Category View (Direct Marketing)

No, No, No I am not attending the Academy Awards (I think those past right...?) but I am attending the John Caples International Awards this Thursday evening.  This is a big event in the direct marketing community and this year I was invited to attend...(OK you can buy a ticket too but invitations are more fun.) My friends at Alloy Marketing are the sponsors of the first annual Student Campaign of the Year.  This evening should be full of excitement since none of the finalist campaigns, companies or individuals knows the winners in any category. In addition to some great networking opportunities more...

First some exciting news... A few months back I attended a DMIX event.  I am happy to report I am now a full member of this exclusive group after being nominated by one of the existing members.  If you are going to be in NYC on the day of an event and would like to attend as my guest let me know and I will see what I can do. Today's DMIX speaker was Andy Goldberg, President and CEO Publishers Clearing House (PCH).  He discussed how PCH updated their business by using personalization and relevant messages to communicate with their customers. They are more...

The Girl Scout cookie sale is off and running. I was approached to buy some cookies when it occurred to me that the Girl Scouts are great marketers. Just think about this for a minute. The brand is easily recognizable They have a sales force of thousands of willing and eager girls (and their families) running around the country selling This sales force creates product placement that can't be beat They sell huge quantities of their product with almost no overhead There is a sense of scarcity - only sold a few weeks a year The product selection and pricing model is simple to understand and communicate Almost everyone more...

Looking to generate some quick marketing results? If you have a database of customers or prospects then you have an opportunity to build a relationship and get personal with your direct marketing. Michael Kaselnak wrote a short to the point piece on this topic in the latest issue of Direct Magazine. His point is so simple that it is often overlooked. Use personalized handwritten notes to communicate with a target audience. Here are the main points to effectively use handwritten notes: Use your client or prospects name Hand write the note or if you have too many to do by hand find a font that replicates a handwritten more...

Over the years I have seen many different marketing strategies and media channels  but the one that was waiting for me when I returned from my ski trip takes the cake. ATM receipt advertising. I guess this makes sense if you want to waste your marketing money while people take out their own... How many people look at their receipts for more then a second to make sure their transaction went through correctly? On that note how many people still take their receipts? It makes sense to advertise in this medium if you are the bank and want one additional touch point but do you more...

Do you test everything you can to increase your marketing conversion or response rates? Are you using control groups? If not, you aren't testing effectively.  You might be guessing, assuming or just throwing caution in the wind.  I know many people who have said "we are testing X,Y or Z"  but when you ask about a control group they answer, "we are going to see how it performs to what we did last year".  What!?  You are comparing what you did to something that happened a year ago.  Did nothing change?  Obviously this doesn't make sense and is a bit of an exaggeration but more...

The postcard has many uses in marketing.  Over the last few days I have been thinking a lot about their pros and cons.  I figured I would think on this blog and share my list about the simple postcard. A postcard by USPS standards is no larger then 4x6.  So when should you use this potentially very effective mailing device? Pros: Postage is lower then any other class of mail Fast and easy to print and mail out Inexpensive to produce in small or large quantities Great for timely promotions or specials Can be used as a reminder to an earlier direct mail effort You can use graphics and more...

Any day now all the marketing gurus will probably publish their lists of predictions for hot marketing topics in 2008. I figured I might as well share my own.  So here we go: Mobile marketing - lots of people are trying to figure out exactly how to use mobile technology to market to their customers (opt in of course). I expect to see some interesting strategies and uses come out in the next few months.  We are looking at one application that would allow you to sign up for a program all from your phone.  Lets see where that ends up.  Social Media more...

Throughout my career people have always joked that to make ads better you should: Make 'it' bigger If you can't make it bigger make 'it' red Use more emotion I thought you would all get a kick out of the Make My Logo Bigger site and video.  It pokes a little fun at everything marketing but with a little extra towards the tools and tactics of direct response marketing.  After you had a chance to laugh take some time to learn the importance of branding your business and how to market your business.   Enjoy. Josef Katz more...

Today I had the honor to attend a DMIX lunch as the guest of a current member.  If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of their events don't miss it.  This is not your typical organization.  The DMIX is an exclusive member only group consisting of marketing thought leaders.  I look forward to one day having the possibility of being asked to join the group.  Today's speaker was Carla Hendra, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy North America and she was excellent.  One of her points which resonated with me was that marketing today is about Accountability and Optimization.  This has more...

The last few weeks we have been running free real estate seminars in different cities across the country.   To generate awareness and drive registrations we have been using print advertising in the local newspapers for each market we visit.  Throughout these weeks we have been discussing the effectiveness of the ads and whether or not they were 'old school' direct response enough for what we need the ads to do.  Part of the reason for these discussions is that Michael wants us to test different messages and harder hitting variations of the ads.  Nothing to disagree with here and great more...

In a previous post I promised a list of direct mail dos and don'ts so here they are in no particular order: Do: Focus on your target audience as well as who you don’t want to mail to Personalize your messages Use direct mail to acquire, retain and win back customers Make it easy for me to respond (include 800#s, URLs, mail response and today, mobile text messaging) Think through your strategy and make sure everything is in order before the mailing (sales, fulfillment etc) Create a sense of urgency Provide an offer or incentive for me to respond Get creative and think about what is going to make me take more...

Last week before going to the DMA conference I mentioned I would share some interesting and creative uses of direct mail.  This is a picture of a piece I received (not sure how well you can see it) promoting one of the exhibitors. It would have been perfect for blog action day since it is the ultimate green mailing.  A fully recyclable card with plant seeds embedded in the paper.  What will they think of next? This is really a case where direct mail will 'grow' your business.  I have no idea how well the mailing performed but it stuck out in more...

If you are marketing a product or service I hope you are measuring the results.  If not, you are missing the boat (more clichés for Cybelle) and you will never know if what you are doing is making a difference in your business. The goal of marketing should be to move the sales needle (or build up a database marketing effort for long term sales) if you can't quantify the results of your efforts then put the money in the bank and earn the interest.   If you don't measure you won't be able to test one idea against another or take more...

I get a lot of sales calls.  It always amazes me when the sales person forgets all their manners and just talks over you, ignores your time constraints and then drops the ball on the follow-up.  Just the other day a media sales rep had me on the phone (I couldn't get a word in so I could end the call...) finally he asked when he could follow up to get my decision.  I said 10 days.  Would you believe he then asked if he could call sooner?  To make matters worse he then called twice the next day to 'check more...

Let's face it.  People are lazy.  If given the choice between thinking through a problem and watching TV most people would opt for the TV.  There is nothing wrong with some down time and this is not a judgment about you or your customers, we are all lazy by nature.  Add to this how busy people are these days and you have a tough challenge if you want people to listen and act upon your marketing. To create successful marketing you need to think about your target customer and one aspect is their mental state.  What is going to make them take more...

As you know, I attended DMDays NY last week. I spent a good chunk of my career focused on direct marketing which is why it baffles me every time I go to a direct response conference and the 'expert' companies trying to sell their services don't practice good direct marketing.  It is the old story of the shoemaker's children.  My biggest pet peeve is when I receive an expired offer.  In the last few days I have received more than 5 mail pieces from exhibitors prompting me to stop by their booth.  Now you can blame the USPS but my guess is more...