Friday, December 28, 2007

Chips and National Wildlife Federation

Kettle Foods, makers of Kettle Brand Backyard Barbeque Chips will begin donating $1.00 to the National Wildlife Federation for every backyard certified as a habitat for wildlife by NWF. The program starts Jan.1 2008 and ends August 31, 2008. For more information go to NWF's microsite. What a great idea.

Labels: chips, donation, NWF

Thursday, December 27, 2007

The DMA responds

The DMA is responding to the ongoing negative press about our ability to police the amount of unsolicited mail delivered. Business Week will run an article not very gracious to the DMA. John Greco, President of the DMA has responded to members in a letter outlining some of the omissions in the story and stating that a letter to the editor will follow. This is of vital importance faced with all the "Do Not Mail" legislation that could be headed our way.

We really need to get out ahead of this issue. Somehow the DMA has to get in front of the public directly...I don't know maybe The Today Show, Good Morning America and all of the rest of the morning shows. We need a full on program that heads off negative impressions. It seems like we're always responding. Maybe this is happening and I just don't know it, but by the end of 2008 it may be too late.

Labels: DMA, legislation, press

Friday, December 21, 2007

Another way of looking at it

Along with the article in DM News about the survey conducted in conjunction with Pitney Bowes, was another story about how the DMA hopes to "inspire" the industry to go green. Their two campaigns, "Green 15" and "Recycle Please", are both well conceived and should be adopted by all DMA members. But this appears to shift the weight off of the DMA and onto the individual marketer/member to get the message out. What is being done by the DMA in the way of a "direct to public" campaign? All the statistics have convinced us as DMA members, but have fallen short with the public.

Labels: DM News, environment

Consumer confusion

Great job by DM News and Pitney Bowes on their joint survey on consumer reaction to direct mail and the environmental impact. The take away... consumers clearly want to get direct mail but are confused by the environmental impact it has. Second take away.... we, as an industry must do a better job of making consumers aware of the initiatives already in place to address their concerns. We're losing the PR battle.

Labels: direct mail, DM News, environment

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

New title for Tally

EVP of RMI ,Tally Maffucci, will be retitled to President as of January 2nd. Why? Because that's the job description she's been doing for about 5 years already. I will continue as I have been as CEO. No big shake-up. Just a more accurate and deserving title to a very deserving person.

You can read more about it in the press release that went out yesterday.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Is that Bing Crosby?

If you're feeling a little Bah Humbug, this should cheer you up. What's better than a bunch of people singing a holiday song? A bunch of people singing a holiday song badly! We've put together a fun holiday card that showcases our singing, um, skills. You can mix and match who is singing to get a custom sound - check it out! Happy Holidays!

Labels: holiday

Self Healing does a self reflection

Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing newsletter is launching a redesign on December 17th with its January issue. The new design includes an easy-to-read format, new color theme with each month, a new "Dr. Weil Explains" column, and more coverage on the readers' topics of choice: healthy aging, eating well, preventing disease, staying healthy, herbs and supplements, mind-body wellness, women's health, and alternative therapies.

You can check out the new issue here. Nicely done.

Labels: health, publishing

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

More fun with your iPhone

Second to gaming, the electronic magazine reader Zinio is the one of the most in demand applications for iPhone. Apparently subscribers are offered the service for free, but must access it through the internet on their iPhone.

Hachette Filipacchi Media US is already on board with a number of their titles. I'm not sure yet how this will affect publishers on the whole but it sure is neat if you have and iPhone.

Interesting commentary about it on The Thread.

Labels: mobile, publishing

Friday, December 7, 2007

Shelly Lazarus

This month's issue of Target Marketing had a quote by Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, from the DMA conference in Chicago. It's worth reading.

"We always know which offer sells best when we are using direct response, but I don't think we['ve] yet asked the same kind of question aggressively enough for new media....We need to go from a sense of wonder that 'Wow, we can do it' to a demonstration that what we can do is valuable....It will take years to get to be serious....to be able to measure the [effect] of all this interactive communication, but we have to start by asking questions. You, as direct marketers, know how to do this. This industry, your industry, must lead here. This is the territory of direct marketing."

Labels: chicago, conference, DMA

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I can't wait for December 17th

That's the date the DM News will release the results of it's joint report with Pitney Bowes on what consumers really think about direct mail and the impact it has on the environment. This is mentioned in the editorial Eleanor Trickett wrote in the Nov. 26, 2007 edition of DM News Online.

Labels: direct mail, green

Monday, December 3, 2007

Don'tcha just love Andy Rooney?

You know what bothers me? People who pontificate and contradict themselves at the same time. I've gathered a few here on my desktop. Here's one, Andy Rooney.

On Sunday night's 60 Minutues, he was on a tear about catalogs. He lumped his Best Buy and Circuit City catalogs along with Sharper Image, Brookstone and a slew of other noted DM catalogs. He went on to say he never buys from catalogs and never will; but if they keep sending them, he'll keep looking at them. Someone should tell Andy that somewhere down the road he just might have bought something - and that someday he just might again.

If all the direct response catalogs were in fact addressed to him, it's a pretty good bet they got his name off a direct response list. We all know how that happens. If it bothers him so much, how about the DMA's Mail Preference Service? Don't bother me with facts, I've got a segment to write.

Labels: catalogs, direct mail

Direct mail is alive and well

As direct marketers we like numbers. Opinions are great but if some one's got hard facts, we'd go with that. This week I've read a number of articles which deal with direct mail. Two of which are opinion pieces detailing how direct mail is a "dinosaur" and the other gives ways we must "re-invent" our industry or we will not be able to compete.

The third is a piece from RRW Consulting written by Nancy Arter. In her article she sites a survey conducted by International Communications Research, which concluded that people prefer receiving things by what else?......Direct mail, over email. This is the same study that Dean Rieck noted in his DMNews article from November 9th. It's full of percentages and statistics to back up its claims.

So for those hoping direct mail goes away... The report of our untimely demise is greatly exaggerated.

Labels: direct mail, email, marketing