Bryan Yurcan

Direct mail advertiser Valpak said it would be refranchising at least 15 of its company-run operations over the next two years. The initial focus will be on refranchising the New York City and Houston markets, with Minneapolis, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles to follow.

EBay Motors, an online automobile directory and subsidiary of eBay, announced today the launch of eBay Motors Local Classifieds for individual sellers. The new listing option is designed to connect car buyers and sellers within a 100-mile radius of their local market.

Nextmark Inc. today released its first quarter 2009 Data Card Quality Report, which featured 17 new companies that made the top 50 for their respective categories, double-digit improvements in the 500-plus category, and 11 companies that achieved a perfect score (100) on every data card. Individual data card scores are calculated using a weighted average of 13 attributes, with an emphasis on recent updates.

Restaurant.com, an online portal for dining coupons and gift certificates, has partnered with TrialPay, an online payment platform, on its new "purchasing incentives" platform. The TrialPay platform seeks to reduce shopping cart abandonment by offering consumers a free offer after completing a purchase.

Database company D&B is launching a new media property it says will allow mar­keters to reach consumers searching for businesses, business services and prod­ucts when they are looking to buy. With the newly created unit, D&B Digital, marketers can reach business decision-makers as they are looking to purchase a product or service, said Mark Walters, VP of D&B Digital.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved a non-binding resolution last week calling on the state of California and Congress to create a Do No Mail registry — the first time lawmakers in the US have voted on creating a policy to allow citizens to block receiving unsolicited mail. No states have yet passed any kind of Do Not Mail legislation, although several have measures pending, and it is unclear whether the California state legislature will take up the issue.

Expedia.com, an online travel company, has launched a search for a new agency to manage its US advertising and communications.

FedEx SmartPost has expanded its service into Canada for US shippers by using the residential delivery capabilities of the Canada Post Corporation.