Get insights into direct/digital marketing – from creative strategies to results of our A/B and multivariate tests.
| All Articles | |
| Make the most of the other mobile OS |
1/3/2012 |
 With more than 38% of mobile phone subscribers, Android isn't just another operating system anymore. Here's how to make the most of it when marketing to Smartphone users.
|
| Best of the Blog: Taking a page from manufacturers |
1/2/2012 |
 Marketers need to take efficiency into account as seriously as manufacturers do. Achieving more with less is always worth aiming for.
|
| Offers: Making the rules work |
1/1/2012 |
 When testing offers, marketers often miss the bigger picture - that is, how the marketing offer relates to the sales method. A more integrated approach can provide better understanding for you and greater response from your programs.
|
| Days of our lives: the impact of life changes on marketing results |
12/8/2011 |
 Marketers have fallen in love with online behavioral targeting, but direct/digital marketers have another tool that’s far more scalable than waiting for your prospect to click the "buy it now:" button.
|
| Can we still be friends? Part 3 |
12/6/2011 |
 In the past two issues, we’ve been discussing how to create a win-back strategy for lost customers. We began with segmentation. Last month we talked about some marketing strategies to consider. Now let’s talk budget.
|
| Keep your lead stream flowing smoothly |
12/4/2011 |
 IWhether your leads come in online or off, it’s essential that the handoff from marketing to sales goes well. Use these tips to make sure your lead handoffs are smooth and crisp.
|
| Minimize mistakes: Look before you leap! |
11/16/2011 |
 Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of email clients and software is a constant challenge for any marketer. We've compiled a quick list of best practices to keep your campaigns error-free, legally compliant and optimized for delivery.
|
| Can we still be friends? Part 2 |
11/14/2011 |
 Last month in this publication, we showed you how to start the process of creating a win-back strategy for lost customers. Take a peek at the next steps here.
|
| Best of the blog: What the DMA taught me about the Twitter-verse |
11/12/2011 |
 Biz Stone presented at the DMA and gave our blogger several things to think about. Here are a few.
|
| The evolution of the PowerTest®: methodology: Five Ways to take testing to the next level |
10/18/2011 |
 Looking for great ideas to test? Here are five clever ideas to diversify your tests.
|
| Can we still be friends? Tips to win back the ones who got away |
10/16/2011 |
 You already have enough information to make an educated guess about why a customer has left you. Take a look at this strategy for winning back the ones you can.
|
| Best of the blog: Marketers of the world, unite! |
10/14/2011 |
 The era of agency specialization has reached its inevitable conclusion. It's time for the pendulum to swing back.
|
| Keys to multichannel testing |
9/20/2011 |
 Spyro Kourtis will present "Which Medium Works: Multichannel Testing For High-Performance Results" at the DMA's 2011 Convention – sharing insights into the "new and improved" integration. Here's what that means.
|
| Strategies for reducing marketing risks |
9/18/2011 |
 Tom Reid will be speaking at DMA 2011 with our client Michael Meadows of Highmark. Their session, "Take the Risk Out of Starting Over in Healthcare Marketing," was among the top sessions at DMA2010 and is back this year by popular demand. Here's a sample of what you'll learn
|
| Prospect segmentation for performance |
9/16/2011 |
 This is the story of how Hacker Group and AT&T have honed the skill of finding the best product to sell to the best person in the best sales channel using the most effective sales vehicle. Here are two of the takeaways.
|
| Sprints: Managing website development in small bytes |
8/23/2011 |
 When you create a site from scratch, some of the hardest work is the planning, not the development. We recently created an immense site (described in last month's newsletter) and we thought we'd walk you through the process of managing the creation of a site as big as, say, D
|
| Go ahead, be a tease! |
8/22/2011 |
 With few exceptions, one strategy holds true when developing your email call to action (CTA) strategy. It definitely pays to be a tease and to use copy-light creative approaches. Here's why.
|
| Best of the blog: Pay attention to this bright shiny object |
8/21/2011 |
 In the overall marketing landscape, no doubt mobile marketing is one of the fastest-evolving disciplines. With so many new trends coming to the fore, it's easy for marketers to be lured by the latest hype or cool app launch. Here's a real-deal technology to get in fron
|
| Six ways to get more from your marketing videos |
7/15/2011 |
 Marketers aren't taking full advantage of their video opportunities. With that in mind, we're presenting a half dozen ideas for when and where video makes sense for marketing. We hope this starts your creative juices flowing!
|
| Managing the level of intrigue |
7/13/2011 |
 The sales dialog is very much like a courtship. When you analyze where your sales are coming from, you'll see that you can achieve a much better chance of a sale if you manage the level of intrigue carefully.
|
| Making customization easy is harder than it looks |
7/11/2011 |
 A national corporation recently launched an immense website developed on a fast track over the course of six months. It allows retail managers to create and implement marketing for their region, whenever they need a push in retail traffic. Here's what the site build entailed.
|
| Writing for mobile: minimal copy, maximum impact |
6/6/2011 |
 Copywriting for mobile display advertising is an art. Once all the client mandatories are in place, there is little room for poetry. Yet the idea must sing. Just like a haiku.
|
| Best of the Blog: can Facebook marketing impact sales? |
6/3/2011 |
 Recently, a client asked our opinion about sending prospects to a corporate branded Facebook page as one of our calls to action. My response was, "With the right incentive, I'm confident we could use offline marketing to drive traffic to Facebook. However, I question whethe
|
| Online advertising: not just for branding anymore |
6/2/2011 |
 Traditionally, online banner advertising has been relegated to the online equivalent of print advertising and TV commercials — great at building brand awareness and recall, less than ideal in delivering direct response. Rich media technology could change all that.
|
| Customer Retention: Four strategies for success |
5/11/2011 |
 Many experts make general pronouncements about proper strategy without considering business differences. Here’s how you can know exactly which business models make a significant impact on customer communications strategy
|
| Open with OOMPH! |
5/10/2011 |
 Many experts make general pronouncements about proper strategy without considering business differences. Here’s how you can know exactly which business models make a significant impact on customer communications strategy.
|
| New limited-time postage discount in the works! |
5/9/2011 |
 The USPS has just filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for approval on a Mobile Barcode/QR Code incentive program that offers mailers a 3% discount.
|
| How will you measure the success of your campaign? |
4/11/2011 |
 Agencies are frequently asked this question. The answer may not be as cut and dried as you think.
|
| Green Marketing Coalition: Conversation with a green marketing pro |
4/10/2011 |
 You’re invited to attend a teleconference of the Green Marketing Coalition to learn about a new paradigm being forged by sustainability leaders who are addressing new rules for green marketing.
|
| Best of the blog: Trends in advertising |
4/9/2011 |
 Advertisers want us to know that they care about us, their consumers, our health and our happiness. Is this a positive trend?
|
| Closing the leads-to-sales gap |
4/8/2011 |
 As marketers focus more closely on conversion statistics, here are a few ideas for taking prospects further down the sales path.
|
| Useful, beautiful microsites |
3/15/2011 |
 The landing pages and microsites you design are judged first on looks. The people who review the design before it ever gets coded scrutinize it for visual appeal. Once that design is up on the Web, it’s different. Then the analysis is all about whether the copy and design drove clicks and purchases.
|
| Best of the blog: Please fence me in |
3/12/2011 |
 After three years of looking at my mobile device and wistfully hoping it would magically send me a well-timed offer, it has finally happened.
|
| Words to live by: Our favorite B2B maxims |
3/10/2011 |
 Here are some of our favorite pearls of B2B wisdom. These rules apply regardless of whom your business-to-business audience is.
|
| QR Codes: They're hot, they're cool and they work! |
2/15/2011 |
 Early adopters love QR Codes because of their cool factor. Marketers love them because they bring consumers to specific websites to get them more involved in the buying process. But how well do QR Codes actually work? Check out this case.
|
| Best of the blog: Thinking through mobile marketing |
2/12/2011 |
 Have you made these mistakes in your mobile marketing? It’s best to think everything through ahead of time.
|
| Improve marketing results with Leapfrog Planning |
2/10/2011 |
 Using a method we call Leapfrog Planning allows us to make the most of the predictability of direct marketing. It’s a way of planning future programs and continually improving performance based on the latest results.
|
| Mobile display advertising: Branding vs. lead generation |
1/18/2011 |
 For many years, there was a debate about whether Internet advertising could be used effectively for brand-building.
|
| Best of the blog: Creative strategy in marketing |
1/14/2011 |
 Direct marketers like me are often accused of not being very creative. We like the tried and true. We stick to the formula. In our defense, let me say that we creative types are in love with formulas because they work – and we’re paid to be effective.
|
| Make the most of campaign-specific URLs |
1/13/2011 |
 As a direct marketer, your goals are 1) to get people to respond and 2) be able to accurately measure your efforts.
|
| 13 questions to ask of your email copy |
12/7/2010 |
 Once you’ve written your relevant, personalized email . . . made sure every point was made . . . corrected the spelling and grammar . . . *.
|
| The “Year of the Smartphone” has begun |
12/6/2010 |
 Here’s what smart marketers are facing in 2011:
|
| Best of the blog: Selecting the right digital/direct partner |
12/5/2010 |
 Selecting a marketing agency is a high-stakes, high-risk process. While marketers often find it exciting and enjoyable to have a cadre of smart people present new ideas to them, the final decision must be made both emotionally and rationally.
|
| Mobile marketing: Keep it direct. |
11/10/2010 |
 A recent study of direct marketers conducted by Experian found that more than half (58%) would invest more money in mobile marketing, if it were more measurable*.
|
| Share the love: The ROI of social media |
11/9/2010 |
 Those involved in marketing must at least be contemplating adding social media to their mix. Many have already jumped in with blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook strategies.
|
| Best of the Blog: Is ROI really that hard? |
11/8/2010 |
 We recently had presentations from two very significant media organizations. I'm pretty sure that just about everyone in America has heard of both these companies.
|
| Mobile marketing as a sales tool |
10/14/2010 |
 Marketers now have a relatively new tool to take advantage of consumers' demand for savings. Mobile apps can help increase market share as well as attract new customers. Here are a few examples of mobile ideas marketers are using to increase sales and get a good return on investment.
|
| DM101: A lead by any other name |
10/12/2010 |
 Sales and marketing alignment is critical – and can be easily thrown off by conflicting definitions. See if you and your sales team agree on the meanings of these terms.
|
| What direct marketing can do that advertising can't (and vice versa) |
9/18/2010 |
 Direct marketers feel superior to their cousins in advertising. And the lack of respect is mutual. As with most differences of opinion, both sides are right. Both sides are also wrong. And, recently, both have been learning fr
|
| How to get started in mobile marketing |
9/18/2010 |
Now that marketers are waking up to the mobile channel, what are the next logical steps to take?
|
| Point/Counterpoint: Should marketing agencies be responsible for their clients' social media? |
9/18/2010 |
 Should marketing agencies be
responsible for their clients’
social media?
Who should own the social aspects
of marketing? Two authors
face off.
More
|
| Heard of ISO 27001? |
8/24/2010 |
 If you’re a data-driven marketer, you will. ISO 27001 is the only internationally recognized security standard with auditable requirements. Organizations with this certification can assure their clients that they provide a secure environment that preserves and monitors confidentiality, integrity and availability of data.
|
| DM101: Six tips for marketing performance |
8/23/2010 |
 Do you need to predict whether your agency’s creative will succeed? Here are some fundamental items to help you gauge the work – before it ever reaches your target audiences
|
| Best of the blog: 3 reasons to start investing in mobile marketing now |
8/20/2010 |
 Spyro Kourtis discusses why marketers should take the long view on mobile marketing – even if the numbers don’t justify jumping in quite yet.
|
| 3 ideas travel marketers can use right now |
7/28/2010 |
 People are ready to be lured into taking vacations again -- but the marketing techniques to get them back may have changed.
|
| Should marketers fear the coming USPS changes? |
7/27/2010 |
 Two smart marketers face off about the loss of Saturday delivery by the U.S. Postal Service in our point/counterpoint format.
|
| Best of the blog: Common sense in a crisis |
7/26/2010 |
 How would you handle it if the equivalent of a gulf oil spill happened to your company? Here are a few common sense ideas that seemed to be forgotten by BP.
|
| Why marketers need to go mobile now |
6/30/2010 |
 Is your target audience on a mobile device? Close to 250 million Americans own cell phones. That’s a hard fact. What’s a little softer is how attached we are to these ingenious devices.
|
| Best of the Blog: Win-win agency compensation |
6/29/2010 |
|
An Advertising Age opinion piece, “Why Ad Agencies Need to Embrace Value-Based Compensation,” suggests that agencies should be “compensated above their basic costs if they achieve or exceed results as measured by agreed-upon metrics.”
|
| 7 offer test ideas |
6/28/2010 |
 One of the most powerful levers in marketing is the offer. Find the offer presentation that gives you the right combination of response and sales, and you’ll get the highest ROI. Here are some offer ideas to test.
|
| Taking the direct approach to creative success |
5/27/2010 |
 This case study about Standard Insurance Company shows how a counterintuitive approach to creative succeeded.
|
| Mobile Marketing: It's not just for branding anymore |
5/26/2010 |
 Find out how a mobile marketing campaign proved that the right offer to the right group - even on a small screen - gets people to become customers at a high rate of return.
|
| Best of the blog: 5 ideas for customer targeting |
5/25/2010 |
|
Human beings love categorizing. It must be our survival instinct. You see something and you need to know: Friend or foe? Predator or prey?
|
| How will the USPS's proposed delivery plan impact marketers? |
4/26/2010 |
 Postmaster General Potter recently asked for the authority to change the current six-day USPS delivery schedule, allowing the USPS to suspend delivery on Saturdays. What would a five-day delivery schedule mean for marketers?
|
| DM 101: High-performance guidelines |
4/23/2010 |
 When you want great response, a few rules developed over the years make a huge difference. Check out these critical, but easy-to-implement, ideas for your marketing campaigns.
|
| Best of the blog: Measurement isn't everything |
4/22/2010 |
|
If you run or swim, a stopwatch won’t make you better at what you do — it just tells you whether you’re doing better or worse than in the past. The data you get from your stopwatch does let you know whether your coach is giving you helpful advice.
|
| Targeting the untargetable – and getting great results! |
3/26/2010 |
 This case study demonstrates a savvy way to leverage the investment already made in a high-quality Web site as well as to inexpensively obtain email addresses of prospective customers.
|
| DM 101: 7 truths about lead generation |
3/25/2010 |
 Alignment between sales and marketing starts very early in the process. Here's a set of rules to help guarantee positive results.
|
| Best of the blog: How do you measure success? |
3/24/2010 |
 Sometimes we forget to include some of the most important pieces of data in our analysis of results.
|
| Medicare DRTV goes head-to-head |
2/18/2010 |
 Highmark pitted two equally savvy DRTV commercials head to head to generate leads on the same channels, in the same time slots and with the same offers. The only difference? Creative approaches. “Concerns” used testimonials to tell a salvation story about Highmark’s Medicare offer
|
| Social media and marketing: Measurement matters |
2/17/2010 |
 Every marketer wants to make money from social media these days. However, questions still remain. How can we measure ROI to prove our efforts are working?
|
| The controversy: Online display advertising |
2/16/2010 |
 Is the banner ad good only for brand-building and wasted as a direct marketing tool? Or can it be effectively used for lead generation and sales?
|
| Stabilizing your customer base |
1/21/2010 |
 Last year's economic storm taught marketers many things about how to keep their own customers.
|
| Keyword: Value |
1/20/2010 |
 Consumers are still looking for better values — and they'll continue to even though it looks like the economy may be recovering. What’s working now? What can we build on as we go forward? Here are a few ideas.
|
| Are you feeling lucky? |
1/19/2010 |
 What did you learn in 2009 that you'll take forward into the new year?
|
Awareness takes the lead for
Kaiser Permanente Colorado |
12/16/2009 |
 Breaking into a new market can be a big challenge — even for one of the largest and most recognized health providers in the country. Here’s how Kaiser Permanente announced their arrival and generated B-to-B leads at the same time.
|
| DM-101: Key Performance Indicators |
12/15/2009 |
 You don’t need to be in direct marketing long to realize far more data is available to you than you can possibly analyze on your own. That’s why it’s critical to determine which metrics are most important to you.
|
| Best of the blog: Is our fate written in the stars? |
12/14/2009 |
|
Baby boomers, Gen Xers, Millenials. Can you tell anything about the motivations and feelings of people based on their age?
|
| Marketing health care in uncertain times |
11/6/2009 |
 While the health care debate in Washington has occupied the country this fall, insurance is top-of-mind for those who purchase their own coverage.
|
| Marketing design for mobile devices |
10/27/2009 |
 An email, site or landing page may be beautiful on a 32-inch screen. Or the same content could be unreadable on a smartphone.
|
| The controversy: Green marketing |
9/23/2009 |
 Is "green" boring? Or is it salvation? Two marketers talk through their issues with the word and whether it's still meaningful.
|
| It's a candy mint AND a breath mint |
9/22/2009 |
|
Oh, the poor beleaguered banner ad. Is online display advertising doomed? Or can this digital marketing method be saved?
|
| Terms of Use |
8/28/2009 |
|
|
| 3 big ideas to test in online display advertising |
8/24/2009 |
|
If you’re running an online campaign, you have more options for testing than just creative concepts and offers. Here are three ideas to get your testing juices flowing.
|
| Bresnan leverages efficiency to maximize its marketing return |
7/31/2009 |
|
Bresnan developed a strategy for a single mailing format to communicate with customers and prospects, allowing them to take advantage of larger production runs in spite of a tightly constrained universe.
|
| Seeds of change in the mail. No, really. |
7/31/2009 |
|
AT&T is helping wireless customers save the world - one billing statement at a time.
|
| YMT Vacations: targeted travel |
7/31/2009 |
|
When YMT Vacations came to Hacker Group, the goal was clear: Find the best strategy for including direct mail as an effective program to generate qualified leads.
|
| Your direct response TV checklist |
4/30/2009 |
|
You have less than 60 seconds to get the viewer to go from "I don’t care" to "I've got to call."
|
| Finding the upside of the economic downturn |
4/30/2009 |
|
A shift in strategy results in effective new messaging for RSA.
|
| Secrets of e-marketing — a multi-channel measuring stick |
2/28/2009 |
|
The newest "media" may not be paid media at all.
|
| Amnesty International and the power of truth |
2/28/2009 |
|
In today's economic climate, caring isn't enough—it takes action to deliver solid results.
|
| Leveraging tech for sustainable marketing |
2/28/2009 |
|
The "e" in e-marketing could stand for "environmental" as much as electronic.
|
| AT&T email campaign turns prospects into gold |
10/31/2008 |
|
AT&T’s goal was to use email to drive new customers into local stores in the New York metropolitan area to purchase wireless service and devices. By any measure of success, this was a big winner.
|
| Secrets of e-marketing — re-target! |
10/31/2008 |
|
Re-targeting the people who show an interest but don't follow through is an inexpensive way to leverage your direct response campaign and get more results.
|
| Don't take your targeting for granted |
10/15/2008 |
|
Hyatt Vacation Club was worried about its campaign fatiguing over time. After many years of success, it was time to regroup and reconsider the strategy.
|
| Should behavioral targeting change marketers' behavior? |
10/13/2008 |
|
What exactly is behavioral targeting? And what's acceptable business practice in this area? The very term "behavioral targeting" raises issues for many people. It’s important that you have your own privacy policies clearly stated and that you abide by them.
|
| Online Metrics: demand accountability! |
7/21/2008 |
|
Online metrics aren’t held to real-world standards. They are often based on media costs alone and ignore the other soft and hard costs invested. Online marketers get away with focusing on activity metrics — cost per impression, cost per click, email open rates — when they don’t know what their CPQL or CPS actually is.
|
| Words that can make or break your direct marketing campaign |
7/14/2008 |
|
When you review your agency’s copy, be able to recognize the difference between words that pack a mean-selling punch and those that can be total deal-killers.
|
| How 1 smrt company spks and sells in txt |
5/15/2008 |
|
New ways to touch your prospects and customers are constantly emerging. For instance, if you have captured a list of wireless phone numbers, you have access to a screen that people always have with them.
|
| Words to live by — our favorite B-to-B maxims |
4/30/2008 |
|
Here are some of our favorite pearls of B-to-B wisdom. These rules apply regardless of who your business-to-business audience is.
|
| How product life cycles influence customer acquisition strategies |
4/13/2008 |
|
Back in Marketing 101, you learned about the product life cycle — introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Marketers responsible for new customer acquisition can benefit from remembering this model because it has an impact on strategies and tactics.
|
| Five ways your lists can leave a smaller carbon footprint |
2/28/2008 |
 One of the first steps to becoming a more environmentally responsible direct marketer is to mail to people who want to see your mail. You’ll reduce waste before it’s created.
|
| How sustainable is your marketing? |
2/28/2008 |
|
Right now, it’s more critical than ever that we understand the impact of our industry and how our efforts at sustainable marketing practices will improve the environmental picture.
|