Q&As

Famous for Chunky Monkey and Phish Food flavors, Ben and Jerry’s is turning over its ice cream-making talent to consumers with a new contest to create an original flavor for the brand.

Arby’s Restaurant Group plans to serve basketball fans a free sandwich based on an outcome of one of the NCAA playoff games.

Jose Cuervo is on the hunt for undiscovered Latino musical artists and is building a major event around the search.

Charming Shoppes Inc. reported net income of $19.2 million for the fourth quarter, up 294% from $4.9 million last year.

Valassis Communications, Inc., the freestanding inserts marketer, has settled Federal Trade Commission charges that it attempted to collude with rival News America Marketing to eliminate competition between the two companies.

Jimmy Au’s, the Beverly Hills clothing direct marketer and store tailored for men 5′ 8″ and under, is looking to broaden its size through an online store later this year.

Hale Makai Cottages is looking to build on the online and direct marketing efforts it began last year to draw people to the resort.

An effective sales letter, not surprisingly, achieves the same objectives as an effective salesperson. And just as there are certain mistakes a salesperson wants to be sure to avoid in the selling process, the same holds true for the writer of sales letters. So, dear readers, I present five deadly sales letter mistakes. Eliminate one or more of the common blunders described here and it’s a good bet your response rates will improve.

Tommy Hilfiger is out with a new campaign designed to build buzz around its revamped juniors line with an instant-win game, which promises a grand-prize trip to New York.

Where do African American entrepreneurs turn for business advice? Many are now going to www.izania.com, a Web site that in one year has experienced a 400% growth in traffic. And many are reading the weekly Izania e-mail newsletter.