Direct Marketing

Direct marketing -- the selling of products or services in person, usually in a customer's home -- is a job opportunity that looks more appetizing in a depressed labor market.In a $12 billion industry in the United States, 5 million people work in direct marketing for nearly 700 companies nationwide.According to the Direct Selling Association, nearly half of direct marketers sell home products or family-care products. All together, they make 50,000 sales calls daily.But direct marketing is not always a job seeker's first choice.

There are 670,497 vehicles registered in Baltimore County. Of those, 78,714 are for Honda models of all shapes, sizes and years. If you are a registered owner of one of them, the police might be interested in talking with you. Not just any Honda owner, however. Yours has to be a Civic or an Accord, built between 1990 and 2000. The color doesn't matter. There are 13,344 of you. Over the next few days, you should be getting a letter from the Baltimore County Police Department. Seems you own the type of car most sought by thieves.

Direct Marketing Associates Inc. intends to pull 250 jobs from the city when it relocates to the Halethorpe section of Baltimore County early next year.The direct-mail firm has contracted to purchase a vacant 360,000-square-foot building previously occupied by the Maryland Paper Box Corp. for roughly $4 million, where it plans to relocate by early next year, said Terry Woods, a vice president and a company principal.The purchase was made possible through a $6 million industrial development bond approved Monday by the Baltimore County Council.

Although prices continue to rise at the supermarket, the farmer's share of the American food dollar has declined 35 percent over the past 27 years, and the farmers are looking for ways to reverse this trend. Niche marketing may be the answer, particularly for farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region, one of the most populous sections of the country. Niche marketing or direct marketing involves farmers selling directly to the consumer, and it can boost their share of the food dollar by providing them with a higher return per unit sold.

Think you're a typical mutual fund shareholder?You are, according to the Investment Company Institute's latest survey, if you are male, married, 43 years old, employed, earn $45,000 a year and bought your first fund shares before 1985.But marital status, income and the like are only a few of the characteristics that are analyzed by fund companies to target potential markets. There also are a variety of traits that help to explain why you invest the way you do -- and why fund sponsors market the way they do.On the basis of their sales methods, the institute divides mutual funds into two categories:* Direct marketing -- those sold directly to investors by mail or telephone or in fund offices.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Office Depot Inc., the world's largest office-products retailer, agreed yesterday to buy Viking Office Products Inc. for about $2.7 billion in stock, as it moves more into direct marketing of products ranging from pencils to computers.Office Depot will swap one share for each of Viking's 87.1 million shares. The offer for Viking, the world's largest seller of office products through catalogs, is 30 percent higher than Viking's closing price Friday.Office Depot, which operates 614 stores, and its main competitor, Staples Inc., have made big acquisitions in direct marketing after antitrust objections scuttled their proposed $4 billion merger in July.

Keith Phillips was recently been named vice president of marketing and manufacturing for UNC Inc., an Annapolis-based aviation firm.The former director of marketing for the H&H Parts Division of Chromalloy Gas Turbine Corp., Phillips has had a number of manufacturing andmarketing positions across the country.In his new position, he will join UNC's corporate development department to direct marketing and business development for several manufacturing divisions.

New positionsWallace appointed director of UM information centerUniversity of Maryland, College Park appointed Patricia M. Wallace as director, Center for Knowledge and Information Management, Robert H. Smith School of Business. The newly created unit will develop a research program for reforming business practices through use of information technology.The Silver Spring resident received her doctorate from the University of Texas-Austin and formerly was a vice president of the University of Maryland University College.

Housing foundation names four to board The Partnership For Housing Foundation founded by the Maryland Association of Realtors recently named four new board members. New members to the board are: Louis Costanzo, regional vice president of Ivy Mortgage of New Jersey; Silvia Rodriguez, owner, Silvia International Realty in Rockville; Steve Fox, owner, Fox Realty Inc./GMAC RI Estate in Frederick; and Rochell Brown, broker/owner, Re/MAX Realty, Columbia. The foundation works with state and local governments, nonprofit and for-profit housing organizations and others dedicated to promoting homeownership.

ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. said yesterday that it made executive and organizational changes in its sales and services divisions to focus on a single brand and avoid confusion among its customers.The changes are part of an effort by Chairman Louis Gerstner to capitalize on the IBM name and eliminate turf battles between divisions."Clearly this will help -- because the old system did have so much friction," said industry analyst Bob Djurdjevic of Annex Research.IBM will now operate all its global services under the IBM Global Services name, which it currently uses.

The GOTCORN license tag on his pickup greatly understates what Brad Milton offers on his Harford County farm. The store at Brad's Produce in Churchville is stocked with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits, all manner of flowers and Brad's special fertilizer and potting soil. It also carries honey, jellies, pickles, relish and tomato sauce, all made with items grown in the surrounding fields and greenhouses. The man just named Harford County's most innovative farmer does not come from generations of those who till the land for a living.

Advertising Trahan Burden Charles has appointed Brent Burkhardt as executive vice president and managing director of public relations for the Baltimore-based regional advertising agency. Vertis Communications appointed Charles Miotke as president of the Baltimore-based direct marketing unit of the national print advertising and direct marketing solutions provider. Banking and finance Northwestern Mutual Financial Network named Kelly Whitson as a financial representative in its Baltimore office.

The Auerhan family of Mount Washington returned yesterday to concrete curb underneath the Jones Falls Expressway as the Baltimore Farmers' Market came to life on its 30th opening day. "He gets the coffee, I get the food, and we meet here," said Jennifer Auerhan of the weekly outing she enjoys with her husband, Charles, and their three sons. "We've been waiting all winter." Sam, 5, declared the best part of the market to be the spicy meat pies, while Jacob, 3, said, "I like the big muffins."

AH, SWEET corn on the cob - a summertime treat of most Marylanders - is best fresh from the field. It is the freshness that ensures that the kernels have their ephemeral sweet taste and juiciness. And that is what adds to the popularity of farmers' markets and roadside farm stands among consumers across the state. "This is gonna be a real treat," Donna Edwards said as she packed a dozen ears of Argent white corn into a sack as she shopped the farmers' market behind The Avenue at White Marsh Mall on Friday morning.

AH, SWEET CORN on the cob -- a summertime treat for most Marylanders -- is best fresh from the field. It is the freshness that ensures that the kernels have their ephemeral sweet taste and juiciness. And that is what adds to the popularity of farmers' markets and roadside farm stands among consumers across the state. "This is gonna be a real treat," Donna Edwards said as she packed a dozen ears of Argent white corn into a sack as she shopped the farmers' market behind The Avenue at White Marsh Mall on Friday morning.

Eager to use their most effective marketing tool - personal contact - Maryland winemakers are scheduling a summer full of winery tours, tastings and festivals. "If you can get them to taste the wine, you can win them over," said Carol Wilson, proprietor of Elk Run Vineyards and Winery, near Mount Airy. The state's 10 wineries will have one of their first direct marketing opportunities of the season this weekend at the 12th Wine in the Woods festival, sponsored by Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks.

Advertising Trahan Burden Charles has appointed Brent Burkhardt as executive vice president and managing director of public relations for the Baltimore-based regional advertising agency. Vertis Communications appointed Charles Miotke as president of the Baltimore-based direct marketing unit of the national print advertising and direct marketing solutions provider. Banking and finance Northwestern Mutual Financial Network named Kelly Whitson as a financial representative in its Baltimore office.

Howard buses to pick up MTA slack, starting tomorrow When a Maryland Transit Administration commuter bus that runs from Columbia to Baltimore discontinues its neighborhood stops tomorrow, Howard County buses will pick up the slack. County Executive James N. Robey has decided to spend the roughly $42,000 a year needed to send two Howard Transit vehicles to the same stops that the No. 310 commuter bus had made. Faced with a budget crunch, the MTA decided this month to eliminate the 20 or so stops in Oakland Mills and Long Reach villages.