Q&As

Lunchmeat marketer Land O’Frost heats up its summer promotion calendar with a slate of tie-ins.

Fidelity Investments has been awarded the 2006 Best Overall Entertainment Marketing Award (EMMA) by PROMO for work developed with Arnold Worldwide to support music programs in public schools. Now in its eighth year, the EMMA program recognizes the best entertainment marketing campaigns of the past year in 10 categories.

Verizon Wireless will use its sponsorship of music artist Shakira’s North American tour this summer to promote its V Cast music service and other technologies to the Latino market.

Standard mailers would have to fork over some 9% more in postage costs under the U.S. Postal Service’s just-announced rate case filing with the Postal Rate Commission. First class stamp prices would go up by 3 cents.

SPSS Inc., Chicago, generated net revenue of $62.2 million and $4.8 million in net income during first-quarter 20006, compared with $57.5 million in revenue and $2.4 million in net income a year earlier.

First Watch Restaurants, Inc. has awarded its creative and media duties to Dunn&Co., a marketing and advertising agency based in Tampa, FL. Neither company announced the expected billings, but First Watch does plan to significantly increase its marketing investment over previous years

AARP, the organization for people over fifty, has launched a multichannel marketing effort aimed at the Hispanic/Latino market. The goal of the new push will be to develop awareness about AARP within the Hispanic community, and to acquire new members.

Sunbeam Products’ greatest invention last year may have been its trip to the movies. The resulting campaign took the 2006 EMMA for best film tie-in.

The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise standard mail rates by an average of 9% and all rates by approximately 8.5%, and will ask for those hikes in a filing with the Postal Rate Commission later today.

The Hershey Co. has launched its first-ever continuity program, turning candy wrappers into currency for eBay.