October 1, 2007
DIRECT Newsline
Trick Shot
A Web site redesign helped PoolDawg.com increase online conversions by 27% and improve its search engine rankings....
International Flair
Everyone knows that a culturally diverse workplace is seen as a positive thing. And we also know successful businesses are better at understanding and connecting with their customers. You may not have thought about the connection between these two key ideas, but they are intrinsically linked....
WORKER'S PARADISE
Tony Hsieh, CEO of online shoe merchant Zappos.com, asks each employee to write a 100- to 500-word description of the company's culture every year for...
BMW's Dealer Mailings a Hit
Some BMW of North America dealers have seen conversion rates as high as 10% to recent prospect mailings created using a new system that's designed to build customer loyalty....
We'll Get That for You
Going overseas and don't want to burden your neighbors to bring in the post — or miss any important mail? Earth Class Mail may be the solution....
Rolling Strikes
Brunswick Bowling and Billiards has turned an offer of an hour of free bowling in return for e-mail contact information into a database of almost half a million e-mail addresses....
Features
Victoria Mag Gets Boost From Grieving Readers
Victoria magazine, the women's shelter book that's being revived this fall, has gotten responses ranging from 15% to 20% to its first mailing. This was...
Ready for Their Close-up
This winter, Earth Class Mail will be the subject of a new documentary TV series called “Startup Junkies” on the MOJO network....
In a Perfect World
An ideal direct mail offer should: Be tied to the brand and its advertising positioning in the market. Be linked to the product being promoted or sold....
Listline
NEW LISTS Louisiana Cookin' Kreidet Enterprises Ltd. is offering this magazine's list of 12,000 active subscribers. Readers' average yearly household...
Departments
Cluster Bombing
Does this sound familiar? You work for a retailer with a large catalog and Internet business. Your bosses figure out that not all customers are the same when it comes to brand loyalty, and that their purchase behaviors reflect this disparity....
Op-Ed Columns
What Gives?
Scrap the editorial praising Lon Mandel for bucking the consolidation trend. Replace it with one that lauds him for his aggressive acquisition strategy....
It's Time to Dumb-Up
We in direct marketing don't have to worry much about the dumbing-down of advertising and marketing messages. After all, we're in the thick of it. But...
Articles
Goldstein Years
One familiar face will be missing from the crowd at this year's DMA conference in Chicago. Deb Goldstein, president of IDG List Services, retired earlier...
Small Wonders
Nearly a third of U.S. small businesses project their e-commerce sales to increase over the next 12 to 24 months, notes a recent study by the Small Business Research Board....
Lesson Plan
“Lessons Learned” is a new series of books from Harvard Business School Press that showcases personal essays from academics, senior executives and thought leaders....
Now That's a Good Idea!
What do you hope to bring home from DMA07 this month? For my money, the best souvenir would be a few good ideas. I don't necessarily mean things that...
Watch This
Your watch tells you the time. It may even tell you the date. But does it inspire you? Clinical psychologist Brenda Ellner advised patients to write down...
Beauty Pageant
Fred Segal Beauty's latest online promotion urged consumers to go beyond skin deep. In conjunction with marketing platform Brickfish, the spa and cosmetics marketer held a “beauty lottery,” offering participants the chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree on FredSegalBeauty.com....
Swag Party
We recently asked readers of our sister publication Chief Marketer Plus to share thoughts about the best conference premiums they'd given or received. Here's a sampling of what they said...
Targeting the Green
New research is helping Ogden Publications Inc. better target “green” consumers....
Buyer's Guide
Technology and accountability. Not surprisingly, these are two of the top direct marketing media trends for the coming year. Direct recently talked with Michelle Saperstein, vice president and group media director at Draftfcb, to get her thoughts on the DM media landscape....
Doing Their Homework
Did we intentionally create a diverse workplace at The Marketing Store to be more effective in delivering results for our clients? Honestly, no. But we've been fortunate to observe the richness, value — and indeed, business results — that our diversity has created....
Money Talks
Marketers may give lip service to return on investment, but one thing is clear: They don't want to wait for it. And many believe it can't be measured....
An Underserved Market
OK, we know it's a stereotype: Hispanics are loyal to their families. But not all are loyal to brands — at least not judging from their involvement in loyalty programs....
MORE, MORE, MORE
Direct talked recently with executives at some of the industry's top agencies to get their thoughts on the agency's role in today's marketing environment and what they felt were their clients' top priorities....
Are You Buying or Acquiring?
We're supposed to be marketing's leaders. In fact, “marketing” is our surname, with “response” a sometime and worthy surrogate. Much as we creatives want to be considered in poetic terms, success stems from our being regarded as flourishing salespeople. That's what we do. We sell. We sell or we deservedly perish....
George Lois Direct
George Lois knows something about getting results. His “I want my MTV” campaign drew thousands of phone calls and helped put the cable network on the map. And that was just one of several breakthroughs created by the art director during his 50-year career....
SoWhatcha Got?
In direct marketing, an offer is an incentive that motivates consumers to do something they hadn't planned on before they viewed our television spots, visited our Web site, read our print ads, got our electronic or postal mail or heard our radio commercials. Naturally, we want it to be an incentive that can't be refused....
Keeping the Lanes Busy
James Simone, general manager of Brunswick's Woodhaven Lanes bowling center in Queens, NY, credits the company's e-mail marketing program with helping keep lanes busy that previously were often dark....
This Jellyfish Deserved to Drown
This summer the United Kingdom's National Magazine Co. NatMag killed online-only teen magazine Jellyfish after a 20-week trial, saying the e-zine's business...
Play It as It Overlays
Google earned kudos in September 2006 for enticing video-sharing site YouTube away from its rivals and into the Googleplex. But almost immediately the...
Searching for Hillary
Universal search combines all the categorical directory findings and media into a unified search engine results page. Through a new set of algorithms, Google offers results that may include videos, maps, images, blog sites and press releases that it positions by newly defined relevance and popularity....
Partnering for Progress
It might surprise some direct marketers to find out that affiliates can deliver a more desirable demographic than the average online shopper. According to a recent study from DoubleClick Performics, affiliate channel shoppers spend more — the typical order size via affiliate sites is higher. An affiliate shopper, the report also notes, tends to be slightly wealthier compared with the average Web counterpart....
Start Out Small
The way to get the best of both worlds secure, functional transactional and personalized marketing documents is to collaborate. Internal projects need...
Where Do DMers Draw the Line?
Direct marketers are always looking for that next great lead-generation tactic that will be a something that will be absolutely irresistible to a prospective...
Artistry Trumps Clarity
I've said it before. It's time to say it again. Arise, ye oppressed copywriters of the world! Storm down the hallway to the art department! Hammer on the doors! Demand readable display of the copy you worked so hard on! Wait, I've got it wrong. That was yesterday. Big ad agencies don't have art departments to turn copy into ads anymore....
Letters to the Editor
DYSON MAKEOVER I'm amazed Tom Collins' piece on the Dyson Stowaway ad (The Makeover Maven, August) was actually published. I fear he may have damaged...
An Anticipated Wreck
Drivers who slow and gawk at accidents will understand my instinct regarding the National Do Not Call Registry. I've got a pretty good idea there's an impending pileup, and I've staked out a vantage point, packed some sandwiches and potato salad, and am waiting for the show to start....
