Q&As

Short of the occasional paper cut, one would be hard-pressed to cite a serious physical injury caused by direct marketing. But thanks to an agreement between Reuters and Nasdaq, it’s only a matter of time before New York City records its first brand advertisement-related fatality.

These two organizations own buildings on opposite corners of Times Square. Each building hosts an enormous electronic billboard on its face. Together these signs encompass 17,000 square feet, and Reuters and Nasdaq are selling advertising space on ’em in a joint package.

Marketing ROI spoke with Craig Wood, CEO of The Clarity Group, Inc. (http://www.claritygroupinc), a consultancy that uses consumer data and analytics to provide insight into the faith-based and non-profit community, about the use of metrics and measurement in religious marketing.

Online catalogs are playing an increasingly important role in the multichannel revenue mix. In 2002, they made up 14% of overall sales. Last year, this more than doubled to 30%.

After years of fending off consumer anger over its rebate programs, OfficeMax, one of the nation’s largest office-supply distributors, has eliminated the majority of its mail-in rebate programs. OfficeMax is not the only retailer to eliminate the incentives and others are pondering exiting the programs as well.

Gap Inc. Business Direct is out with a new gift card option for corporate buyers, which now blends three of its top brands into one card.

(Direct Newsline)—Dunkin’ Donuts is claiming that an e-mail from a lead-generation firm in Florida promising a free $25 gift card in return for filling out a survey is a scam.

When the phone rings in consumer affairs, marketing should listen in. Marketers could learn a lot about how their promotional offers are playing in Peoria—and improve their ROI along the way. Hal Stinchfield, founder of fulfillment consultancy Promotional Marketing Insights, talks about how consumer complaints make for better offers.

A slate of seven entertainment, computer and software manufacturers, and electronics companies have partnered to spend $150 million in trade and consumer marketing to promote high-definition digital-video discs (HD DVD) and to educate consumers on the quality and value of the technology.

The state of labor relations is in the dumpster. In fact, 49% of Americans describe the relationship between management and labor at their companies as “lukewarm” or “negative,” with only 9% describing the relationship as “extremely positive,” according to a new Maritz Poll on employee satisfaction conducted by Maritz Research.

Universal Studios Hollywood has named marketing executive Mark Mears to senior VP-marketing and sales.