Chief Marketer Staff

• Agencies

  Bazaarvoice Gets the Word Out

  For Sam Decker, the epiphany came when he was struggling with a volcano of slime. More specifically, it was a HotWheels Slimecano racing set, bought on Amazon.com as a Christmas present for his children, and it was a bear to put together on Christmas Eve. The pieces wouldn’t fit properly, and the river of slime refused to ooze. “I tried everything I could, both with and without the directions, and it just wouldn’t work,” Decker says. “Finally I slammed it back in the box and went to Amazon to write a bad review. And I found that there were already 77 negative reviews on that site, all giving it one star out of five. And Amazon was still selling it.”

• Listline e-Newsletter 09/06/06

  Direct Media Inc. now oversees Fairfield Mint’s catalog customer file.
  The 57,835 listed spent an average of $75 during the last 12 months on
  die-cast model cars.

• Advo Mails Acquisition Proxy Materials to Stockholders

  Advo Inc. will begin mailing ballots to its shareholders, asking them to approve a takeover by Valassis Communications Inc., the company announced on Tuesday. Last week, Valassis filed a lawsuit claiming that Advo management had misrepresented the company’s financial position and seeking to break its acquisition agreement (Direct Newsline, Sept. 1, 2006).

• Wunderman Acquires Shaw Marketing Group

  The Wunderman family of advertising agencies has acquired Shaw Marketing Group, a relationship marketing agency recognized for its expertise in spirits, consumer packaged Goods and other nontransactional product categories. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

• CDS Fulfillment Adds Distribution Warehouse

  Communications Data Service has added a 192,466 square foot distribution center in Des Moines, IA to its holdings. The new facility, its second, will add to the firm’s warehousing and fulfillment services capabilities.

• Mercy College Adds ‘Interactive’ to DM Degree Title

  The New York Center for Direct & Interactive Marketing at Mercy College has added the word “interactive” to its direct-marketing masters program.

• Agencies

  Caribou Coffee Takes Starbucks Turnaways

  Caribou Coffee is taking a competitive swipe at Starbucks, saying it will honor thousands of free-drink coupons the coffee rival sent via e-mail to employees last month, but later voided, citing abuse by consumers.

• Agencies

  Dunlop Dangles Eyewear for Tires

  Would you like a pair of eyeglasses to go with those tires?

• Agencies

  Managers Prefer Non-Cash Incentives

  Non-cash incentives generally motivate employees better than cash, but programs should be tailored to suit the corporate culture, desired behavior and employees’ job level.

• Agencies

  Home Depot Debuts First Reward Cards

  The Home Depot has launched its first consumer and business rewards credit cards—The Home Depot Rewards MasterCard and The Home Depot Business Rewards MasterCard lets consumers and business owners earn rewards for everyday purchases.