Chief Marketer Staff

• Canada Post Offers E-commerce Services

  Canada Post has begun offering social networking marketing services for direct marketers who want to establish e-commerce stores at Secondlife.com, as well as list-related services.

• Payments for Vin Gupta Contribute to Loss at InfoGroup

  InfoGroup Inc. reported a preliminary $1.7 million operating loss for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, which included $10.2 million in severance paid primarily to former CEO Vin Gupta, as well as $4.1 million to pay for his legal expenses.

• Better Mailing Lists with Data Card Intelligence

  With more than 60,000 mailing lists on the market and 40% of your direct marketing success contingent on your choice of lists, you need strategic intelligence to make the best list purchasing decisions

• Listline e-Newsletter 10/27

  MeritDirect now manages a list of 30,523 subscribers to Rural Builder, a title published by the Krause Publications division of F+W Media Inc. Sources include direct mail (60%),

• Agencies

  Activision Runs TV, Viral Video ‘Guitar Hero’ Ads

  Activision is running ads on TV and online featuring celebrity “Guitar Hero” combos plugging into the “Guitar Hero World Tour” video game

• Plots Thicken in Branded Webisodes: Pro Shop Blog

  If the medium is, indeed, the message, then branded webisodes could signal a sea change in the way the message is served up to ad-averse consumers with short attention spans.

• Universal Musters ‘Army of Two’ in EA Deal

  Electronic Arts and Universal Pictures have struck a deal to turn EA’s “Army of Two” video game into a big screen experience

• Diamond Foods Debuts Contest to Find Holiday Tips

  Diamond Foods, Inc. has launched a consumer contest to find the best holiday entertaining ideas that incorporate its Diamond Inshell Nuts

• Gen X Persuaded by E-mail, Direct Mail Over Social Marketing: Study

  Consumers 18 to 34 report they are more likely to respond to an e-mail marketing message or direct mail than to one they get through a social network, according to a joint research project

• News Brief

  COCA-COLA: says it will put calories per serving on the front of all the packaging for its entire U.S. beverage portfolio, along with the number of servings contained in a package