There has been a push for us to do some better marketing and more targeted marketing.

This really just gets us back to where we were, but it's encouraging because we've been trying very hard to get back there. I think we are clearly in recovery mode.

We've seen a 3.5 percent increase overall in salaries for creative and communications marketing professionals. That's a healthy industry outlook.

Clearly no one would have expected someone who has been as successful as Cathy has been in consumer marketing to wind up in the payments-services business. But on the other hand, if she emerges as a problem solver, this could help propel her to the top management ranks.

This milestone is not only a significant achievement for Catalina Marketing Services, but proves that across the board, retailers are continuing to see the value in offering consumers targeted marketing communications at the point-of-sale. By expanding into new channels, such as chain drug stores and mass merchandisers, Catalina is able to connect with more consumers, with information specific to them.

There's more and more marketing nationally; you pick up any ski magazine and that's all you see, is backcountry.