Chief Marketer Staff

• Former VP Charges MeritDirect with Unlawful Dismissal

  A former senior vice president at MeritDirect has filed an arbitration claim alleging that the list management-brokerage firm dismissed him without cause, is withholding compensation and has slandered his name.

• Digital

  Opinion: FTC’s Focus on Paid Search Engine Disclosure: Golden Moment or Missed Opportunity?

  The Federal Trade Commission

• Agencies

  Hang It Up

  Bad practices have turned outbound telemarketing from an effective DM vehicle into a monstrous mass medium

• Lester Wunderman to Speak at HVDMA Event

  The father of direct marketing, Lester Wunderman, will be the featured guest speaker at the Hudson Valley Direct Marketing Association luncheon next week.

• Kevin Noonan Succeeds Isaacson as Head of AIM

  Kevin Noonan is the new executive director of the Association for Interactive Marketing (AIM), the Direct Marketing Association will announce on Thursday.

• NEW YORK CITY NETS MICROSOFT BUTTERFLIES

  New York City’s transportation department last week clipped the wings on Microsoft’s new “It’s better with the butterfly” campaign, issuing a $50 summons

• Short Cuts

  Direct Response Financial Services, Inc. has applied for a listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in its “Freiverkehr” segment, the equivalent of the

• FTC DO-NOT-CALL LIST EXPECTED SOON

  The Federal Trade Commission is expected to release its final rule on a national do-not-call list for telemarketing by December. FTC’s director of the

• SPSS Net Income Falls in Quarter

  SPSS Inc. reported net income of $3.2 million for the third quarter, down 9% from $3.6 million last year. The database marketing services company reported

• JPMorgan Buys Fingerhut Catalogs

  JPMorgan Partners LLC, has bought the remaining Fingerhut Cos. assets from Federated Department Stores Inc., in a nine figure deal finalized Wednesday.