Chief Marketer Staff

• Digital

  Naymz Accentuates the Positive on Search Engines

  One of the most interesting things about search is the way mash-ups, start-ups and third-party developments can flip back and forth over the fence separating consumer uses from business or marketing uses. Projects that get their start as useful tools for one group can very quickly be adapted to be useful for anyone promoting a product or service on the Web. Case in point: a spate of services that have grown up in the last year to improve and safeguard personal reputations on the Web.

• Digital

  Number One? Not Always the Top Ad Strategy

  San Diego-based search marketing firm Engine Ready recently came out with a look at the impact pay-per-click ad position has had on the clickthrough and conversion performance of a diverse selection of its managed accounts in the last year. While the data doesn’t rise to the level of a formal study or index, Engine Ready marketing vice president Brian Lewis thinks the project holds some interest as an informal look at bid strategy and performance.

• Agencies

  Montana Legend Grows DM Business

  About seven years ago, the Lazy E-L ranch in Roscoe, MT decided it wanted to try marketing directly to red meat lovers. It formed the Montana Legend Co., which markets angus beef online and through catalogs.

• Agencies

  Online Marketer Goes After LGBT Market

  Terrence Smalley, a longtime online marketing executive, has formed Outonthenet.com, a loyalty-marketing firm catering to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) market.

• Agencies

  How To Write An Effective Sales Letter

  My pointed observation from reviewing hundreds of self-penned sales letters from small business owners is this: A majority of these otherwise by and large hard-working and conscientious people don’t put nearly enough time and effort into the job.

• Agencies

  Tips & Teasers

  MerchantCircle has launched Web IdentityManager, a software package designed to help local business owners manage their online reputation by aggregating company listings, reviews and online ratings from local search sites.

• Listline e-Newsletter 12/20/06

  A list of 351,561 buyers is available from the Spice Catalog. The
  average unit of sale for adult videos and other sexually oriented
  products was $60.

• Agencies

  FTC Postpones Enforcing Call Abandonment Provisions of TSR

  The Federal Trade Commission will not begin taking action against telemarketers running afoul of call abandonment provisions in the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) starting Jan. 2.

• The Year in Promotional Marketing

  (Promo) So much for glacially paced evolution. Promotion marketing took defined strides this past year: with new media technologies, new approaches to creative content, new metrics and new definitions of success.

• Agencies

  Valassis to Acquire Advo, Lawsuit Dropped

  Valassis Communications Inc. will acquire Advo Inc. for $33 per share, or roughly $1.2 billion in cash. As part of the purchase agreement, both companies have agreed to dismiss all pending litigation.