; a voting platform online that allows consumers a chance to vote for their favorite cause. #376;A program examining Facebook fan pages for businesses will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at the Indian Trails Public Library, 355 S. Schoenbeck Road, Wheeling. Call (847) 459-4100 for more information.#376;Follow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter. Write to her at akukec@dailyherald.com. 477305Alan Weischedel of Sherman Oaks, Calif., is most unhandy of handymen for Sears’ new interactive online show, “Screw D.” 477313Alan Weischedel of Sherman Oaks, Calif., is most unhandy of handymen for Sears’ new interactive online show, “Screw D.”