Carol Krol

The news grabbing headlines this month was eBay's $2.4 billion acquisition of e-commerce services giant GSI Commerce, its bid to take on industry leader Amazon.com.

Eyewear designer FGX International launched a $3 million integrated consumer campaign on April 18 for its Foster Grant sunglasses line via MMB, Boston. The effort, which features TV, radio and digital elements including social media, and will eventually incorporate email and search engine marketing, resurrects the brand's "Who's that behind those Foster Grants?" tagline.

In the latest salvo of the hot-button information privacy issue, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) said April 11 they will introduce a "bill of rights" intended to protect US citizens' personal information both off- and online.

Marketers are beginning to take better advantage of opportunities within social media as the Web continues to evolve from an informational to a social space, said Dan Rose, VP of partnerships and platform marketing at Facebook, during an April 6 keynote address at the Bazaarvoice Social Commerce Summit.

Social commerce software company Bazaarvoice said April 5 that it will introduce three products this fall - Bazaarvoice Customer Intelligence, SocialConnect Suite and Bazaarvoice Platform - to help marketers react faster to social media feedback from customers. The products will also automate some processes and make others simpler and more direct, the company said.

Location-based marketing provides enormous opportunity for direct marketers. Just as search reaches customers who've raised their hand seeking information, location-based marketing targets consumers potentially in the mood to buy and geographically near point of sale.

I had the privilege of sitting on the judging panel this week for the annual John Caples International Student Campaign of the Year Award, alongside representatives of sponsor Alloy Media & Marketing.

E-mail can be a powerful strategy for marketers, but challenges in the industry remain, from data management to inbox fatigue to continued deliverability challenges. As president of Infogroup Interactive, Mike Hilts is responsible for leveraging the strengths of both Infogroup's Yesmail and Walter Karl Interactive brands to create interactive marketing solutions and strategies for clients.

Direct mail. Nobody talks about it. It's not cool. It's the Rodney Dangerfield of direct marketing. When marketers talk about it, it's usually in the context of the drop in mail volume to the tune of tens of billions of pieces. Or about how expensive it is.

"It is not about adapting and accepting change anymore. It is about aggressively seeking it, being first to apply it, and then seek it again."