Chief Marketer Staff

• Louisiana Gives Insurer $1.8 Million for Call Center

  The Louisiana Economic Development Corp. has awarded a $1.8 million grant to help Direct General Corp. to set up a larger telemarketing center in Baton

• FTC to Fight Spam with U.K. and Australia

  Law enforcement agencies from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have agreed to share resources to combat international spammers. A memorandum

• Medifast Boosts Direct Mail

  Owings Mill, MD-based Medifast Inc. plans to launch a new direct mail program to generate sales from a list of more than 100,000 prospective customers

• Mail Stream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  Ashro Lifestyle, a fashion apparel and accessories catalog targeting African-American women, had dubbed its Summer 2004 book “The Diva Issue,” for the consumer who “demands quality and style in the same breath.” McGraw-Hill’s new home design magazine Elements of Living recently launched its debut direct mail campaign.

• Short Cuts

  The Vitamin Shoppe has named Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Zimmerman Partners, part of the Omnicom Group. The account includes the firm

• German Catalogs Face Cutbacks

  The German retail and direct marketing conglomerate Karstadt Quelle plans to announce a major restructuring plan in the fall, reported the newspaper Frankfurter

• List and Database News

  Technology Review The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has appointed Direct Media Inc. as list manager for its Technology Review magazine files.

• AOL Named in Patent Infringement Complaint

  Windy City Innovations LLC has filed a complaint against America Online Inc. for alleged patent infringement for its use of the

• Loose Cannon: The Melting Pot’s Missing Ingredient

  Happy birthday, America: While I don

• Agencies

  Testing Firm’s Effort Gets 4.5% Response

  A premium offer for a free old-style radio in its first mini-catalog helped an industrial direct marketer surpass its typical response rate. BYK-Gardner