June 1, 2008
Cover Story
E-NOUGH
Help! They've got our e-mail addresses and they can't shut up! Those who were masochistic enough to sign up for e-mail from any of the '08 presidential...
Disciplines
Get to know MFSANY
WHAT Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association of New York MEMBERSHIP Fifty-four corporate members with 227 individual participants, including mailers,...
Ugly Duck Call
In March's Pushing the Envelope, I asked readers to share stories of ugly duck campaigns the types of efforts that might not win any beauty pageants but...
How'd You Get Here?
Back in the day, direct marketing wasn't typically a clear career path for recent college graduates. How did you end up in DM? This month we ask Sid Liebenson...
If It Looks Like Spam
A recent court ruling in Illinois has vast implications for direct marketers. And if there's one lesson DMers must take from the decision it's this: Rightly...
Going Once
It's exciting to be in a room full of rapt bidders vying for a prize in a charity auction. But you know what's even more exciting? Raising a lot of cash...
The Father of Political DM
Richard Viguerie became the father of political direct marketing because he hated asking people for money. In 1961 the then green Texan, as he describes...
Below the Line and Thriving
It's no secret that in these tough economic times direct marketers have to be able to justify their investments. So it should be no surprise that their...
Features
Tube Draws Future Students to Web
To reach your target audience you need to be where it lives. For colleges, that means the Internet. Video is becoming the media of choice to drive students...
Your Song, Your Price
Think downloading music is nothing more than paying for a tune? Not so fast. Many sites look at music as a transactional, acquisition-based experience,...
Funny Business
Let's face it: Most premiums are boring. Pens? Nah. T-shirts? Eh. Mugs? Zzzzzzzzzzzzz For the recent Night of Too Many Stars benefit for autism education,...
Op-Ed Columns
Twin Troubles
If there are two things direct marketers dread, it's economic downturns and elections. This year we have both, and you can catch up on them in Direct....
The Goal? Connecting With Women
Yeah, I guess technically I am a soccer mom. I'm a mom, and my oldest son plays soccer. But does that phrase conclusively define who I am, and what I...
Sorry We Screwed You Up. So Here's 10 Bucks
John Talbott isn't a fan of what he calls apology marketing. He isn't a fan of Budget Rent a Car. So he finds the two fanless items in combo, not once...
Roses Are Red But This Ad Is Blue
The Subject Was Roses. That was the title of the popular Frank Gilroy play and the movie by the same name. It's also the focus of this issue's column....
Two Young Men in Oz
Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch must have been feeling a little restless in April. When not trying to acquire his third New York City-based newspaper,...
Departments
Letters to the Editor
FOUR FOR TOM Thanks to Tom Collins for sticking to his principle that form must follow function and not the other way around. By not caving in to the...
Listline
NEW LISTS Forbes.com This master file names subscribers to various newsletters offered at Forbes.com. More than 133,000 postal and nearly 478,000 e-mail...
Articles
The Sweet Spot
Some people can never get enough chocolate. But that doesn't mean they'll order it from a catalog especially one that arrives too often at certain times...
Hire Power
The direct marketing job outlook has deteriorated for the second consecutive quarter, according to a survey by Bernhart Associates Executive Search. Layoffs...
Stress Relief
Misery loves company, so we're guessing stress isn't a loner either. Those who are feeling stressed out possibly by their dry skin now have a social media...
They May Have Already Won
When a channel that provides 20% of an industry's buyers has been weakened, there are three options: It can fold, limp along or innovate. This is what...
Something to Build On
Fringe Benefit Group, an insurance company that covers less-than-full-time employees, is sending agents and brokers a branding/lead-generation mailing...
