Mary Beth Parks , Hilton's vice president of marketing, defends the program.

FORBES: Bully Marketing

Cisco is spending "millions of dollars" on the academy program, says Scott Knell, Cisco's higher-education marketing manager in Santa Clara, Calif.

CNN: School-to-work programs: High hopes, low turnout

Working with the Direct Mail Marketing Association, Mr. Edelman's firm created an opt-out program that helped quell growing objections about junk mail.

WSJ: Public-Relations Pioneer Began With 'Toni Twins' Stunt

"It's a bit of a gamble to walk away from such an iconic event that has been such a big and critical part of their marketing program, " says Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Ill.

WSJ: Pepsi's Drinks Will Sit Out the Super Bowl

The growers petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture for permission to collect the per-tree tax for a marketing-and-research program.

WSJ: Fir Real? Christmas Trees in Crisis as Americans Flock to Fakes