Chief Marketer Staff

• Mattel Consolidates Toy/Licensing Divisions

  Mattel, maker of the popular Barbie and Hot Wheels brands, will consolidate its toy line and licensed products with Fisher-Price under a new division. The toymaker announced this week it would lump the two brands into one division called “Brands.” …

• General Mills Extends Donation Programs

  General Mills is taking its high-profile Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives campaign into the bread aisle, and extending its Boxtops for Education program to foodservice operators. The annual fundraiser asks shoppers to mail in pink Yoplait yogurt lids to …

• People in the News

  Advertising agency Blattner Brunner, Pittsburgh, recruited Natalie White Perkins to take on the new position of chief marketing officer. Perkins will be based in Atlanta; her charge is for all three Blattner Brunner offices. Perkins will report directly …

• News Brief

  VICTORIA’S SECRET: is on the hot seat again, under fire for racy in-store marketing. Stores in McLean, VA, and Wauwatosa, WI, are being protested by local parents and others who find its in-store merchandising obscene, USA Today reported. In particular, …

• Online Holiday Shopping to Hit $26.2 Billion: EMarketer

  Online retail sales for the fourth quarter will hit $26.2 billion, a 21.9% increase over last year, according to a report issued yesterday by online research aggregator EMarketer.

• NBTY to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Charges

  NBTY Inc., a direct marketer of health supplements, will pay $2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it violated a 1995 FTC order by making misleading and unsubstantiated claims about the effectiveness of its products.

• ARI Income Rises in Quarter, Year

  ARI reported net income of $2.8 million for fiscal 2005, up from net income of $1.1 million last year.

• Newport International to Market Software Through ECost.com

  Newport International Group has reached an agreement with ECost.com Inc. to market its Spare Backup Software through its Web site and through its business-to-business sales force.

• Blair Taps ForeSee to Measure Customer Satisfaction

  Blair Corp. has selected ForeSee Results to measure customer satisfaction with www.blair.com , the e-commerce arm of this multi-channel direct marketer of women

• Vendare Names Newman EVP of Sales

  Vendare Media, an online marketing services firm, has named Michael Newman as executive vice president of sales.