Q&As

Used to be that getting lift on your creative tests, great response rates, or a positive return on investment (ROI) on a specific campaign was good enough for marketing to declare success. Unfortunately, that isn’t cutting it these days because of the increasing scrutiny being placed on marketing organizations as a whole. The chief marketing officer (CMO) and senior marketing executives are under constant pressure to prove their impact on overall business.

FootSmart, a direct retailer of foot and lower-body healthcare products through both catalogs and the Web, found itself in a bind managing its cross-selling opportunities on the product pages of its Website. The company sells more than 1,000 products for comfort, health and pain relief, from shoes and hosiery to back supports and bunion protection.

Marketing best-practice dictates using options that best meet our financial objectives. Since money is scarce and everything costs money; return on investment rules supreme as the great leveler. While marketing has more options than the financial market has mutual funds (there are some 55,000 worldwide) finding the right target group is just as important. That’s why it’s critical to use a customer’s total spending as one means of deciding where to focus.

The Federal Trade Commission rejected a proposal which would have allowed telemarketers that have established business relationships (EBRs) with consumers to use prerecorded messages. Separately, the FTC requested feedback regarding an amendment to the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The change would reconfigure how call abandonment rates are calculated.

Cenveo Inc. made a late-Tuesday offer of $50 per share for all of the stock of printer Banta Corp. The offer came after Banta rejected an unsolicited bid from Cenveo, under which Cenveo would acquire Banta for $47 per share, early Tuesday morning.

Free tunes are the incentive Moet Hennessy is adding to a new digital music promotion that targets both English- and Spanish-speaking consumers.

Nestlé Waters North America is rolling out a new loyalty program that rewards schools nationwide with sports equipment and field trips in exchange for labels from its Pure Life brand.

For the takers, The Motivation Show, held last week in Chicago, had plenty to offer and lots of incentives to lure people into exhibit booths including baby kangaroos, back massages, women with water spouting from the tops of their heads and fingertips and 1988 NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, who was on hand to sign autographs on mini footballs. In addition to all the come ons, exhibitors had plenty of new offerings. Here’s a sampling from the show floor.

To stand out among the cluttered retail environment, KB Toys is rolling out a new rewards program, just for grandparents. Timed in advance of the holiday shopping season, the program dangles a weekly discount for age-specific shoppers.

ESPN is venturing in to the loyalty marketing arena with the launch of its first rewards card that lets consumers earn points to redeem for a slew of sporting events, experiences and merchandise.