Marketers and catalogers that rely on mail to reach consumers decried the USPS's proposed "exigent price increases," saying the hikes would have drastic negative financial repercussions for 2011.

IBM's planned acquisition of Coremetrics, announced June 15, is further evidence that technology companies will continue to add analytics capabilities to their products and services, industry experts told DMNews.

International fragrance and beauty company Coty selected Rapp as global digital agency of record for several of its brands. Rapp, an Omnicom direct marketing agency, will handle digital initiatives for Coty's Sally Hansen brand, and its licensed Guess, Halle Berry, Beckham and Playboy brands.

Marketers are tying campaigns to films they believe will be summer blockbusters, including Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender. The list includes Cisco, Aflac and the USPS.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) launched a campaign May 30 promoting the city as a summer travel destination.

The US Postal Service saw a net loss of $382 million in April, bringing its seven-month total net loss for its 2010 fiscal year to $2.26 billion.

PepsiCo has launched an open-call competition for technology, media and communications startups to submit mobile, social media, location-based retail, and video and gaming ideas.

Tourism boards are running direct and digital campaigns to attract consumers to their beaches, lakes and attractions for summer vacations, despite slashed state budgets.

Direct agencies and service providers are hiring high-ranking employees and creating specialized practices for their healthcare work at an unprecedented rate.

Multichannel retailers are expanding their tactics for selling directly to consumers on Facebook, adding e-commerce functionality to both company fan pages and members' news feeds.