Let's Get Together
If you want to make friends, you have to be social. The same theory applies if you want to court customers, says Valerie Fox, vice president of social networking site Gather.com....
The Industry Needs an Ombudsman
I don't remember the name of a science-fiction film I saw some years ago, but I remember the plot: An evil serpent (is there any other kind, in fiction?)...
Meet and Green-t
Considering all the wasted paper and materials generated by many conferences, it was inspiring to hear about last month's BlogPhiladelphia event, an “unconference” that went out of its way to be as “green” as possible....
A Call to Postal Action
C. Hamilton Davison, executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association, was up against a tough audience. He asked catalogers at Merit-Direct's...
Direct Mail's Warm Glow
My jaded heart recently skipped a beat when a truly cheesy self-mailer showed up in my mailbox. If there's no column next month, folks, it's because I've retired and am living off my investment in…uranium stocks....
Three Ways to Rate E-mailers
Internet service providers use three main metrics to gauge a sender's reputation and determine how to process incoming e-mail....
The Latest Scoop
Talk about your dual personalities. Ben & Jerry's is a super-premium-quality product with an offbeat, fun, irreverent brand. The two concepts don't always...
Letters to the Editor
A HIT AND A MISS? Thanks for Ray Schultz's thoughtful column (Direct Hit, May). Copywriting is my background. I learned from a seasoned pro who retired...
Start at the End
It's not easy being a marketer these days. For one thing, you have to measure the impact of your campaigns. And that's a challenge when you're using multiple media. ...
Risky Business
To get the best insurance coverage, you have to be well informed. Insurers need information too — about their customers' demographics, businesses and activities. For Aon Corp., that meant putting automated processes in place to better track prospects and generate qualified leads for sales reps....
E-mail's Image Problem
Developments surrounding blocked e-mail images and links have been causing a great deal of consternation among marketers lately. However, experts say the growing trend is nothing to get confused or worked up about....
Sweetening the Pot
It's been said by everyone from Don Peppers to Fred Reichheld: Customer satisfaction starts with a company's employees. But how do you make sure that your staff fully supports your objectives? There's one way. Incentives....
Can You Find Me Now?
Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft have all optimized their search to help mobile users find what they want on the Web. Now Ask.com is rolling out a set of mobile services that will let owners of global positioning system-enabled handsets use the Web to find their way to local merchants....
The Bombardment Begins
My friend and list guru Bob Dunhill sent me a fundraising mailing, to which he appended the statement Abraham Lincoln made when asked how long his legs...
Tuff Luck
Those in direct marketing know Frenzy by another name, Tom McCulloh, senior account manager with healthcare database firm SK&A Information Services. But aficionados of late '70s/early '80s punk know him as the lead singer of the band Tuff Darts....
American Blogstand
A pilot program in which news was turned into song became the second most popular video feature on Boston.com last month....
In the Zone, Online or Off
AutoZone Inc.'s new product look-up system for driving in-store sales will soon be tried on its Web site. The $6 billion company, which sells auto parts and accessories, has two customer segments: do-it-yourselfers and professional technicians. But it faced a challenge: How to make sure it had the exact parts customers needed....
Good Call
Sure, all that newfangled new media is grand. But today we're here to pay tribute to the good old telephone the most versatile, flexible and consistently...
Price-Conscious Promotion
For those with champagne tastes and a beer budget, constructing a marketing plan can be frustrating. In Successful, Low Cost Direct Marketing Methods...
Too Much Togetherness?
If you lived through the dot-com bubble, you could be excused for thinking you'd slipped through a wormhole in time and landed back in 1999. In rapid-fire succession, a slew of the biggest online ad players announced plans to get a lot bigger by acquiring platforms, technologies or expertise they hadn't had before....
Brand and Direct Use the Buddy System
Once upon a time, brand lived here and direct lived there waaayyyy over there. Today, they're roommates. Many brand advertisers have begun incorporating...
Feeding the Kitty
Every creature has its phobias. To many cats, water is anathema. Some dogs abhor the sound of the vacuum cleaner. And then there are consumers who fear using a credit card to shop online....
East Side, West Side, Online
Earlier this year, NY Skyride was looking for a way to convey its high-tech pizzazz to Web visitors. It had to be snazzy and engaging: Competition for the Big Apple tourist dollar is tight, and NY Skyride, a 12-minute Imax tour of the city's landmarks housed on the second floor of the Empire State Building, faced a unique challenge....
Postcards From the Cutting Edge
While catalog mailers are adjusting to hefty new postage increases, postcard mailings are thriving. Even the largest 11-˝-inch cards qualify as standard mail at the lowest letter-size rates....
It All Adds Up
Yes, most database marketers still rely on revenue and income to determine return on investment. But a growing number are measuring brand equity, especially those that sell to businesses, according to Direct's 2007 database marketing practices survey...
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