Chief Marketer Staff

• GSI Commerce Acquires Two Online Marketers

  GSI Commerce Inc. has acquired Retail Convergence Inc., parent company of online marketers Ruelala.com and Smartbargains.com.

• Agencies

  Credit Card Direct Mail Rises 34% in October

  Credit card issuers sent out 180 million credit card offers to U.S. consumers last month, a 34% increase from the month before and had the highest monthly total since last December and the largest increase this year, according to Mintel Comperemedia.

• Agencies

  Williams-Sonoma Earnings Rise

  Williams-Sonoma, Inc. posted net earnings of $7.3 million for the third quarter, compared to a net loss of $11 million in the prior year.

• School Specialty Income Drops

  School Specialty posted net income of $29.6 million for the second quarter, a decrease from $30.4 million in the prior year.

• Agencies

  Hilton Ties Loyalty Contest to Clooney Movie

  Fresh from a prominent and recurring placement in the latest cable hit “Mad Men,” Hilton Hotels is partnering again, this time with Paramount Pictures

• Agencies

  “Sherlock Holmes” Challenge Offers Clues to 7-Eleven Food

  The coffee cup sleeves at 7-Eleven offer a clue—”How Holmes Are You?”—to its latest promotion tied to an upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures’ film.

• News Briefs

  JETBLUE and HERTZ: have launched “Jet & Drive Giveaway,” which offers customers the chance to win one of five trips plus one of more than 100 daily prizes

• Entiera Taps Ramin Mikaili For Senior VP Position

  Entiera has named analytical marketing expert Ramin Mikaili as senior VP of professional services. Entiera provides marketing automation software.

• Marketing Firms Ink Partnership Focusing on SE Asia

  Iris Worldwide, a marketing network firm, has inked a partnership with Edge, an integrated marketing agency with offices in Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.

• Agencies

  Coldwater Creek CFO Resigns

  Tim Martin, senior VP and CFO of Coldwater Creek Inc., has resigned from the company