Chief Marketer Staff

• Gerber Purchase Extends Nestlé’s U.S. Presence

  Nestlé SA said it doesn’t plan to increase advertising and promotion spending for Gerber after it buys the baby food brand from Novartis for $5.5 billion later this year.

• CoverGirl Gets a New Spokesperson: Drew Barrymore

  Drew Barrymore is the latest famous face to represent makeup brand CoverGirl.

• DIC Launches New Brand Management Division

  DIC Entertainment has created a global brand management division to consolidate key areas, including television, home entertainment and consumer products. The new group will manage each brand as a whole business and will be led by Nancy Fowler, the company’s head of global sales.

• News Briefs

  NINTENDO: is hyping up the launch of…ADPLEX: an interactive marketing services firm with…

• Catalog Group Seeks Rate Hike Delay From PRC

  The Coalition of Catalog Mailers Thursday filed a motion with the Postal Regulatory Commission to delay implementation of the new standard mail flat rates. The group also offered Edward Spiegel, professor of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University and catalog industry veteran as its only witness.

• Peoples Educational Holdings Narrows Losses

  Peoples Educational Holdings Inc posted a net loss of $1 million for the third quarter, compared to a net loss of $3.7 million in the prior-year.

• Leisure Direct Names Clark VP of Business Development

  Leisure Direct Inc. has named David Clark vice president of business development.

• Agencies

  Meet the Broker: Larry Roth

  Meet the Broker features Larry Roth, who makes list recommendations for financial newsletter publishers and other business-to-business direct marketers.

• Agencies

  Vitamin Marketer Uses SEO, Events and Message Boards

  Back in 1999, Cincinnati entrepreneur Al Alexander ran the Paramount fitness center, where he also sold vitamins on the side. But he started receiving customer complaints that they could buy the products elsewhere for cheaper prices.

• Agencies

  Craft Show Success Spawns Jewelry E-Business

  After losing her position at a major telecommunications firm about seven years ago, Shirley Gordon turned to her hobby of making jewelry to help make ends meet.