In this week's Toolbox entries, Philip Delong of Daz Media covers using social media to generate leads. Also,Greg Osenga, of Hawkeye discusses a popular personalization tactic in the recession.

JetBlue's director of loyalty marketing and partnerships, Dave Canty, discusses how the TrueBlue program has evolved to meet customers' needs.

Healthcare companies know an open dialogue with consumers can increase loyalty, so loyalty programs have been an effective tactic ever since pharma companies began marketing to consumers.

Outdoor products multichannel retailer Cabela's has partnered with CHS, an energy, grains and food company, to launch a credit-card and loyalty program for CHS' Cenex brand, a wholesaler and retailer of refined fuels. This is the first card Cabela's credit card division, World's Foremost Bank, has created with another retailer. The companies announced the partnership on October 20.

By targeting your e-mail campaign, you can boost loyalty and improve your overall retention rates.

Forrester Research data released this month shows that just over one in 10 companies value data-driven customer intelligence at the C-level. However, analyst Dave Frankland, the report's author, expects that to improve. Forrester found in its October 16 study, The Intelligent Approach to Customer Intelligence, that 12% of company executives embrace customer intelligence.

Alliance Data-owned company LoyaltyOne has acquired a 29% stake in CBSM, Companhia Brasileria De Servicos De Marketing, which operates Brazil-based loyalty program Dotz. Terms of the agreement, which was signed in early October, were not disclosed.

Consumer intelligence solutions provider TargusInfo has extended its partnership with Telmetrics to provide clients expanded data on telephone-based responses. The service can monitor TV, print, radio, direct mail and online ad campaigns.

A recent "New York Times" article described an approach where words reveal one's thoughts. It is a process that marketers have been testing for years and it is referred to as text mining. The notion of making critical decisions based on words and phrases, and relationships between them, is rousing interest among marketers and analysts faced with more words and documents than they know what to do with.

Westlake Ace Hardware has tapped Kansas City, MO-based agency Barkley to take on its CRM and database marketing. Consisting of 89 stores in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, Westlake is hoping to retain, grow and extend relationships with its consumer-base.