Chief Marketer Staff

• E-Commerce Software Sales to Hit $2.8 Billion By ’02

  Worldwide sales of software that run e-commerce systems will quadruple to $2.8 billion a year by 2002, according to Reuters.British IT analysts Datamonitor

• DIRECT Listline

  Sesame Street Response Pak The Alternative Media Division of the SpeciaLists Ltd., Weehawken, NJ, has been awarded management of the Sesame Street Response

• Privacy Advocates Condemn Abacus/DoubleClick Merger

  Junkbusters (www.junkbusters.com) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center have condemned the proposed billion-dollar merger of DoubleClick Inc.

• Short Cuts

  net.Genesis Corp., a Cambridge, MA-based provider of e-business intelligence systems, has received a new $22 million round of financing from a group of

• CarsDirect.Com, Bank One Create Net-Based Car Financing

  CarsDirect.com has teamed up with Bank One to create CD1 Financial.com, a full service Internet automotive lending and leasing company.CD1 Financial.com

• DTC Ads Don’t Always Yield Intended Sales

  Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads — which rely heavily on direct marketing media — can sometimes backfire, according to wire service reports.

• Netgateway Files Statement for Public Offering

  Netgateway Inc., an e-commerce systems provider based in Long Beach, CA, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission

• Loyalty Program Featured at Virgin Atlantic’s Site

  Virgin Atlantic, Norwalk, CT, has unveiled a new Web site, (http://www.virgin-atlantic.com), featuring electronic booking capability and product and destination

• Beer to Spur Smithsonian Institution DM Sales

  The Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, has named Gary Beer to run its business ventures. The Smithsonian earned $147 million during its last fiscal

• USA 800 Opens New HQ with Expanded Call Center

  USA 800, a Raytown, MO-based call center service provider, will open a 23,000-square foot headquarters on June 25. The new building will include a 10,000-square