Whether it’s pushing an e-mail to a targeted list or luring people to a special-interest Web site, online tactics have never been put to greater use by brands.

Of the 263 marketers polled in PROMO’s 2007 interactive trends survey, 49% expect their online spending to grow in 2007. And where is the money going? To e-mail, e-mail newsletters, banner ads and online promotions (see chart 1).

“The first question I’m hearing from clients is ‘What’s going to be the online part?’” says Dan Mannix, CEO of LeadDog Marketing Group, a New York promotion agency.

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In August, the Securities and Exchange Commission required 695 publicly traded companies to certify that their annual and quarterly reports were accurate. Another 247 certifications are due later in the year (the dates were based on each firm’s fiscal year).

Several direct marketing companies, such as Deluxe, MBNA, Metris, Mail-Well, Sears Roebuck and W.W. Grainger, had to file by Aug. 14.

Other firms, like Abercrombie & Fitch, AutoZone, Barnes & Noble, CMGI, Dell Computer, J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Petsmart, Reader’s Digest Association, Staples and Williams-Sonoma will file later this year.

The certifications were mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which codified changes in independent accounting practices. But other recent changes should give DMers greater pause.

Take revenue recognition