E-mail has surpassed traditional direct mail as the most commonly used type of direct response marketing, according to a new poll of major U.S. companies by Direct Partners, New York. The survey found 35% of companies mainly use e-mail for direct marketing, 25% primarily use traditional direct mail, and 21% use other methods, such as packages, statement stuffers or free-standing inserts.

Does this mean you should abandon print in favor of email? No! Keep these other factors in mind, as reported by Fundraising Success magazine:

• Direct-mail campaigns generate a higher initial response rate.
• Predictive analysis in direct mail is more accurate, so you are able to reduce risk.
• Direct mail-only donors tend to renew at hi

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I'm annoyed. I admit—I'm using this as my own personal soap box today. But, hopefully,  it will save someone else from a headache.

I spent nearly one year developing and rewriting a book on marriage and singleness for a very lovely family counselor who does a lot of speaking but isn’t strong in the area of writing. I added content, rewrote large sections of the book, and did a major overhaul to smooth and polish her writing.

Once the book was finished (and after multiple rounds from third-party editors to doublecheck the copy), the book finally went to a designer. As part of the package, this designer employs a third-party proofer to look over the copy once it was laid out.

Great. The more eyes, the better. That is, until the questions started coming from my client.

Who's Job Is It, Anyway?...Read More

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I was skimming 1-to-1 Magazine this morning and there was a quote that really struck me. It was from a reader in the “Everyday Customer Champion” section. The reader was explaining her loyalty—not to a brand—but to a car dealership.

I have now purchased my third vehicle from [dealership salesman]. He remembers my name every time I walk in, either to buy a car or simply have it maintenanced. He also remembers what I was up to the last time that we talked. When I purchased my second car from him, it was just before my birthday, so he made sure to have my car ready for me—front and center in the showroom, complete with balloons. I have moved farther away from the dealership since I first started working with him, but will drive the extra miles just to go see hi

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In Monday's post, I introduced the topic of outdoor advertising in the context of increased public transit ridership.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America identifies a variety of types of outdoor advertising, including these general categories:

• Billboards—Generally, large-format displays that can be either print or electronic.
• Street Furniture—Bicycle rack displays, bench advertising, bus shelter advertising, convenience store displays, shopping mall displays, kiosks, etc.
• Transit—Airport terminal displays, interior and exterior bus posters/cards, subway and other rail advertising, taxis, etc.
• Alternative—Name it: airborne displays, blim

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You may have noticed that, oh, gas prices have increased substantially in the past several years—and last month finally tipped over $4 a gallon and in some places (Northern California) has already zeroed in on $5 a gallon. As I write this, oil per barrel has tempered somewhat, but it’s a safe bet that gas won’t be coming down any time soon, if ever.

Naturally, there is a “trickle down” effect; the high costs of fuel mean that any other commodity that must be transported correspondingly increases. The airlines, for example, faced with extremely high fuel costs, have passed the expenses on to the consumer, charging for checked baggage and who knows what other creative fees they will come up with.

As a result, the news has not been short of stories about how ...Read More

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Are you wasting data? Recently, I received a 1:1 personalized letter from my local auto dealership. I followed up to find out what kind of response rates they were getting.

As I was waiting on the phone, I noticed that the coupons on the letter didn’t contain bar codes. No bar codes? How were they tracking results? 

Turns out, they weren’t.  They don’t care what kinds of responses they are getting. The dealership is very busy, making lots of money, and the owners don’t want to outgrow their customer base. They are proud of the “home town” feeling and don’t want to alienate their long-time customers by drawing lots of new customers and filling up slots in the service department too far in advance.

I asked what I thought was the obvious question. Instead of using 1:1 marketing to increase ...Read More

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I’ve been thinking about customer loyalty lately. In today’s tough economic climate, it’s something we hear about a lot. After all, what’s the adage? It’s easier to keep the customer you have than to acquire a new one? It’s also more profitable. Consistent, loyal customers also tend to purchase more than new ones.

One of the things that got me thinking about this on a more personal level is that I actually received a 1:1 communication piece the other day. It’s something I encourage marketers to do, but it’s a marketing technique that’s rarely used on me. So when I received a personalized letter from my auto dealership, I opened it.

It addressed me by name and told me that my 1995 Honda Accord was scheduled for maintenance. “Our records show that your mileage should now be approximately 164,209, ...Read More

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The jury is still out on whether we are currently in, or are likely to be in, a recession; so far so good (well, sort of): last week, the Feds showed that the GDP grew 0.9% in the first quarter of 2008, compared to 0.6% in Q4 of 2007. Now, remember, a “recession” is officially defined as two successive quarters of negative economic growth. So, while growth in the last two quarters has been far from lackluster, at the very least it is not negative. Still, with gas prices now officially at record highs and everything else going up proportionately, whether we call it a recession or not hardly seems to matter. People are in an economic bind. It’s like having severe, debilitating chest pains and being told “It’s not your heart.” That’s fine, but it still hurts, ...Read More

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Studies have long found that marketing in more than one medium is far more effective than any single medium on its own. A story in today’s Advertising Age drives this point home even further:

...a study shows that consumers' intent to buy products increases dramatically if they see a brand's ad messages on TV and in other media such as print or online compared with TV alone.

Consumers were more likely to express an intention to buy consumer electronics, apparel, automobiles, beer and toiletries when exposed to a combination of media rather than one medium alone, according to market-research firm Advertiser Perceptions. The company conducted an online survey of more than 25,000 respondents in April that measured 300 TV networks and programs, 120 websites, an

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Late last year, IBM released a study ominously called “The End of Advertising as We Know It.”  According to the study, growth areas will primarily involve advertising distributed through mobile communications devices and the Internet, followed by ads embedded in video games. Growth in these areas is anticipated to be up to four times faster than that of traditional media used for direct marketing.

But the key finding is that these ads will be largely interactive. Two-thirds of the executives polled for the study expect 20% of ad expenditures in the next three years to shift way from impression-based pricing formats to interactive advertising distributed through online advertising networks and social networking Web...Read More

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Last Tuesday, I was driving to Boston from upstate New York and I stopped to gas up. All the travel plazas on the Mass Pike have now installed LCD TVs on all the gas pumps and were broadcasting (narrowcasting?) specialized programming called (I swear I am not making this up) “Gas TV.” Basically, this programming included weather reports, sports highlights from ESPN, a CBS featurette on the British royal family, and car commercials (they wisely left out, as far as I could tell, any mileage information, no fools they).

For the at least the past decade, gas pumps have been increasingly important as a marketing medium—for years, they have had LCD displays (of various size, resolution, color, and complexity) that would advertise, to a captive audience, the latest specials on soda, beer, or cigarettes to be had in the conven...Read More

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Yesterday, I spent two-and-a-half hours on the road, driving to pick up my mother-in-law. (Yes, I do that voluntarily.) It wasn’t until more than an hour into the trip that I realized that something was off. The roads were clogged, but everyone was driving slowly. I set my cruise control at 65, but instead of being mowed down, I was one of the fastest cars on the road.

Was it concern about not getting caught speeding over the long Memorial Day weekend? Or was it a desire to save on gas? Based on most people’s attitudes toward speed limits, I have to suspect it was that morning’s jump at the pump to $3.89 per gallon.

People are finally making changes to respond to the environmental and energy crisis. In this case, forced by the pocketbook rather than by conscience. Still, it’s a good thing. Unfortunately, it shouldn’t just be ...Read More

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