Chief Marketer Staff

• Digital

  Q4 Loss Leads Borders Back to the Web

  A substantial fourth-quarter loss led retail bookseller Borders Group yesterday to announce a major strategic shift, including a new concept store and a comprehensive e-commerce Web site.

• Digital

  Yahoo! Taps Executive to Oversee Click Quality

  In an effort to provide more visibility into its click-fraud detection efforts, Yahoo! yesterday named corporate lawyer Reggie Davis to the newly-created post of vice president of marketplace quality.

• Agencies

  Affinion Reports Revenues Fell $73.6 Million in 2006

  Membership services direct marketer Affinion Group Inc. reported on Thursday that its net revenues for the 2006 fiscal year decreased by $73.6 million, compared to the previous year. It reported $1.1 billion in net revenues for 2006.

• Agencies

  Catalog and Internet Revenues Rise 4.5% at Williams-Sonoma

  Williams-Sonoma Inc. reported its catalog and Internet revenues for fiscal year 2006 increased 4.5% to $1.57 billion, up from $1.50 billion for the 2005 fiscal year.

• Agencies

  Dover Saddlery Reports $60 million in catalog and Internet Sales

  Equestrian products direct marketer, Dover Saddlery Inc. yesterday reported $60.2 million in direct marketing revenues for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, compared to $53.3 million for the previous fiscal year.

• Focus USA Launches List Management Plus Division

  Chris Morgan has been appointed vice president of list management by Focus USA to head the company’s new List Management Plus division. Focus USA is a database compiler and provides list segmentation, analytical and statistical modeling services.

• Agencies

  Live From NEMOA: An Association of Friends

  The New England Mail Order Association differs from many other DM clubs in that it has always been a very personal organization. And that, said Tim Litle on Thursday, can make all the difference in the world.

• Agencies

  Live From NEMOA: Knowing It All is a KooKoo Idea

  If you’re a small cataloger, knowing everything about your business — including the little stuff like how to pick, pack and ship things from the warehouse to how to post photos on your Web site — is essential to running your business.

• Short Cuts

  Infomercial marketer Dynamic Response Group Inc. has begun testing several DRTV spots promoting the new NASCAR Members club.

• Letters to the Editor

  EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers who have sent submissions to the “Let’s get more U.S. agencies into the Caples” contest mentioned in the current column and have NOT received an acknowledgement from me are urged to re-send the entry — e-mail continues to be wonky