Q&As

Pontiac is joining forces with Virgin Megastores in a new campaign that boosts the automotive brand’s musical ties.

Scarebaby Design is an online marketer of products like coffee mugs, t-shirts, stickers, tote bags in 40 different designs, including a line aimed at children.

Every marketer, it seems, has a loyalty program for something frivolous. But very few think of life’s basic necessities. So thinks one West Coast entrepreneur who has come up with just that: a program that will reward married couples up to $1 million for purchasing over the long term — provided they stay married.

Direct mail can provide so much benefit to small businesses that I’m surprised how many continue to misuse the medium. Too often, mail is sent out with no offer, no inspection of the message, and no real attempt to sell or get a prospect to buy.

A new survey shows that while fewer small business owners will reward their staff this holiday season with bonuses, more will give time off.

Toyota’s edgy Scion brand is launching two online ventures that extend its strategy of marketing through entertainment.

A new blog is created every single second of every single day. That’s a whole lot of content. But many blogs are abandoned by their creators almost immediately, totally defeating their purpose. Many blogs are of no value at all. E-mail, a medium that once held so much potential, is best served as a customer retention and reactivation tool; often in the form of a high-quality content e-newsletter that entertains, educates, informs and then sells.

Anti-spammers are claiming a recent court decision against e-mail activist Mark Mumma in favor of marketer Omega World Travel is clear evidence that the federal Can-Spam act is a disaster.

ValueClick Inc. has acquired London-based Shopping.net for approximately $13.3 million in cash.

During 2006, U.S. spending increases for both direct mail and the Internet outstripped the growth rate for all advertising.