Latest articles from Direct Marketing News News

USPS reports losses of $3.3 billion

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:04:34 GMT

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) ended the first three months of its 2012 fiscal year with a net loss of $3.3 billion — and large losses are expected to continue until planned restructuring efforts have taken place, the agency said Feb. 9.

PepsiCo to boost marketing spend, consolidate agencies

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:08:41 GMT

PepsiCo plans to increase marketing spend on its brands by between $500 million and $600 million this year, cut costs and trim its agency roster, the company said in an earnings statement Feb. 9.

Forrester: Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook dominate e-commerce

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:50:29 GMT

Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook will continue to dominate online business, but Internet retailers and marketers should tread carefully in partnering with them, according to a Feb. 7 Forrester report.

Report: Email lists see sharp rental price decline

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:18:18 GMT

There has been a more than 12% year-over year drop in pricing for permission-based small- and medium-sized business email files, from $163 to $143, according to Worldata's Winter 2012 List Price Index, released Feb. 8.

Groupon reports revenue spike in first public earnings report

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:00:43 GMT

Groupon reported a 419% increase in 2011 revenue to $1.6 billion, the company said in its first earnings report as a public company on Feb. 8.

Coca-Cola to invest more heavily in marketing

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:49:08 GMT

Coca-Cola plans to invest as much as $650 million from annual cost savings into its future marketing efforts, the company said on Feb. 7.

Gartner revenue up

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:16:49 GMT

Research and analysis firm Gartner's fourth quarter 2011 revenue increased by 12% to $427.7 million, compared with the same quarter in 2010. For the entirety of 2011, total revenue increased by 14% to $1.46 billion, an increase of 14% over 2010. Net income for the year was $136.9 million.

Epsilon names new president, chief client officer

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:06:12 GMT

Andrew Frawley has been named president of marketing services firm Epsilon, the company said on Feb. 7. Epsilon said it has also named Catherine Lang as its new chief client officer.

JetBlue launches iPhone app, redesigns web and mobile sites

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:12:34 GMT

JetBlue Airways redesigned its website and mobile site, and has also launched an iPhone application, all with the intent of personalizing and simplifying the customer experience, the airline said on Feb. 6.

Facebook hires first CMO

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:50:09 GMT

Facebook has hired Rebecca Van Dyck, SVP and CMO at Levi's to join the social network as its first head of global marketing, according to reports.

Dish Network misses mark on static 'offer'

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Talk about your "static" emails. On Jan. 2, Dish Network contacted a Direct Marketing News staffer who willingly agreed to accept emails from the satellite TV services provider. Poor staffer.

Agency-as-a-service portrays new business strategy model

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

For a peek at the future of holding company Publicis Groupe's VivaKi unit, one need only look to its launch of CRM agency CRM365. Not only did it launch without a single client, but managing director Alec Bokman pointed out that CRM365 isn't even really an agency, but rather a software-as-a-service company.

Innovation positions agencies on top

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Direct Marketing News spoke with Nick Moore, chief creative officer and EVP of Wunderman, about the trends he sees on the horizon for agencies as they move into the new year.

Law firm Collins & Lacy seeks to build on statewide expansion with 'marketing passion'

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

South Carolina-based business law firm Collins & Lacy went from a boutique firm to having a statewide presence. The key to this expansion was management's decision to invest in a marketing department, which had previously left communications to its attorneys.

Marketers eye USPS' struggles with caution

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The embattled U.S. Postal Service (USPS) faces a host of new challenges, several of which threaten to directly impact marketers. However, many who rely on direct mail say that in spite of the tumult, they'll wait and see how things pan out before altering marketing strategy.

M-commerce profit surge helps ring in the holidays

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

This year's Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend proved a big one for e-commerce — and mobile commerce in particular. Thanks to a combination of generous deals and increasingly savvy and mobile-focused consumers, the biggest shopping weekend of the year was bigger than ever for online retailers.

Online ads expected to thrive in 2012

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Media services companies ZenithOptimedia and GroupM softened their independent global ad spending predictions for 2012 in forecasts released in early December. MagnaGlobal, a unit of advertising giant Interpublic, also cut its global advertising forecasts for 2011 and 2012, citing a "worsening economic outlook." But with positive effect of quadrennial events, such as the Summer Olympics, European soccer championship and U.S. presidential elections, will there still be some winning channels?