Chief Marketer Staff

• Word-of Mouth Marketing Takes on the Recession

  The dilemma many brands face today is trying to maintain, or dare we say, grow their sales in a near dormant economy with far fewer resources to execute consumer marketing programs

• Veteran GM Exec Joins Interpublic to Work on GM

  A veteran of General Motors has joined The Interpublic Group to work on GM marketing efforts

• News Briefs

  CARL’S JR.: is bringing back its award-winning Portobello Mushroom Six Dollar Burger as a permanent menu item

• Agencies

  Meet the Broker: Heidi Thibodeau

  Today we meet Heidi Thibodeau, vice president of brokerage at Millard Group Inc,. This 15-year industry vet counsels mailers not to give up on prospecting lest they be at a disadvantage when the economy recovers.

• Doritos: Internet-based Loyalty Marketing winner

  The Marketing Arm last May created an online reality game spanning a five-week period that resulted in a 200% increase in sales and a halo effect that boosted revenue another 150%

• Agencies

  Direct Mail Spending to Plummet, E-mail to Soar: Borrell

  Direct mail spending will drop 39% during the next five years from $49.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion in 2013, according to a study released yesterday by Borrell Associates

• OTA Releases Draft of Trust Principles

  The Online Trust Association yesterday released a draft of its 2009 Online Trust Principles in an effort to set a series of guidelines companies can follow

• Mobile

  ExactTarget Unveils iPhone Application

  E-mail software-on-demand provider ExactTarget yesterday announced an application that allows its clients to access their accounts on iPhones

• DLeeDo: Viral Second Place

  This promotion began with a plan to promote Vitaminwater’s partnerships with famous athletes and ended with a sports star getting a very public Mohawk haircut

• Battle of the Bands & The Quest for the Crystal: Viral First Place

  ESPN learned that first hand after it drove awareness and sales for the DVD release of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” with a play on ESPN college football