August 1, 2008
Cover Story
Mad Money
Let me tell you about the very rich, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote. They are different from you and me. Yes, they are. For one thing, they have money. And...
Features
Social Revolution
Sure, social media is the hype machine's flavor of the moment. But let's face it: A lot of Web 2.0 applications just aren't scalable for effective business-to-business...
On the Rebound
These days merely opening the paper or listening to the evening news is guaranteed to bring on a bad mood. Oil and food prices go one way while employment...
Disciplines
Relief Efforts
An integrated strategy of direct mail, telemarketing, e-mail and Web initiatives is helping Oxfam America meet its fundraising goals. Like most nonprofits,...
Bad Connections
What do customers want when they reach a call center? Courteous American reps who can solve their problems. And there's little room for error, judging...
Channels
A Hearty Campaign
Toshiba America Medical Systems has sold $16 million worth of cardiac catheterization systems thanks to a combined lead-generation telemarketing and three-part...
Lead-Gen Mailing Clears the Bases
Marketing communications company Tukaiz LLC got an 11% response to a recent baseball-themed lead-generation mailing. Managing partner Frank Defino Jr....
Navigating the New Can Spam
Though the Federal Trade Commission's clarifications to the Can Spam Act issued earlier this year generally were aimed at simplifying its requirements...
Shelf Help
Borders wants to sell you a book online at last. That's right. The chain hadn't sold books on the Web until it relaunched its site (www.borders.com) in...
Web Radio Hits Targeted TuneAd opps abound as online space matures
I was tuning in the shine on my brand-new monitorDoing anything my hard drive advisedWith every one of those dot-com stationsPlaying songs bringing tears...
Op-Ed Columns
Midterm Report
Direct marketers are not acting they way they're supposed to. Normally they work their house lists during tough economic times, but that's not the case...
Obama Should Change His E-mail Manager
For a campaign that's supposed to be so Internet savvy, Barack Obama's sure makes some silly mistakes with its e-mailings. Out of the blue recently, Kathy...
Way Too Clever
Beware the jabberwocky known as the advertising series. Too often what seems like a good campaign idea ends up in muddled ads forced to fit a particular...
Web 2.0, Meet World 2.0
Web 2.0's hallmark consumers taking over the online marketing process is spilling over into real life, if a recent incident is any indication. In late...
You Know You Want It
The Internet is swell. It allows consumers the chance to comparison shop, and save time and money. Exceptwhen it doesn't. C'mon, you know what I'm talking...
You Qualify. Everybody Qualifies. That Is
Carol Johnson@bestsettinghost.info sent me an offer I have a hard time refusing: Reduce Your Debt By Up To 70%. Choose Your Own Payment Amount. But it's...
Articles
For Your Eyes Only
Not surprisingly, DMers' and privacy professionals' opinions about data security differ, according to a recent study of e-mail marketing practices and...
Why Not Have It All?
For a price or a click today's consumer can have it all. At the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing's recent IMX08 event, Yankelovich Inc. president...
Street Smarts
You're no dope. After all, you're smart enough to read Direct. But that doesn't mean you can't learn something new, especially when it comes to finding...
Race to Donate
Some people have a need for speed. Others have a need to do good. Now they can satisfy those cravings at the same time. Every two seconds (how's that...
Departments
Letters to the Editor
SAYS DIRECT'S A SELLOUT Why not put a KKK mask on John McCain? Direct's obvious bias toward Democrats could not be more clear. And the photo used in the...
Listline
NEW LISTS Lend Me a Hand More than 4.1 million consumers who applied for non-collateral loans and payday loans in the last 12 months are listed. Most...
