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Perhaps the most vexing problem with using TV to reach direct response targets has been…targeting. Advertisers have always been challenged to know who is seeing what. As the old client lament goes, “I’m wasting half my money, I just don’t know which half.” Enter addressable TV. Imagine being able to show different TV spots – … Read more

One of the many subsets of the Internet of Things is wearables. It would seem that the early momentum in the wearable space favors the wrist. First among them continues to be fitness trackers, followed by smartwatches. (Other forms of wearables are certainly promising but have yet to gain as much traction.) The potential as … Read more

Practically Perfect Mailing lists can be expensive. For large mailings, direct marketers may acquire multiple mailing lists, or augment their customer databases with purchased lists in order to expand coverage. When attempting to cast a wide net, duplication inevitably occurs. Net name arrangements are a way for mailing list owners and managers to provide some … Read more

There’s a new address in town: I.P. address data matched to audience, customer or acquired mailing list data is now available. Such “Ad Tech” is significant because the contact data it yields enables cost effective targeting at a time when USPS standard mail rates are slated to increase in 2017. (The Postal Regulatory Commission has … Read more

Among the changes direct mail marketers can expect in 2017, will be the latest 5-year update to the NAICS Code directory. While the NAICS standard has been in use since 1998, the SIC standard that preceded it remains in continuous use, supported and maintained by companies like Dun & Bradstreet, whose SIC-8™ service (original 4-digit … Read more

Time Is Money. When it comes to drawing traffic to a business location, direct marketers can now take advantage of a fresh way to look at building a prospect file. Instead of (logically?) drawing a circle of a given radius with a business location at the center, there is another approach. Distance is just…distance. A … Read more

For direct marketing campaigns to succeed, the undivided attention of the recipient is more than a little helpful. This is particularly true when reaching out to executive level decision makers. Given that their office days are overfilled with scheduled – and unscheduled – demands, entering their mindspace with a marketing offer is challenging. Consider then, … Read more

The continued role of telemarketing as a productive tool in the direct marketing mix is worth mention. Just as the experience of using the web has migrated from desktop to tablet and smartphone devices, the experience of speaking with another human being has gone mobile. Technology changes the platforms we use to communicate, facilitating the … Read more

For mailing list providers, datacards are their products on display. Like fresh produce or strings of pearls, they must project quality, desirability and value to potential buyers. They must reflect the credibility of the offering merchant. Whether a seasoned list buyer or a newcomer to the marketplace, it pays to re-visit the details that make … Read more