Chief Marketer Staff

• DMA Appoints New VP of Membership

  The Direct Marketing Association has tapped Ramesh Ratan to serve as senior vice president of membership and market development, effective April 25.

• Customer Needs Approach Dominates Over Product Attributes in Marketing Services

  A marketing strategy that focuses on customer needs rather than product attributes has become the dominate method of selling marketing services, according to a new study released by the consulting firm Winterberry Group, based in New York.

• Agencies

  Pitney Bowes Acquires Assets From Fala

  Pitney Bowes Inc. has acquired selected mail stream and presort assets of Fala Sorting Services Inc., a subsidiary of Fala Direct Marketing Inc. for undisclosed terms. The assets of FSS, which provides commingling and presorting services for mailers in greater New York will be integrated with the Pitney Bowes, mail services operations.

• People in the News

  Michael Bryan has been named senior vice president of strategic resources at Claritas Inc. Bryan will be responsible for operations at Claritas’ data warehouse in Arlington, VA. He formerly was a data management executive at Nextel Communications Inc.

• Short Cuts

  According to several British media reports Internet shopping has become more popular than traditional mail order for consumers in the United Kingdom. Roughly one-third of Britons now shop online, compared to one-quarter who shop by mail.

• List and Database News

  A universe of more than 4.8 million early technology adopters has been assembled with online survey data. The Tech Savvy Enthusiasts file is comprised primarily of individuals 25 to 40, homeowners, typically with a $75,000 or better income.

• Wal-Mart Pledges $35MM for Conservation

  Wal-Mart Stores will spend $35 million over 10 years to conserve one acre of wildlife habitat for every acre it develops for stores. That pledge is the cornerstone to Wal-Mart’s new partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The joint …

• Agencies

  Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  Charles Tyrwhitt Woman Makes an Entrance British clothier Charles Tyrwhitt, whose primary products are men’s dress shirts, ties and cufflinks, expands further into the women’s market with a dedicated 32-page catalog for Spring 2005. Titled “Charles …

• Listline e-Newsletter 04/18/05

  Equifax data enhancements were used to assemble three new list segments
  identifying Oxmoor House book buyers. The largest file Oxmoor House
  Enhanced Crafts Buyers contains 161,880 book buyers from the last 12
  months.

• Pushing The Envelope: Marketing in Red Sox Nation

  When Sam Kennedy spoke at the MIT Sloan CMO Summit in Cambridge, MA recently, he realized quickly that he was preaching to the choir.

  Not only were his comments received warmly, but his organization’s name — the Boston Red Sox — was the only one mentioned that day to receive spontaneous applause.