In today’s ever-evolving multi-channel world, marketers are often swept up in the frenzy of the next greatest trend. They’re looking ahead to gain the competitive edge. Sometimes though, the best way to look forward is to look back on a tried-and-true method to reach customers and generate response. That method? Direct mail. You should not […]
Ecommerce has been changing at digital speed since it showed up in the marketing world 25 years ago. Print marketing has taken 100 years to evolve from the early days of newspaper to magazines, then to direct mail and finally catalogs. Catalog circulation is the sturdy bedrock art of targeting what records to mail, when […]
How to gamble on new ideas without losing big I just spent this past weekend in Vegas. Nice little getaway. Saw a show, played a few slots, danced with a monkey (don’t ask). But as I contemplated how much to wager at the Blackjack table, it occurred to me that there are no sure bets. […]
By Chris Hayes, EVP Brand Strategy This 18th Century quote from my high school lit class got me thinking about a conversation I had with a marketing director from a well-known cross-channel brand a few weeks ago. He mentioned his company would like to do comparison research on their catalog covers to determine which ones […]
Sorry for the clickbait title. I see it all over the web, so I assumed it must get an AMAZING response, and I wanted to test it. Now you deserve a payoff, so I’ll share with you the most interesting test I helped conduct this year, in which we tested some catalog creative for a […]
“Marketing is rapidly becoming one of the most technology-dependent functions in business.” In 2012, consulting firm Gartner predicted that by 2017, a company’s chief marketing officer will be spending more on technology than its chief information officer.” (Harvard Business Review, July-August 2014) Wow, technology expense as a variable marketing cost is quite a concept! It […]
An email marketing program can be one of the most flexible, measurable and intelligent marketing channels for your business. Especially now that smartphones have put email at easy reach anytime, from anywhere. But in order for emails to be most effective, they have to be part of a carefully considered contact strategy. So, whether you’re […]
Marketing strategies and tactics are like putting a puzzle together. There are simple 100-piece puzzles that can be solved easily, and there are more complicated versions with 1,000+ pieces that require patience, persistence and perseverance. Marketing challenges range from simple emails to multipart annual campaigns. But no matter how big the puzzle or how complex […]
Twenty years ago, we discovered the power of transactional data. Lo and behold, it turned out that certain aspects of human behavior were very predictable. Once a consumer’s wallet was opened and purchases were made, certain details of those transactions, known as RFM, turned out to be very trustworthy indicators of future purchases. Fast forward […]
