Month: June 2006

• Pop the Top and Miller Cans Talk

  Will talking cans shake things up this summer during the most competitive season for brewers? Miller Brewing Co. hopes they will.

• Dunkin’ Brands Name New Brand Officers

  Dunkin’ Brands has appointed two new brand officers to its Dunkin’ Donuts and Togo franchises.

• News Briefs

  NATIONAL TOUR, INC.: Concord, NC, last week emerged from…DIC ENTERTAINMENT: has acquired the privately-owned, pan-European licensing agency…

• Intersections to Acquire Chartered Marketing Services for $50 Million

  Intersections Inc., a consumer credit services firm located in Chantilly, VA, said it plans to acquire Chartered Marketing Services Inc. (CMSI), an Arlington Heights, IL-based direct marketer of insurance and membership services products in the financial services industry.

• Ralph Stevens Allies With 21st Century Marketing

  Ralph Stevens & Associates LLC and 21st Century Marketing have formed a strategic alliance to jointly pursue new client relationships, primarily in the catalog and publishing sectors.

• Jingle Networks Generates 4% to 6% Conversion Rates

  Jingle Networks Inc. operator of 1-800-Free411, an advertising supported directory assistance service, reported that it typically generates 4% to 6% average conversion rates from direct response advertising targeting consumers who receive free directory assistance number look-up services.

• Wachovia Curtails Telemarketing Customer Contacts

  Wachovia Corp. has reduced the number of inbound telephone contacts it receives from banking customers by offering more online banking services. The bank reported that its customer support contact rate has declined from 40% to 17%.

• Agencies

  Loose Cannon: All I Really Need to Know About CRM I Learned in Kindergarten

  Robert Fulghum was right: The essential lessons of life can be gleaned from truths learned in kindergarten. The next few decades of formal education are commentary and algebra.

  This was brought home recently when my soon-to-be-former bank (let’s call it “Four Letter Bank”) lost my paycheck, and then proceeded to violate one obvious tenet of customer relationship management after another. I reckon its managers skipped kindergarten — and thus missed the following important lessons.

• Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  SIRIUS Satellite Radio Instead of Ties for Father

• EBay to offer Contextual Ads, Google Plans Online Payments

  Google and eBay inched closer to a turf battle this weekend, with each breaking news of upcoming services that could encroach on the other