Friendly's Ice Cream has launched an online ordering system using in its home market of Springfield, Mass., and plans to roll out a revamped loyalty program this summer, said Richard Del Valle, VP of Restaurant Operations Support at the restaurant chain. For both launches, Friendly's will use technologies from MICROS Systems, a provider of ecommerce solutions for the hospitality and retail industries.
March 01, 2012
Brands must draw on a deluge of mobile-driven customer information in order to engage customers and encourage repeat business.
November 30, 2011
At the CloudForce customer event today in New York City, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said his company was "born cloud and reborn social." But clever-speak aside, the Social Marketing Cloud unveiled at CloudForce is pretty darned cool.
Database company Oracle entered into an agreement on Oct. 18 to acquire data management and Web commerce company Endeca Technologies.
Michael Talbot, president and cofounder of marketing technology company Alterian, resigned effective Oct. 14. Research and development director and cofounder Timothy McCarthy also resigned and non-executive directors Hugh McCartney and Iain Johnston have stepped down from the board.
September 28, 2011
Ragini Bhalla, director of marketing and communications at digital agency Fantasy Interactive, discusses her new role and how building loyalty online differs from offline channels.
September 28, 2011
Look to competitors and companies outside of your industry to develop enhanced customer experiences.
Infogroup has accused founder and former CEO and Chairman Vinod Gupta of stealing confidential company information and using it to develop a client base for his competitive startup Database101. Infogroup also claims Gupta is marketing this venture in a way that makes it appear associated with Infogroup.
Kellogg Co. has selected Alliance Data Systems subsidiary Epsilon to build a real-time customer-preference management system and a classic database and to execute email deployment.
August 10, 2011
Andrew Marcus, CEO of Media One, a direct marketing company with a focus on email and postal lists, discusses campaign marketing and why he thinks lists prices won't return to 2007 levels.
CRM agency Merkle has named Cyndie Beckwith VP and client team lead for its Dell Americas account. In the new position, she will report to Scott Cone, SVP and GM of Merkle's client leadership group, and lead a team of 15 to 20 marketers.
July 20, 2011
Jason Mittelstaedt, CMO of RightNow, a customer experience management (CEM) technology company, explains the distinction between CRM and CEM and why social media may never be a platform for direct marketing.
McCann Worldgroup subsidiary MRM Worldwide has combined its Americas operation with McCann Erickson Salt Lake City (McCann SLC). The move will result in a single operating unit with more than 1,200 North American employees across disciplines including digital, creative, marketing and CRM.
Frozen dessert company Tasti D-Lite has selected Engage121 as its social CRM platform provider as the company expands globally.
Citigroup said June 9 that it recently discovered an unauthorized person hacked the files of about 1% of its Citi North America bank card accounts.
June 08, 2011
Liz Deutch, EVP and global director of customer engagement at Draftfcb, discusses her new position at the agency and the difference between customer engagement and CRM with Direct Marketing News. Deutch's career has spanned more than two decades, including roles with Ogilvy & Mather Direct, Ammirati and Puris, Enfatico and Young & Rubicam Brands (Y&R Brands).
Hearst Magazines and the Direct Marketing Association will launch the second annual "Hearst Challenge" on June 1. The media company will give a $25,000 prize to the entrant who can best build a model to predict whether a consumer will open or click through an email promotion.
May 25, 2011
It's rare that a b-to-b company sees fewer email bouncebacks and higher conversion rates without implementing a new product and/or service provider. But that's exactly what happened when Eloqua, a Vienna, VA.-based revenue performance management technology provider, decided to supplement its old marketing models with a newer, more original technique.
Salesforce.com reported $504.3 million in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, a 34% year-over-year increase. The company saw $254 million in sales and marketing expenses in the period, a 46% increase compared with fiscal Q1 2011.
Consumers have cut back significantly on sharing opinions about companies, as well as their products and services, since the beginning of the "Great Recession," according to research from Colloquy. Fifty-eight percent of consumers said they have discussions with family members, friends and colleagues about the brands they use, down from 73% in 2008, according to the loyalty marketing consultancy.
Harte-Hanks' first-quarter direct marketing revenue increased 4.9% to $141.1 million, compared with Q1 2010, while direct marketing operating income declined 5.2% year-over-year to $16 million. The San Antonio, Texas-based company reported flat overall revenue in the quarter, growing 0.1% to $200.3 million compared with Q1 2010, on April 28.
Technology service providers earned $1.65 billion in revenue from analytics applications last year, a 17.7% increase compared with 2009, according to a Gartner report. Analytics revenue will increase 10.5% in the next five years, according to the research firm.
April 13, 2011
The advent of group discount sites, search engines, auction sites and product review sites have eroded brand loyalty and made it more difficult for marketers to maintain strong customer relationships.
Alterian CEO David Eldridge resigned April 4 as the company warned investors that revenue will fall 10% below market expectations for the year ending March 31. Iain Johnston, who has served as non-executive director since 1997, will become deputy chairman and run the firm's day-to-day operations.
Salesforce.com has agreed to acquire social media monitoring platform provider Radian6 for $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, the company said March 30. Radian6's technology will allow Salesforce.com to monitor, analyze and track conversations for its clients across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and online communities.
The lead management industry appears to be accelerating, according to a recent Gartner study. Find out which lead management companies are the most and least promising.
Merkle, a customer relationship marketing agency, has acquired search marketing firm Impaqt. The acquisition, completed March 25, will allow Merkle to incorporate Impaqt's search marketing capabilities into its database and digital offerings.
March 23, 2011
Martha Bush, SVP of strategy and marketing at Sigma Marketing Group, a direct and digital services firm, discusses the importance of platform integration and why enhanced customer data will hurt direct mail. Bush has worked in the direct marketing industry for nearly three decades, including more than 18 years at Sigma.
March 23, 2011
In a world inundated with communication, everything we do creates a data point. But, the reality is, your company probably doesn't use information as effectively as it could.
Databases and CRM platforms must harness the same social interactions that consumers have on Facebook and Twitter, said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, in his keynote address at the company's March 3 Cloudforce 2011 event.
Company of the week R2C GroupR2C creates, produces, distributes and measures messages that inspire and compel consumers to do something with a brand to drive commercial advantage. The full-service advertising agency specializes in creative, production, media, analytics and performance. |
What's in our mailbox this month: fitness postcards from Retro Fitness, American Woman Fitness Centers, Union's United Taekwondo Academy, and Bally Total Fitness. (We're totally pumped.)
Social data can improve a brand's bottom line and customer relationships. Just ask brands Infiniti and Diamond Nexus.
Here are three must-have data sets that every marketer should include in his or her email strategy.
