Alternative media companies are climbing a steep learning curve when it comes to folding interactive media into their clients’ marketing plans, said the 21 alternative media brokers, managers and mailers at a recent roundtable sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association’s Alternate Response Media Council.
At its core, Web marketing is another type of alternative marketing, said the meeting’s moderator, Jeff Holland of SBC Directory Operations Inc. “The Net gets information to the right people at the right time. That’s what we’ve been doing for years.”
The brokers’ mailer clients see the value of having Web sites, of course.
Jill Hilliard of cosmetics cataloger Yves Rochet said publishing its Web site address in the catalog doubled response over the last 12 months.
But some brokers said mailers are often Web-shy because of the lack of data available about online customers and response rates.
“Our clients haven’t called on us to do online advertising for them,” admitted Linda Callahan of Leon Henry Inc.
Robin B. Neal of Book-of-the-Month Club said these factors make it hard to justify an investment in banner or e-mail advertising to corporate executives.
Such decision-makers must be informed about the medium’s value, DoubleClick’s Paul Tsigrikes said. “Opt-in e-mail, for example, is targeting tighter and tighter. It’s another choice for BOMC, and if they don’t do it, Amazon’s already doing it.”
“I haven’t heard that Amazon is making money,” Neal countered, further pointing out the difficulty in justifying an investment.
Network
