Chief Marketer Staff

• Digital

  Using Search to Boost Branding

  In keeping with the opportunity curve theory, branding through search is likely to deliver effective and efficient results for many years to come, but those who capitalize early will realize the most impressive returns. Which means there’s no time to waste.

• Agencies

  How to Combat Marketing Resistance

  Marketing productivity is down, and marketing resistance is up. It’s tough to disagree with the statements that Craig Wood, group president of marketing research firm/consultancy Yankelovich

• Agencies

  Colloquy Corner: Defining Loyalty Marketing

  I write about customer loyalty for a living, so it would seem that producing a monthly column for CHIEF MARKETER would be an easy task–until you realize how broad a topic loyalty marketing really is. What are we talking about, exactly? Points programs? Grocery-store discount cards? Cobranded credit cards? Dialogue marketing campaigns? Punch cards?

• Agencies

  The 40-40-40 Rule?

  Direct marketers have long lived by the 40-40-20 rule: 40% of the success of a campaign is due to lists, 40% to the offer, and 20% to the creative. Grant Swain, senior vice president/executive creative director for marketing services firm Rapp Collins, argues that in today’s hypercompetitive world, to succeed the equation is now 40-40-40.

• List Leader Bob Castle Dies at 69

  Bob Castle, who will be remembered as much for his generosity of spirit as for his formidable marketing skills, died on Wednesday at age 69.

• Google Proposes Blanket $90 Million Click-Fraud Settlement

  Google announced late Wednesday that it has reached a settlement with plaintiffs in one class-action lawsuit charging that the search engine giant has not policed its pay-per-click ad programs well enough to eliminate substantial fraud.

• Neiman Marcus Earnings Slide by $67Million

  The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. reported net earnings of $3 million for the second quarter, down from $70.6 million last year.

• Urban Outfitters Direct Sales Rise 28%

  Urban Outfitters Inc. reported net income of $35.6 million for the fourth quarter, up 31% from $27 million last year.

• Eighty Percent of E-mail is Spam: MAAWG

  Four out of five e-mail messages in the fourth quarter of 2005 were either blocked or tagged as spam, according to the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group.

• List Leader Bob Castle Dies at 69

  Bob Castle, who will be remembered as much for his generosity of spirit as for his formidable marketing skills, died on Wednesday at age 69.