The National Hockey League (NHL) is gearing up for a massive marketing push to coincide with Stanley Cup Finals, which could begin as early as next week. Intended to push team-branded Stanley Cup gear, such as hats, T-shirts and coolers, the campaign includes a mix of DRTV, online, radio spots, direct e-mail, print and streaming video.

In March, media giant Bertelsmann said it would run out its BMG Music Service continuity club and shut down the business by 2010. The announce­ment was part of the bigger news that Bertelsmann will try to sell its US Direct Group division, a year after acquiring Bookspan.

Livemercial, a provider of online direct response marketing and seminar lead generation services, has acquired RecruiTV Inc., which provides virtual recruitment video solutions. RecruiTV sends out video crews to client sites and records videos of executives and recruitment managers to give users of the service a feel of the company's environment and mission.

Industry experts discuss how to increase customer retention during a recession, the evolution of mobile services, and integrating direct mail into a teleservices campaign.

Even with tough regulations, pharmaceutical marketing is boasting bigger gains than ever. Ellen Keohane finds out this sector's secrets of success.

With healthcare costs on the rise, health insurance marketers need creative ways to woo consumers. Mary Elizabeth Hurn shares some expert solutions.

Despite efforts by the US Postal Service as well as some direct mail service companies such as Pitney Bowes, news about the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB) may not be reaching the majority of mailers. The IMB, developed by the USPS to encode routing and tracking information on mail, will eventually replace Postnet barcodes, which only contain the routing code.

Drs. Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields, have relaunched their skincare brand, Rodan & Fields Dermatologists, as a direct selling endeavor. It was originally sold through department stores.

Qiagen, a creator of medical testing technologies, has developed TV spots and a Web site to promote its test for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer. The commercials were created in part­nership with agency Gotham Inc.

EFoodSafety.com Inc., a devel­oper of nutritional products and sup­plements, launched two DRTV cam­paigns for its healthcare supplements Cinnergen and Cinnechol last week. The ads, created in partnership with agency Respond2 Direct, capitalize on recent health trends, and both feature customer testimonials.