Chief Marketer Staff

• DMA Chair Endorses Nominees, Pike Letter Asks “Am I In A Minority?”

  In the latest salvo of the Direct Marketing Association proxy battle, DMA chair Kelly B. Browning sent out a letter endorsing the DMA’s slate of board members and seeking proxy votes. Board member Gerry Pike, who is mounting a counter-effort, e-mailed a message seeking feedback in the form of a survey, along with proxy votes.

• Board Never Saw Greco’s Salary, Says Pike

  Though the Direct Marketing Association contends its Compensation Committee raised President John Greco’s controversial salary appropriately during periods of growth and froze it when the U.S. economy began to decline, dissident board member Gerry Pike claims it did so in violation of DMA bylaws.

• Email

  Pivotal Veracity Expands Rendering Tool

  E-mail deliverability consultancy Pivotal Veracity today announced it has added to its to its eDesign Optimizer rendering tool the ability for marketers to see how their messages will look to people who read their messages using the Palm Pre and Android mobile e-mail operating systems, and MySpace.

• Email

  ExactTarget Unveils Twitter Tool

  E-mail marketing software-on-demand provider ExactTarget today announced it has developed a tool that allows its clients to integrate their e-mail marketing content with Twitter.

• Email

  Web 2.0: The Jackass’s Bullhorn

  I come from the school of publishing that says: “Never take on a reader. You have all the ammo. So if you do, you’ll look like a petty bully and you’ll lose subscribers.”

  But that rule was crafted in the days of print publications where the only voice readers had was in the letters-to-the-editor section for which editors played gatekeeper and always had the last word if they chose to voice it.

  Moreover, the letters published were those that the editors believed added to the discussion or advanced the debate.

  Enter the reader comments section on publisher Web sites. Out go the gatekeepers. In come the reasons we thought we needed gatekeepers in the first place.

• Email

  Utah AG Vows to Spread Registry Idiocy

  OK, so it wasn

• Agencies

  Kmart, Sears Take Layaway Virtual This Holiday

  Whether you observed it or not, last week was National Layaway Week according to Kmart, and the value- priced retailer celebrated by launching an online center where customers can find local stores offering layaway

• Toyota Offers Prius for Picking NY’s Fastest Man, Woman

  In a partnership with the New York Road Runners club, Toyota will give entrants a chance to get some literal mileage out of this year’s 40th running of the ING New York City Marathon

• Agencies

  Jamba Juice Campaigns with “Feel Good Moments”

  It all started in New York earlier this month with Jamba Juice spokesperson Bananaman passing out preloaded Metro Cards to thousands of people getting ready to board New York City subway trains

• News Briefs

  DIAMOND FOODS: has launched a campaign, “Feed Your Fingers,” that capitalizes on finger foods