Direct mail production and printing services provider Johnson & Quin has acquired certain assets of Staples Print Solutions' direct mail division InteliMail. The deal brings Johnson & Quin customers in the financial services, retail and government arenas as well as additional bindery, lettershop and affixing capabilities.

Seeing an opportunity to bring innovation to the areas of data accuracy, analytics and marketing databases for the catalog industry, CognitiveData, which was acquired by Merkle in May and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the database marketing agency, is acquiring catalog marketing services firm CMS Direct. CognitiveData and CMS have been working together since 2006, when they formed a strategic partnership. At the time, CMS began incorporating CognitiveData's data accuracy technology into its list processing and data processing environment.

AM/Direct, the multichannel division of Direct Media Millard, has been appointed manager for the corporate insert media properties of 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. programs. These include 1-800-Flowers.com, Plow & Hearth and HearthSong.

As retailers are faced with a challenging recession, they are looking to digital to get in front of consumers on the mobile device, where they can extend the brand reach and collect new data. Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters is taking its mobile efforts to the next level, moving from text to mobile commerce. The retailer has teamed up with mobile services firm Acuity Mobile Acuity to expand its mobile efforts to include an m-commerce site.

In the July 13 issue of DMNews, we're focused on just one thing: CRM. Whether it be loyalty, engagement or customer relationships, CRM is at the forefront of the growth and innovation that the industry relies on during the downturn. This first-ever special issue of DMNews will take a closer look at every facet of the CRM and database space, including software, privacy, loyalty, retail, data collection, e-mail programs, social media and more.