November 1, 2006
Op-Ed Columns
Familiar Faces
Hard as it may be to believe, DMA06 isn't the only fall event worth attending. Another is the Promo Live conference, produced by Direct publisher Prism...
Becoming a Content Provider
We're content providers, Richard D. Beckman, president of Cond Nast Media Group, told The New York Times in August. Mr. Beckman essentially was saying...
Before I Forget
An upsetting self-revelation: I've outlived a surprising number of direct marketers who have been my contemporaries. I shouldn't have been surprised,...
Articles
Listen Up
E-MAIL EXECUTIVES ARE GROWING TIRED OF THE lack of attention and budget chief marketing officers give the channel. While they understand that 90% of most...
Pet Project
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOUR animal companion is a cat, dog, fish, hamster or iguana. All pet owners need stuff. Lots of stuff: Kibble, brushes, beds, habitrails,...
Back to the Start
LEAD GENERATION HAS LONG BEEN THE NAME OF THE GAME IN BUSINESS-TO-business. The complex decision cycles that precede most purchases and the high cost...
Tell Us a Story
One day in the not-too-distant future, Web 2.0 will be about telling stories in the service of marketing to consumers, said Michael Davis, senior vice...
Nothing Was Delivered
Every standard mailer worries if his or her missives will get delivered to the right addresses. And more and more these days, the U.S. Postal Service...
Get the Buzz
Looking for the latest scoops and commentary on the world of direct marketing? Visit the DirectBuzz Blog (blog.directmag.com/buzz/), updated regularly...
Creative Differences
Business-to-business and business-to-consumer e-mail campaigns require vastly different creative tactics to drive the highest response, according to a report by e-mail service provider Silverpop....
Blooper of the Century
IN A JAW-DROPPING EMBARRASSMENT, the state of Utah has mistakenly divulged kids' e-mail addresses on its so-called child-protection do-not-e-mail list — a registry proponents claim is foolproof....
Satan in the House
Unspam Technologies, arguably the most despised company in e-mail marketing circles, has joined the Direct Marketing Association. And apparently there's...
E-mail Tops in ROI
THOUGH THE MONEY MARKETERS spend on it is a pittance compared with other channels, e-mail delivers the highest return on investment by a wide margin,...
Growth of DM Spending to Falter
Direct marketing spending and sales growth are going to slow a bit in 2007, according to new research from the Direct Marketing Association. But both...
FTC Tightens ID Theft Regs
Identity theft? Ho-hum. Woe to you, friend, if that's your attitude. Data security may be dead in Congress this year, but the Federal Trade Commission...
Mailers Face New Postal Rules
WITH THE NEW RATE case taking effect next May, mailers will have many new rules and regulations to look forward to, many of which are expected to set...
Brand Makeovers
DID YOU EVER GET THE FEELING that something about your brand wasn't quite right? It may be time to align your channels or tweak your creative. Case in...
We Are the World
Never mind love: If the Direct Marketing Association has its way, direct response will be the international language. The DMA took two steps in this direction...
Predictable, But Not Easy
INSTITUTIONS LIKE SCHOOLS, hospitals, government offices and libraries represent a $4.1 trillion annual market. They're mostly recession-proof and very...
I Gotta Do What?
SO DO YOU LIKE THOSE hoops? Shine 'em up a lot, do ya? Stroke them when no one is looking and coo in a raspy voice Seriously, a lot of you out there must...
The Yankees' Bush-League CRM
YANKEE FANS, IT SEEMS, can't win for winning. According to The New York Times, the New York Yankees are aggressively punishing season ticket holders who...
In Utah, the Sheriff of Doodyville Takes on the World
Are Utah's government officials evil or just stupid? That question comes to mind every time the state's so-called child-protection do-not e-mail registry...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE MCMURRY MATTER Isn't there a saying in the publicity industry, It doesn't matter what you write, just make sure you spell my name right? Well, if...
We Need Help. You Certainly Do
WAY, WAY BACK, IN KINDER AND GENTLER TIMES, fundraising could succeed by using three little words: We need help. Today? Forget it. If you want to raise...
Banking on Trust
WITH MORE than 8,000 financial institutions angling for assets and many more brokers/dealers, wholesalers and advisers vying to attract and retain investors...
LISTLINE
NEW LISTS Collectible America The names of 17,000 buyers and 10,000 inquirers from the last 12 months are on this catalog's list. The unit of sale ranged...
Poisoning the Well
IT'S BECOME A CLICH TO SAY that the Web has changed all the rules about how merchants and companies deal with the public. The many ways consumers can...
Marketers Test New E-mail Tech
SOME BLUE-CHIP NAMES in marketing and advertising are testing technology that allows senders to embed video in e-mail without any streaming or buffering....
Joe Torre Needs Help. So Does His Ad
IT'S ALWAYS A SHAME TO SEE A WORTHY NONPROFIT RUN A fundraising ad that just doesn't do the job. One can't help thinking that the ad money could have been better spent on the organization's programs. I found this ad for the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation in a recent issue of BusinessWeek. ...
No Serenity Here
HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE Serenity Prayer? It goes like this: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things...
