Chief Marketer Staff

• Agencies

  Serena Williams Signs $55 Million Nike Sponsorship Deal

  Serena Williams last week signed a five-year endorsement contract with Nike that includes the option of another three years. The deal could add up to

• Short Cuts

  Data firm Acxiom and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) have signed a seven-year agreement under which the two companies will pitch each others

• FTC Nails Credit Card Protection Marketer

  A marketer of credit card protection programs has agreed to settle charges filed jointly by the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Illinois. Membership

• DM Budgets on the Rise in Britain

  Direct Marketing budgets rose in the third quarter in the U.K.

• Men’s Grooming Lounge Launches Catalog

  (Catalog Age) Just in time for the metrosexual revolution: The Men’s Grooming Lounge, a three-year-old barbershop/men’s spa in Washington, is trying to

• Mail-Well Plant Returns to Full Production

  Mail-Well Inc.

• Feds Accuse Video Firm of Deceptive Marketing

  Federal authorities have accused a California firm of shipping unordered videos to consumers and debiting their credit cards without permission. The U.S.

• Short Cuts

  Advo Inc. has been denied a $438,208 tax break that it expected as it prepares to open a facility at the Liberty and Union Industrial Park in East Taunton,

• List and Database News

  Consumer Enhanced Farmers Database Midwest Direct Marketing Inc. is offering the Multi Ag Media Publications consumer farmers database. It includes the

• American Express Sees Post-Christmas ‘Black Friday’

  Retail stores will be busy during this holiday season—especially the day after Christmas. That day, which could be a new “Black Friday,” is when consumers