Chief Marketer Staff

• Del Monte Taps TracyLocke for Retail

  Del Monte Foods named TracyLocke its agency of record for in-store marketing for all brands.

• Agencies

  Will Employee Pricing Return for Car Buyers This Summer?

  Chrysler Group announced last week that it may revive its employee-pricing promotion, a program that drove thousands of consumers to dealerships last summer.

• Agencies

  Cott Licenses Disney Films and Bows Line of Kids’ Drinks

  Cott Corp. is out with a new line of fruit and water beverages for kids—touting less sugar and added vitamins—all tied to some of Disney’s most popular films.

• Alternative Media Spending Rises to $53 Billion in Q1: Report

  Spending on alternative media strategies rose 16.4% in the first half of 2006 to an estimated $53.4 billion thanks to continued audience fragmentation and a growing shift from traditional media, according to a new report.

• Agencies

  UPromise to Grow 30% a Year Under Sallie Mae

  Sallie Mae will reach college-bound kids earlier and serve them longer when it completes its purchase of UPromise later this summer.

• Circuit City’s Marketing Chief Departs

  Fiona P. Dias, the executive VP/CMO of Circuit City Stores, Inc., will step down for personal reasons, effective Aug. 27.

• TPN Taps O’Leary Through Buyout

  TPN has bought boutique agency Methods & Madness, adding a Los Angeles office and Chief Creative Officer Sarah O’Leary.

• Agencies

  Sheraton Serves Pie

  Four Points by Sheraton is dishing up pie in an effort to make its 130 hotels homier this summer.

• Agencies

  P&I Postscripts

  DOUBLETREE HOTELS: is offering consumers a sweet treat tied to…ALL STAR INCENTIVE MARKETING: Sturbridge, MA, has revamped its Internet-based incentives management service that…

• Agencies

  How to Use Key Performance Indicators

  Many firms have metrics that they show to the outside world. Then there are the ones they use internally to monitor their progress. These are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).