Wasson and his management team said Walgreen is using direct mail, coupons and a marketing barrage to win customers back but realizes consumers during the dispute left for other pharmacies such as CVS (CVS).

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Long before competitors caught on, Wren started putting Omnicom into less glamorous operations--direct-mail marketing, public relations, even, most recently, a company that provides crisis management and executive-protection services--to provide revenue during the inevitable dips in the ad business.

FORBES: What advertising downturn?