Chief Marketer Staff

• WPP Acquires Grey Global Group

  WPP, the advertising agency conglomerate, has acquired Grey Global Group Inc. for $719 million.

• Ziff Revealed as Drugstore.com Investor

  Ziff Asset Management LP of New York was revealed as the unnamed investor that earlier this week bought 10 million shares of online pharmacy Drugstore.com Inc. for $26 million, according

• Agencies

  Customer Service Outsourcing Market to Hit $12.2 Billion

  The worldwide market for customer service outsourcing is set to grow from $8.4 billion in 2004 to $12.2 billion in 2007, but the offshore component will remain small,

• Ladbrokes Taps Agency.com, WWAV Rapp Collins

  Ladbrokes, a U.K. online gaming entity, has named Agency.com and WWAV Rapp Collins to develop a customer relationship management system.

• Adestra Names Crabtree Marketing Director

  Adestra, the UK based digital marketing agency, has named Paul Crabtree marketing director.

• Short Cuts

  John A. Greco, Jr., president of the Direct Marketing Association, will be a keynote speaker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s CMO Summit 2005 on March 16 in Boston. …

• List and Database News

  Great Lakes Publishing—Ohio Subscribers Master File This 139,000-name direct-mail-sold file has come onto the market for the first time. Selections: Source, gender state/SCF/ZIP Price: $95/M Contact: Lake Group Media Inc., 914-925-2400 Campbell Hausfeld …

• Agencies

  Mailstream: A Report on Incoming Direct Mail

  Time for Me Offers Products for Well-Being “Dedicated to the Art of Well-Being,” Time for Me is a new AmeriMark title targeting women with a variety of products to improve their daily lives. The front cover of the 10-1/2″ x 7-1/4″ catalog features a …

• Listline e-Newsletter

  Edith Roman Associates Inc. was appointed manager of the Conference
  Board’s master file. The Conference Board is a nonprofit organization
  that conducts research, makes forecasts, assesses trends, and publishes
  information and analysis about management and the marketplace.

• DM Sales Up 9.4% in Fourth Quarter: DMA

  The Direct Marketing Association’s Quarterly Business Review reports a record revenue index of 69 in the fourth quarter of 2004