Chief Marketer Staff

• Short Cuts

  Slack Barshinger of Chicago has been appointed as the agency of record for Hoffman, a diversified manufacturer and business-to-business direct marketer of electrical and electronic controls and components.

• List and Database News

  Direct Media Inc. was appointed list manager by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The hospital has a list of more than 1 million donors, including 347,284 from the last 12 months. A separate file with 187,355 Jewish donors is also available. The average contribution was $20.

• Agencies

  United Sweeps Awards Cubs, Sox Fans Crosstown Flights

  United Airlines is whipping up baseball fever in hometown Chicago with a one-way flight for Cubs and White Sox fans. United plays go-between with Cubs and Sox fans United’s discount carrier Ted will fly 156 sweeps winners from O’Hare Airport on …

• USPS Denies Rate Case Withdrawal: Reports

  The U.S. Postal Service is denying reports that it might be considering a withdrawal of the current rate case.

• Print Pubs Urged to “Break the Rules”

  Imagine a politician who never surveyed his constituents, a beauty contest without any judges, or a television network that decided the best way to reach a younger audience was to stick with what it did in the 1990s.
  That’s just about how two top advertising executives compared efforts by print media companies to regain the trust of advertiser

• Agencies

  Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  J. Crew Mails Wedding Edition, A recent catalog from J. Crew takes the guesswork out of clothing options for brides, grooms and wedding parties by offering an assortment of attire options for a couple’s special day. The front cover of the 56-page …

• Listline e-Newsletter 06/20/05

  The Women’s International Resource Exchange has appointed Atlantic List
  Co. to manage the donor list of its Madre project. The organization has
  3,638 last-24-month contributors who gave $5 or more.

• Media Buyers Say Turner Had Better Beware

  Media buyers are warning that Turner Broadcasting, home of TNT and TBS, could be playing a dangerous game by holding out for higher advertising than its rival cable networks in the continuing cable upfront market.

• Agencies

  Newspaper Advertisers Want Web Action Too

  Newspapers might be a mediocre investment for the Warren Buffetts of the world, but they hold the potential to become excellent vehicles for the Procter & Gambles of the world, a top Wall Street analyst said last week.

• Digital

  When It Pays to Be Negative

  Search marketing is a potent tool: sometimes too potent. Sometimes your keywords call out to searchers who have very little to do with your product, service or content. Consider the unfortunate vacation marketer whose keywords include “cruise”. How do you make sure your ads appear only when searchers are looking for Caribbean getaways and not “Tom Cruise” or “cruise missiles”?