Janet Rubio, chief insights officer at Engauge, discusses the evolution of CRM.

Ryanair, a discount airline based in Ireland, has partnered with Webloyalty in a move to encourage repeat customers. Through the new agreement, customers who book tickets online with Ryanair will receive a prompt at the end of the checkout process inviting them to join Webloyalty's Shopper Discounts and Rewards program.

While many financial institutions are struggling, one sector remains hot: wealth management. Targeting prospects with dollars to manage is critical to success and, at the same time, more difficult than ever because people are looking to new influencers and new sources of information to help them make investment decisions.

Marquette Group, a direct marketing and advertising company, has replaced its SalesLogix CRM system with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, which will be fully up and running by the end of September, was chosen following a lengthy evaluation of multiple systems, including the incumbent.

Last week Safeway became the latest grocery chain to partner with Cellfire, offering the latter's digital couponing service as part of its ever-expanding CRM efforts.

Food service management company Compass Group is working with First Data to roll out a new, tiered loyalty program nationwide. The two companies have been working together on payment and loyalty programs since February 2007. This year, they are rolling out ZipThru Rewards to Compass Group's corporate cafés and dining centers nationwide.

How is the multicultural market being affected by this adverse economy? Is this a good time to enter the multicultural market or are the risks greater right now? What can you do to raise your response level? These are all good, challenging questions but actually easy to answer.

MediZine LLC, the producer of print and online health education content, has acquired the Web portal HealthCommunities.com Inc. as part of its audience growth strategy. HealthCommunities features physician Web sites and educational content on health for consumers. The portal also hosts 30 different patient communities, reaching more than 1.5 million monthly visitors and more than 2,300 practicing physicians — an audience that MediZine executives see as a perfect target for its own editorial products, partners and advertisers.

Hal Brierley, CEO of e-Miles, discusses the changing world of loyalty marketing and how he's evolving with it.

Red Carnation Hotels (RCH), a group of 13 boutique hotels in the US, Europe and South Africa, has joined loyalty network ClubHotel. ClubHotel is a paid membership loyalty club serving more than 400 hotels and resorts worldwide. In return for their $150 annual fee, ClubHotel's more than 600,000 members receive reciprocal preferred room rates and discounted dining benefits at all participating hotels.