Q&As

The Securities and Exchange Commission has had a full-text search function on its Web site allowing visitors to find out if, say, a public company has filed a document with

Identity theft? Ho-hum.

Woe to you, friend, if that’s your attitude. Data security may be dead in Congress this year, but the Federal Trade Commission is on the case, and that could mean trouble for lax companies.

The Federation of European Direct Marketing Association is set to begin a major research initiative at the end of the year, to create an economic analysis of the impact of DM on the group’s 25 member DM associations.

With the new rate case that takes effect next May, mailers will have many new rules and regulations to look forward to, many of which are expected to set precedents for future of rate cases.

Direct marketers must send relevant messages, be responsible, and respect the wishes of customers, donors and prospects, or they will risk becoming irrelevant themselves, said DMA president and CEO John Greco during his welcoming keynote address yesterday.

List brokerage Adrea Rubin is launching a media buying company aiming to draw attention to services it already offers, but that some clients may not know about.

Whether trains, planes or cola, Richard Branson is bent on putting his brand on any industry he deems as needing a well-run enterprise. And after 37 years of diverse endeavors his brand, Virgin (or, formally, the Virgin Group of Companies) has been stretched without breaking.

As marketers have an increased need to be accountable and make their advertising dollars go further, the brand/direct connection is becoming more important, said Karen Ebben, director of CRM modeling and program evaluation, General Motors.

(Direct) Ten years ago, Frederick Reichheld’s “The Loyalty Effect” demonstrated to the world that a five-percentage-point decrease in customer defections could improve per-customer profit anywhere from 25% to 85%

Polaris CEO Tom Tiller is challenging his competitors to a duel in a promotion that touts Polaris’ all-terrain vehicles as the toughest ATVs on the market.