Direct marketers are better at picking prospect lists than baseball teams: In an on-site poll at the Direct Marketing Association’s annual conference, nearly two-thirds chose either the Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox as the baseball teams they would root for in the World Series.
Both teams were knocked out of contention in their respective League Championship Series. The Sox were eliminated by the New York Yankees, who were picked by 21%, and the Cubs were done in by the Florida Marlins, whom only 14% chose.
The snapshot survey found that attendees were bullish about the DM industry: Fifty five percent said their company’s revenue had increased within the last 12 months, compared with only 12% who said it had dropped. Twenty seven percent indicated it remained level, while the rest didn’t offer an opinion.
One third said they didn’t have any problem finding names for rental within the last 12 months, while another 27% said the names are still out there, but individual lists are smaller. Twelve percent characterized the list universe as “slim pickings,” while 16% don’t rent lists.
As the poll was taken on the final day of the conference, marketers were asked how it compared to conferences in years’ past. Twenty nine percent felt it was a more successful event that yielded several leads, while 26% claimed they obtained some promising prospects, but that it wasn’t as busy as in previous years. Twenty percent said it was about the same as in previous years.
