Chief Marketer Staff

• Franchisees Sue GNC Over Promotional Prices

  Five franchisees filed a lawsuit last week against General Nutrition Cos. over promotional pricing in GNC stores. The suit, filed in Federal District Court in Newark, NJ, alleges that GNC’s price promotions sell items for less than what franchisees pay, …

• Online Marketing At Watershed?

  Online marketing has reached a pivotal point in its maturing as a medium, according to Yahoo’s Chief Sales Officer Wenda Harris Millard, due in large part to the household penetration of broadband access in the U.S. “The best indicator we have that …

• Commercials Get Short Shrift From Consumers: Survey

  Seventy-five percent of Americans dislike the commercials programmed among their TV favorites, according to the second annual Slogan Survey. Even more consumers are turning a deaf ear to the tag lines brands use to define themselves. Consumers …

• Coke 3Q Profits Down 24%

  The Coca-Cola Co. reported a 24% drop in third-quarter profit on flat revenue of $5.7 billion citing weak operating conditions, particularly in North America. “As we have said, our performance has fallen short of the goals we have set for ourselves,” …

• P&G Plays The Incredibles

  Procter & Gamble last week broke a TV spot tied to Disney/Pixar’s upcoming film The Incredibles. Mrs. Incredible’s testimonial touts P&G brands The spot casts Mrs. Incredible as spokeswoman for three P&G brands: Tide, Bounce and Downy. She talks about …

• News Briefs

  SESAME WORKSHOP: has promoted Sharon Stulberg to assistant VP-corporate marketing effective Oct. 1. Stulberg will be responsible for developing and implementing marketing programs that promote the Sesame Street brand. Most recently, she had worked as …

• AOL Supports Microsoft’s New Sender ID

  Microsoft Corp. has modified Sender ID e-mail authentication technology under development and won back the support of America Online Inc., which had withdrawn its support in mid September.

• ValueVision Projects Loss in Excess of $30 Million

  The executive structure is being reorganized at ValueVision Media, a Minneapolis-based a direct response TV, Internet and direct mail marketer, which projects it will report a net loss in the range of $33 million to $35 million for the third quarter ending on Oct. 31.

• Adobe and Yahoo to Offer New Services

  Adobe Systems Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have formed a strategic partnership that will combine Adobe’s document-sharing program with Yahoo’s Internet search capabilities, in order to develop additional Internet services.

• ValueClick Launches Direct Unit

  Westlake Village, CA-based ValueClick Inc. has formed ValueClick Direct, a business group offering online direct response marketing services.