Month: March 2010

• SEC Director: InfoGroup’s Gupta “Stole Millions”

  Former infoGroup chairman and CEO Vinod C. Gupta “stole millions of dollars from Info shareholders by treating the company like it was his personal ATM,” Robert Khuzami, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s division of enforcement, alleged in a statement.

• Hotlines Can Now Happen in Real Time

  Once upon a time, the freshest data you could get was “hotline” information

• Agencies

  Loyalty Programs Need to Keep Evolving

  The competition for consumers’ attention is tougher than ever, and marketers must keep finding new ways to engage with their audience.

• The Relevance of Credibility in Marketing

  Look no further than two recent examples of relevancy gone bad and the negative impact it has had on the brands: Tiger Woods and Toyota.

• People In The News: MeritDirect, Western Sierra, Charming Shoppes, VisionPoint Marketing

  MeritDirect, Western Sierra Acceptance, Charming Shoppes and VisionPoint Marketing have recently announced personnel changes.

• Data Integration Concerns Lead Marketer Woes: Survey

  Readers who haven’t been sleeping well of late may take some cold comfort in knowing their compatriots are tossing and turning right along with them. Why the restlessness? Primarily over concerns about measuring results and increasing effectiveness, integrating marketing channels and turning data into actions.

• Agencies

  American Eagle Takes Lesson From Shutting Sub-Brand, Ends Year Strong

  All right, so American Eagle is shutting one of its brands. But not without having learned a lesson about launching a brand

• Gupta Resigns From InfoGroup Board

  Vinod C. Gupta has resigned from the board of directors of infoGroup. Gupta

• Email

  Artful Use of E-mail Gives American Ceramic Society Triple-Digit Sales Spike

  In less than three years, the American Ceramic Society increased product sales by more than 200%

• Staples Launches New Web Site Aimed at Businesses

  Staples, the office supplies giant, has launched a new commercial Web site StaplesAdvantage.com (www.staplesadvantage.com) aimed specifically at business customers.