Latest News
Super Bowl Ads Offer ROI Measurement Challenges
While the big game may not offer the same ease in calculating financial-based ROI metrics a direct marketing campaign does, there are measurements marketers can generate that validate the investment. ...
Seven Rules for Getting Started in Gamification
Gamification is the process of making the expected fun – or at least a little more interesting. Here's how you can get started incorporating gamifcation into your marketing and loyalty campaigns...
Multivariate Testing Shows Sex Doesn't Sell Cosmo Magazine
Anyone looking to design a direct mail prospecting package for Cosmopolitan magazine should know that sweepstakes don't boost responses, tote bag premiums don't justify their cost and above all, sex doesn't sell. At least, not on the outer envelope. (Inside the package is another story.) That last point may be surprising, but the magazine conducted two multivariate tests within the past 18 months. The tests offer statistically valid results for the impact 12 changes had on response rates. ...
Q&A: Amex's Mastrocola on the Best Name Sources, Mail Formats
American Express is always testing, but tried and true voucher packages still pull best in their acquisition efforts. Chief Marketer recently talked with Tom Mastrocola, director of subscription acquisition for American Express Publishing Corp., about trends in mail package design, postal concerns and list/database use. ...
Amnesty International's Oversized Mailing Pays Off Big
A new direct mail prospecting package from Amnesty International offers a simple finding for marketers: Paper still works, and more paper works better. A January test of an oversize package bested the standard-letter control's response rates by 58%, and pulled in 59% more in donation amounts....
Hospice Direct Mail Fundraising Boosted By Segmentation, Storytelling
A story that involves a stay in a hospice—a facility geared toward palliative, or end-of-life care—will rarely have a happy ending. So when Capital Hospice turned to a storytelling-reliant creative approach as part of a $15 million capital campaign, one could understand a few raised eyebrows. Those eyebrows have been lowered, thanks to a sensitive copywriting team, a reconfiguration of the solicitation package, and some carefully applied segmenting and customization. What else has been lowered? The total number of pieces mailed to previous donors and other individuals it has a relationship with, from 300,000 annually in 2008 and 2009 to 140,000 in 2010. ...
Marketers Ponder The Future of Credit and Debit Card Rewards
Now that the economy is seeing the other side of the recent recession, financial institutions are starting to wonder about the future of credit and debit card reward programs. Several factors are converging to prompt this question. Customers remain stressed economically, while government regulations—including those on fees credit card companies charge retailers—are increasing. With the mortgage and foreclosure crisis still in full swing and consumers cutting up credit cards in favor of cash, banks are struggling to negotiate success as they rebuild their reputations and relationships with customers. Because banks are under pressure, cutting the costs of reward programs is top of mind. Some of them treat loyalty efforts as costly burdens simply required to play in the space. ...
SocialMoms Display Ads Deliver Mommy Voices for Mrs. Meyer's
User-generated content is a powerful marketing tool; it reinforces the tendency consumers have to trust each other over messages that come directly from marketers...
Six Tips To Increase Your Direct Mail Open Rates
Your direct mail package could include the most clever appeal ever written or offer the world’s best premium, but if your target never opens it, it is all for naught...
Older Baby Boomers May Hold Surprises For Marketers
Age is an essential data point when targeting consumers. But advertisers who have pre-fixed ideas about what a baby boomer looks like may be in for a rude awakening as younger-thinking citizens age into this cohort. Take the oldest boomers, those born between 1946 and 1954. They're a lot more active—and a lot more computer-savvy—than previous generations of consumers in their mid-50s and mid-60s. Linda Armstrong, an executive vice president and practice leader at DMW Direct who specializes in health and age-targeted product launches, spoke with Chief Marketer about specific considerations marketers should mull when appealing to this group. ...
