Last week represented a personal milestone: I managed to make it through seven consecutive days without writing “2005” on any check, form, or other note I was scribbling.
In honor of — finally — putting 2005 to rest, I offer the following verses on some of the more noteworthy direct marketing events of the year. If they seem skewed toward one specific subject… well, so was most of the year itself.
January — March 2005
We’d seen the very last avowal
From F.C.C. chair Michael Powell.
And though it was too soon to say
F.T.C.’s Swindle stepped down in May.
Her towels fluffy, colors bright
No more, on Martha Stewart’s site.
Why did her direct commerce fail?
It’s hard to market “class” from jail.
The year’s worst villain? We anoint
A Georgia firm, by name “ChoicePoint.”
And shake our heads at the criterion
That let it sell to a Nigerian.
April — June 2005
E-commerce ages: A decade gone
For Yahoo! and for Amazon!
Ebay, too, hit double digits
By selling tchotchkes, stuff and widgets.
But marketers were soon to rue
Files stolen from DSW Shoe
And losses, which were quite substantial
From LexisNexis and CitiFinancial.
Soon in Congress hearings started
Amid more tales of data departed
From Bank of America and Motorola
To Ameritrade, U. Conn, and Wachovia.
July — September 2005
All DM copywriters should hope to attain
What the industry lost with Ed McLean.
His direct mail letters had few peers
(Newsweek’s “control” note went 15 years.)
The DMA increased the fee
To access the no-call registry.
While its Hall of Fame gave a “well done”
To Litle, Spiegel and Edelson.
The summer’s rising price of gas
Led folks to shop online, en masse.
While hackers accessed records (for free)
From City National and U.S.C.
October — December 2005
A major DMer was put to the test
When Thomas O. Ryder left Reader’s Digest.
His farewell note was appropriately brief:
“Goodbye, you need a new E-O-Chief.”
Stamp prices rose by five point four
But DMers may soon pay more.
And Google hit $400 a share
Exuberance? Irrational? Buyers, beware!
Data theft was still quite hot
Add Ford, and Sam’s Club and Marriott.
And ABN Amro, TransUnion and Guidance
In 2006, let’s hope for subsidence!
To respond to this column please contact e-mail: [email protected]
Network
