My wife has been disappointed by my unwillingness to think of a Halloween costume. But that might have changed.

Integrated agency Loomis Group announced a strategic partnership with Capella Advisors that will provide healthcare companies with strategic planning, commercialization expertise and marketing programs for new consumer-facing products.

Forrester Research data released this month shows that just over one in 10 companies value data-driven customer intelligence at the C-level. However, analyst Dave Frankland, the report's author, expects that to improve. Forrester found in its October 16 study, The Intelligent Approach to Customer Intelligence, that 12% of company executives embrace customer intelligence.

Though three-quarters of nonprofits gather consumers' names and locations when they sign up for e-mail communications, that's often where consumer data collection ends for those groups, according to a Return Path study, released October 20. Nonprofits are half as likely as for-profit companies to collect information beyond name and geographic location from their e-mail subscribers — 20% vs. 42%.

Doctors noted their dissatisfaction with a direct mail marketing arrangement between Eli Lilly and CVS Caremark in an Indianapolis Star report.

Advamed, a trade assocation for medical technology companies, recently completed a survey with Porter Novelli about direct-to-consumer marketing in the sector.

Magna, an agency in the Interpublic Group division Mediabrands, predicted this week that revenue for owners of direct media — a diverse group comprising search engines, the US Postal Service and phone directories, among others — will rise 3.3% next year. That rise occurs when national and local brand-based advertisers are included and revenue is evaluated as a whole.

This Yahoo report indicates that retailers expect to hire more seasonal workers this holiday season than last. It's a sign that retailers expect a slightly better holiday as the recession appears to ease.

Arc Worldwide, the direct marketing arm of Chicago-based agency Leo Burnett, has appointed Nick Jones its EVP, retail practice lead and account director. The former managing director of Draftfcb agency Rivet London is charged with improving Arc's retail unit, which includes clients McDonald's, Comcast and Procter & Gamble, in the new position.

Avvaa, a Canada-based seller of skin care products, launched a two-week DRTV test in the US on October 5. The test features two-minute, 60-second and 30-second spots on 100 stations. The spots aim to drive Internet and phone sales of Avvaa's Neuroskin Psoriasis Relief product among new customers.