While times are tight for marketers and consumers alike, now is as good a time as ever to use e-mail marketing. E-mail is cheap, measurable and affords marketers the ability to test, target and measure in ways that more traditional channels such as direct mail and print cannot. Companies looking to weather these tough times should take advantage of the channel and refine their e-mail programs.

Mobile-forward brand Playboy has come out with another mobile phone offering. The men's magazine brand has released a six-episode show developed for the mobile phone.

January 20 could bring good news for direct marketers, based on key components of President-elect Barack Obama's economic recovery plan.

KB Toys, a Prentice Capital Management property, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as weak holiday sales continue to threaten retailers this year. This is the second time that KB Toys has filed for bankruptcy in the last four years. The stores will begin running going-out-of business sales at its stores immediately.

There has been a lot of buzz around e-mail and social networking these days, which is why it is no surprise that social networking site Bebo is addressing the issue with a new offering. The Bebo "Social Inbox" is a one-stop shop that combines e-mail, social networking and media recommendations into one interface.

Duct Tape Marketing, a small business marketing services firm, has partnered with VerticalResponse for e-mail marketing services.

Measurement is one of the key benefits of the e-mail channel, and if done well, it can be the starting point for an entire multichannel marketing effort, according to Tuesday's keynote at Media Post's Email Insider Summit.

As the mobile Web gets more popular and smartphones are more ubiquitous, we are seeing e-mail platforms expand their offering to the mobile space. Be it through an SMS platform or just through the optimization of e-mail on the mobile Web, the lines between e-mail and the mobile phone are becoming less defined.

The LGBT community is more mainstream than ever, with marketers working hard to reach this educated, affluent group. With issues such as same-sex marriage constantly in the news, and gay and lesbian characters featured regularly on TV, it is safe to say that the once marginalized LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community has become a part of the mainstream.

Coca-Cola Europe is debuting two new branded mobile phone applica­tions across Europe for the Fanta brand, to target a younger demographic. The effort comes out of Fanta's col­laboration with New York-based mobile marketing firm The Hyperfactory and ad agency Ogilvy London.