February 08, 2013
Postal Service leaders defend cost-cutting plans and praise direct mail when reporting Q1 financial results.
April 17, 2012
Omnicom reported $204.6 million in net income for Q1 2012, a 1.3% increase from the same period last year, said John Wren, Omnicom's president and CEO, during an earnings call. Wren also emphasized Omnicom's initiative to grow its digital presence across all of its agencies through acquisitions, partnerships and investments in personnel.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly asked Groupon to define a term the daily deal company used in its official IPO filing, according to 'The Wall Street Journal.'
Publicis Groupe's first quarter revenue increased 10.7% to $1.9 billion, compared with the same period last year. The company's revenue grew 6.5% organically in the first quarter compared with 2010. Digital accounted for 28.2%, or $535 million, of Publicis' first quarter revenue.
Netflix said January 26 that it spent 10% less on marketing in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the same period of the prior year. However, it saw $596 million in Q4 revenue, a year-over-year increase of 34%, as well as net income of $47 million, up 52% compared with Q4 2009.
Acxiom, a marketing services and technology provider, reported a 5.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $299.1 million in its fiscal third quarter of 2011, which ended December 31, 2010. Acxiom said January 26 that it earned $861.2 million in revenue in the first nine months of its 2011 fiscal year, a 6.2% increase compared with the previous year.
Media and marketing company Meredith Corp. reported $365 million in fiscal fourth-quarter revenues, a 5.6% year-over-year increase. Total FY 2010 revenue decreased 1.5% to $1.39 billion, year over year.
The news may have a little bit of that 2008 feeling to it, rife with predictions of (another/double-dip) recession. But for what it's worth, holding company WPP Group released some positive news on the first five months of the year.
Agency holding company Havas saw $441 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2010, a 1.4% increase year-over-year.
WPP Group's branding and identity, healthcare and specialty communications group, which includes its direct, digital and interactive agencies, saw like-for-like revenues decline 6.2% for 2009 compared to the year before. The holding company's overall like-for-like revenue was down 8.1% for 2009
Brookstone announced October 16 it has appointed Ronald Boire president and CEO. Boire will also join Brookstone's board of directors. Boire previously served as president for North America and corporate EVP for Toys "R" Us.
Multichannel outdoor apparel and gear merchant Gander Mountain announced September 28 that it plans to become a private company in order to improve its performance. Despite a recent push into multichannel retailing, Gander Mountain is struggling. For its fiscal second quarter ending August 1, the company reported a consolidated net loss of $7.3 million, more than the $4.9 million reported during the same period last year.
The US House of Representatives passed legislation on September 25 that would allow the US Postal Service to cut the amount of money it is required to pay to its retirement account this year by $4 billion. The continuing resolution, which passed the House by a vote of 217 to 190, was awaiting action in the Senate as of press time.
The fiscal fourth-quarter and year-end revenue decreases reported by Neiman Marcus on September 9 reflect a difficult year for luxury merchants, as consumers closely watched their spending. The company's leader, however, cited its Internet business as a bright spot. For the fiscal fourth quarter that ended August 1, Neiman Marcus reported that year-over-year comparable revenues decreased 23.4%.
The US Postal Service released plans to offer select employees of two of its unions a financial incentive to retire or resign before the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2009. The workers eligible, of which there are 30,000, primarily work in mail processing facilities, which have become more efficient with new mail processing machinery.
Multichannel apparel merchant Chico's FAS Inc. is looking to continue the momentum displayed in its second quarter financial results into the second half with a new TV campaign for the Chico's brand and increased catalog prospecting, among other strategies. The company said sales for the 13 weeks ended August 1 totaled $419.9 million compared with $405.2 million during the same period last year. Consolidated comparable store sales increased 1.3%, reversing a long trend of quarterly comparative-store decreases, and direct-to-consumer sales increased 46%.
HP reported net revenue declined 2% for its third fiscal quarter ended July 31 for a total of $27.5 billion. The company's net earnings totaled $1.6 billion for the quarter, down 19% year over year. Diluted earnings per share were 67 cents per share, down 16% from 80 cents per share last year. Printer unit shipments decreased 23%, with commercial printer hardware units down 42% and consumer printer hardware units down 16%.
JCPenney Company Inc. reported sales for the second quarter ended August 1 decreased 7.9% for a total of $3.9 billion. Same-store sales decreased 9.5% during the same period. The company also reported a loss of $1 million for the quarter versus income of $117 million last year. Second quarter earnings broke even, compared to a gain of $0.52 per share last year.
With expenses rising and mail volume continuing to decline, the US Postal Service ended the third quarter with a net loss of $2.4 billion. Revenue declined $1.6 billion during the same period. With the organization projecting a possible cash shortfall of up to $700 million and a net loss of $7 billion by the end of its fiscal year in September, Postmaster General John Potter is looking to Capitol Hill for some help.
PitneyBowes Inc. reported a 13% drop in revenue in its second quarter financial statement released on July 30. The Stamford, CT-based mailing services company cited declining mail volumes, as well as longer purchase decision cycles among its consumers, as the causes for the loss in revenue.
Following a disappointing first half and an enterprise-wide portfolio review, Reed Elsevier is putting portions of its Reed Business Information (RBI) unit back on the block. This time around, the company's US titles only are up for sale, barring a handful that will become part of RBI Global. Variety, which has a weekly circulation of 34,000, Reed Construction Data, RSMeans, MarketCast, LA411 and BuyerZone, will all be retained.
Cabela's Inc. reported revenue for the second quarter increased 4.4% for a total of $549.2 million. Comparable-store sales increased 6.1% during the same period and financial services revenue increased 15.4%. Direct revenue, however, decreased 3.6% for a total of $199.5 million. Net income for the second quarter totaled $9.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $7.3 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2008.
International shipping company UPS reported a 16.7% decline in revenue to $10.83 billion for its second quarter ending June 30, down from $13 billion in Q2 2008. Price reduction due to lower fuel charges, as well as the global recession, were cited as the root causes for the company's under performance.
Google announced its second quarter 2009 earnings on July 16, with $5.52 billion in revenues, a 3% increase compared with the same period in 2008. However, its average cost per click, which includes clicks related to ads served on Google sites and its AdSense partner sites, decreased 13%.
Investment bank Petsky Prunier released a trend report highlighting M&A and investment activity in the second quarter of 2009. It reveals continued slowdown for marketing, information and digital media investment volume and value. Bright spots in interactive and digital advertising were driven primarily by venture capital and corporate investments in social media, online video, mobile marketing and software-as-a-service e-mail marketing.
Multichannel home furnishings merchant Design Within Reach Inc. has notified the NASDAQ Stock Market of its intent to voluntarily delist its common stock from NASDAQ. While the company reports that it has not received a formal notice from NASDAQ that it has failed to comply with listing standards, Design Within Reach said in a statement that it has struggled to maintain compliance with NASDAQ's minimum required bid price of $1 per share.
According to preliminary financial information released today for April 2009, the US Postal Service has seen a year-over year decline of $764 million in operating revenue — an 11.9% decrease from April 2008. Government appropriation increased by $1 million from 2008 to 2009. Year-to-date USPS revenue is at just over $41 billion. It was originally forecasted to hit $45 billion, which was also the total revenue at this point last year.
May 18, 2009
Rosetta was already a force in direct marketing, thanks in large part to its proprietary personality segmentation platform. Since acquiring Brulant last year, the agency added strong transactional capabilities to the mix. Today, Rosetta is one of the largest independent interactive agencies with strong legs in healthcare, consumer products and retail as well as financial services. Click headline above to view Rosetta's full profile, complete with capabilities and company history.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. reported net sales for the first quarter ended March 31 totaled $2.5 billion, an 18.1% decrease from the first quarter of 2008. The sales drop included a 3.5% negative impact from changes in foreign exchange rates and volume declines across substantially all product lines, as well as continued price pressure.
Aflac has launched a multichannel campaign in an effort to spur sales of its new products and win over consumers who may be reluctant to buy in this economy.
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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.
