Channel | Direct Marketing | Print

Got a crystal ball on your desk? Nah, neither do we. But that won't stop us from peering into the future. Welcome to DM Outlook 2008, Direct's look at

We recently asked readers of our sister publication Chief Marketer Plus to share thoughts about the best conference premiums they'd given or received. Here's a sampling of what they said

Scrap the editorial praising Lon Mandel for bucking the consolidation trend. Replace it with one that lauds him for his aggressive acquisition strategy.

It might surprise some direct marketers to find out that affiliates can deliver a more desirable demographic than the average online shopper. According to a recent study from DoubleClick Performics, affiliate channel shoppers spend more

Tony Hsieh, CEO of online shoe merchant Zappos.com, asks each employee to write a 100- to 500-word description of the company's culture every year for

Brunswick Bowling and Billiards has turned an offer of an hour of free bowling in return for e-mail contact information into a database of almost half a million e-mail addresses.

Direct marketers are always looking for that next great lead-generation tactic that will be a something that will be absolutely irresistible to a prospective

In direct marketing, an offer is an incentive that motivates consumers to do something they hadn't planned on before they viewed our television spots, visited our Web site, read our print ads, got our electronic or postal mail or heard our radio commercials. Naturally, we want it to be an incentive that can't be refused.

Technology and accountability. Not surprisingly, these are two of the top direct marketing media trends for the coming year. Direct recently talked with Michelle Saperstein, vice president and group media director at Draftfcb, to get her thoughts on the DM media landscape.

George Lois knows something about getting results. His