Q&As

(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.

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

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.

Thrifty Car Rental and Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. have individually partnered with airline companies to reward frequent flyer members with additional miles for renting the companies’ vehicles.

Pledging its commitment to sport, McDonald’s Corp. has renewed its longtime sponsorship of the Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup through 2014.

MARITZ LOYALTY MARKETING: has named Shea Long

Big-budget search marketers are entering the search channel, and they’re bringing sophistication in the shape of more intensive use of Web analytics and bid management tools.

Contribution analysis is one of the foundations for many of the other types of analyses (list response, customer lifetime value, and square-inch analysis, to name just a few) that successful catalogers use to better understand how to profitably grow their businesses.