Huntington Bancshares has named Arnold Worldwide lead marketing agency for its flagship brand and its Huntington National chain of retail banks. Terms of the deal, which closed the first week of March, were not disclosed.

HP will launch the "Let's do amazing" campaign later this week. This is the first effort created by 72andSunny, a recent addition to its agency roster.

Starwood Hotels is conducting an under-the-radar pilot loyalty initiative targeting members of competing loyalty programs. The company is keeping the effort separate from its existing loyalty program, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG).

Vinod Gupta, the founder and former chairman and CEO of recently sold database company Infogroup, has agreed to pay more than $7.4 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges. The SEC alleged that Gupta fraudulently used almost $9.5 million in corporate funds for personal expenses, such as personal jet travel, a yacht, private club memberships and automobiles from 2003 to 2007.

The Postal Regulatory Commission said it will hire an actuarial consultant to review the pension-payment system used by the financially strapped US Postal Service. The USPS' Office of Inspector General released a report in January stating that the agency's current pension-funding system resulted in an overpayment of $75 billion from 1972 to 2009.

EZ Street Company, a producer of temperature-resistant asphalt, launched a direct mail campaign on March 17 targeting media and government officials. The company is using the effort, called "the spoken wheel," to drive attention to the state of US roads and urge state and federal authorities to increase funding for America's highway infrastructure.

Digital firm Responsys launched a platform to integrate e-mail marketing and social media on March 16. Client Diapers.com is using the tool to add more social media to its digital marketing mix.

Although e-mail marketing has been a global business for years, numerous US-based vendors are now growing their presence in the Asia-Pacific marketplace. This week, e-mail firm StrongMail extended its small footprint in the region through a partnership with XCOM Media.

A coalition of major Hollywood studios and cable companies have launched a $30 million campaign promoting the Movies on Demand service. The "Video store just moved in" effort, which launched March 17, features a sweepstakes, interactive media, a dedicated Web site at CableVideoStore.com, TV spots and print ads.

PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division is running a digital customer-engagement campaign to promote its potato chips. The "Happiness Exhibit" effort, which began March 15, encourages consumers to share photos of happy moments. The images will become part of a growing online photo montage.

Trade publisher Penton Media awarded MeritDirect management of its databases effective April 1. The previous manager was Walter Karl.

The quality of contact data is vital to any direct marketing effort. Marketers are masters at developing catchy, well-positioned campaign messages. But if that message never reaches the intended recipient, then the effort is wasted.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations released new definitions of what comprises a magazine's digital edition on March 16. The move came after Wired sought review of its iPad version, which will qualify as a "digital replica" under the updated guidelines.

'The New York Times' launched a business-to-business campaign on March 15 to promote its reach among women, professionals and art enthusiasts in the New York market compared to the rival 'Wall Street Journal.'

New list — Sub Prime Auto Owners — Spot Behavior — This file contains people who own or lease a vehicle and have requested a payday loan, debt consolidation, low-cost insurance quotes or auto warranty. Average income is $36,000.

New list — Virility EX — Impulse Media — This file contains buyers of Virility EX, a male enhancement program. They are mostly 40 years of age or older and have spent $49.95 to $149.95 by credit card.

Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation has agreed to acquire the Tommy Hilfiger brand from private equity firm Apax Partners for $3 billion. Funds advised by Apax have controlled the brand since May 2006. PVH will pay $2.2 billion in cash and $800 million in stock for the fashion brand. The deal is expected to close during this year's second quarter.

LL Bean launched a campaign using direct mail and social media on March 15 to promote its spring 2010 "signature" line. The retailer also introduced an e-commerce portal and catalog for the collection on the same day.

Direct marketers know they can use variable data printing to create highly personalized marketing pieces. Our experts discuss the best ways to segment and measure these VDP efforts to optimize your ROI.

Bottomline Ink, a Perrysburg, OH-based printer, acquired its in-state peer Bolt From The Blue on March 4. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bottomline's goal is to add direct mail marketing to its transactional printing service-focused business.

On June 25, 2009 at 5:20pm EST, TMZ announced the death of pop star Michael Jackson with a bit.ly link (a shortened link made to post on sites like Twitter). The news shocked the world, and at its peak, the bit.ly URL was getting 42 clicks every second. It's a perfect example of how people want and expect lightning-fast news.

Marketers can reach more than just Facebook friends or Twitter followers with real-time messaging now that search engines index the latest updates from social media sites.