Direct Marketing Archive
Direct Marketing
This area is devoted to all aspects of direct marketing. Topics covered include direct mail, catalogs, telemarketing, DRTV, e-mail marketing, list brokerage and management, cross-channel marketing and Web marketing.
Live from DMA09: Best Western Checks Into Transpromo
In conjunction with InfoPrint, the CMO Council ran a test early this year to see how transpromotional documents would work for Best Western....
Continued Losses Threaten the USPS
The fate of the U.S. Postal Service looks grimmer and grimmer with each passing day, adding to marketers' uncertainties about using the mails as a way...
Consumers Sticking Close to Home Helps Duncraft Feather Its Nest
Sure, Duncraft has felt the pinch of the recession. But unlike many direct marketers, the Concord, NH-based seller of birding products is actually doing...
Web Prices Could Be on the Rise
It's too early to call a definite trend, but indications are that prices for both search and display ads may have bottomed out and be on a gradual rise,...
New Government Rules Loom
When it comes to limits imposed by federal and state regulators, marketers could find they're facing more obstacles to a fiscal recovery than just getting...
Paper Prices Bottom Out, But Shortages May Loom
What's the read on the paper market? Despite a few recent blips upward, pricing is down almost 20% from a year ago. Pricing has about bottomed-out, says...
Proposed Behavioral Ad Legislation Tops DMA Regulatory Concerns
Pending Congressional legislation that would regulate behavioral advertising tops the list of direct marketers' regulatory concerns, according to Jerry...
Adventure Travel Marketer Backroads Capitalizes on Postal/Web Strategy
The current economy is a bumpy trail for many travel marketers. But Backroads is finding a clear path thanks to postcard mailings using personal URLs...
Sur La Table Ditches the Guesswork in Channel Allocation Process
Count Neal Cohen among the direct marketers looking to refute John Wanamaker's statement, Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble...
Cinnabon Uses Direct Mail to Reach Small Businesses
To launch a new product early next year, Cinnabon is considering double-dipping on a direct mail strategy from last year that got a 4.5% response rate...
Chicago's WGN Targets Advertisers With Direct Mail
WGN hit a more than 50% response rate this spring with a small, highly personalized mailing targeting advertisers on Chicago Cubs' games. The radio station...
In DRTV, Honesty is the Best Policy
Thanks to DVRs and TIVO, getting consumers to focus on your DRTV message is harder than ever before. One good way to do that is very simple keep it real....
Hershey Sweetens Direct Mail Results With Segmentation
Hershey Entertainment and Resorts has increased its revenue by 17% and room bookings by 10% over the past year, thanks to segmenting direct mail to its...
Direct-to-Consumer: Can Manufacturers Leapfrog Retailers?
The increase of direct-to-consumer marketing by manufacturers means that retailers cannot be complacent because the consumer will be looking for the best deal. ...
CATALOGS: Once Upon a Down Economy
As for most marketers, the last year or so hasn't been exactly magical for Fairytale Brownies. Still, thanks to a plan of targeted marketing and budget...
Curmudgeon-at-Large: Did Ozzie Nelson Have It Right?
Some years back, when I was writing copy only for collector's plates, the realization hit me that copywriters, paralleling doctors and teachers, can get so immersed in a single subject that they lose sight of the total marketplace...
No Proof of ROI: The Tech Frustrations of Orvis
Each issue, Chief Marketer will share one marketer's story about what frustrates him about marketing technology. First up is Orvis' Brad Wolansky. Brad...
New Barcode System Allows Closer Mail Tracking
Beginning in May, the U.S. Postal Service will start to accept mail pieces bearing the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB), the much-talked-about system that's...
Opportunity Slips Through the Slot
For mailers who can take a loss, this is a great time, and a less-cluttered channel, to build market share...
The Incredible Shrinking Mailbox: Shifting Mail Volumes Reflect Channel Use Changes
Direct mail's role as a mass-marketing response driver has all but vanished during the past decade, according to a study from consulting firm Winterberry Group. But opportunities still exist for leveraging data in pursuit of better targeting, and for integrating mail with other channels...
