Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Congratulations are in order

I have to say that it's about time someone has officially recognized Scott Chilcutt, President of Marketing Information Network (mIn). On 6/9 the List and Database Council will present him with the inaugural Industry Innovation Award for his many achievements and contributions. Scott is a long time friend and vendor of RMI's who has been very resourceful, reliable and, indeed, innovative throughout the years.

Other honoraries include Tim Hickman of American List Counsel Inc. as the recipient of the 2008 Ron Davis Young List Professional of the Year Award, and Linda Huntoon of Direct Media Inc. as List Leader of the Year.

Congratulations to all!

Labels: award

Monday, April 28, 2008

WOMM

Word of Mouth Marketing. Thanks Becky for this site.

Here you have an agency (BzzAgent) which takes your product or service campaign and has their "agents" (registered consumers) talk about their opinions (good or bad) with friends. Therein, generating buzz. Sounds like a very interesting concept but according to our advertising guru, Darryl, there's still some debate about whether or not this is true WOMM - where campaigns spread strictly by demand.

Still, all in all, a very interesting marketing idea.

Labels: word of mouth marketing

Friday, April 25, 2008

Words can never say enough

We wanted to thank you, all of Laura Smith's friends and colleagues, for the tremendous out pouring of cards, letters, phone calls and emails we have received. It has proved that Laura wasn't just an RMI person but someone we shared with the rest of the industry. Everyone had their own special "Laura" story or experience. Each in their own way describing her energy, her professionalism and her quick wit. But the one over riding similarity in all of the messages referred to her smile. She loved to smile and she loved little smiley face stickers.

It gives us great joy to let you all know that to date over $6300.00 has been donated to the Arbor Day Foundation in memory of Laura Smith. The Foundation plans on planting a beautiful "Pioneer" Elm tree with a plaque in her honor, with the balance of the donations going to a special restricted fund to enhance the Arbor Day Tree Adventure.

The Pioneer Elm is a full tree which gets to be about 50' tall. In the fall, its leaves turn a bright yellow... like thousands of little smiley faces. Perfect.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Help cool the earth

National Wildlife Federation has created a pretty neat online campaign called The Good Neighbor Pledge which coincides with Earth Day and National Wildlife Week. A visitor to the site responds to a series of energy saving tips and for each of the tips they can check off they get points for. With 20 or more points and a donation of $15.00 you are a member of the Good Neighbor Program. You then receive a Good Neighbor Kit with more information on how to cool the earth and as a premium you get a nifty water bottle.

Very cool way to generate more awareness and some dollars for the cause.

Labels: environment, fundraising, green, nonprofit

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Freezin’ for a Reason

If it seems that Mike Kertelits and RMI go to extreme measures to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation - you're spot on. Not only are they a top client of ours but, as noted in an earlier blog entry, Mike had been participating in a polar plunge into the frigid Lake Mahopac to raise funds for research to fight CF.

A couple Saturdays ago, Mike and 122 other jumpers took the dip of a lifetime in the lake waters that were beyond cold. And for their efforts, they were able to raise over $90,000 for the cause. Impressive.

The “swim” was followed by a fundraising dinner at the Mahopac Country Club. Some 280 people attended the dinner and were entertained by video of the earlier plunge and an informational video provided by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. (And as you can see from the video, there was a great deal of talk about Mike's interesting choice in wardrobe.)

The local fundraising efforts were spearheaded by the Stack family of Mahopac. Their daughter Jacqueline is 7, and has CF. "She and her family are all the inspiration a person needs to withstand a little cold water in hopes to finding a cure for this terrible disease," said Mike.

Other pictures can be viewed on our Flickr site and further info about the event can be found on freezinforcysticfibrosis.com.

Labels: employees, fundraising, nonprofit

Celebrating the environment all week long

Happy Earth Day! And Arbor Day! And National Wildlife Week!

Just in case Earth Day isn't enough time to creatively express your appreciation for our environment - no need to fear; festivities are happening all week long!

April 19th kicked off National Wildlife Week (through April 27th), and the NWF is sponsoring clean-ups, events and a Wildlife Watch Program for you to learn about the wildlife in your community.

Arbor Day is also observed on Friday in Connecticut and the Arbor Day Foundation has suggested some great ways to celebrate the day. Some RMI reps are actually planning a trip out to the Arbor Day Foundation headquarters in Nebraska later this week for some special activities. Further details (and pictures) to come.

So do your civil duty - and yourself a favor - by taking some time to step outside this week and appreciate the beautiful weather, and the environment around you.

Labels: environment

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Mobile marketing for nonprofits

The DMA Nonprofit Federation recently announced in an email message that three nonprofits will test a pilot plan with Mobile Cause to test the viability of mobile fundraising. The three participants in the first phase of the pilot plan are Food for the Hungry, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City. There will be a teleconference on April 23rd for all members of the Federation to learn more about the plan.

Labels: DMA Nonprofit Federation, fundraising, mobile marketing, nonprofit

Thursday, April 10, 2008

In Loving Memory

Laura Smith
October 27, 1964 – April 5, 2008

It is with our deepest sorrow that we inform you about the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Laura Smith, who died suddenly on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Laura was a devoted daughter, sister, fiancé, friend and colleague who greatly impacted the hundreds of people who knew her, and the direct marketing industry as a whole.

As Vice President; Director of Management, Laura was a beacon of optimism at RMI, known for her lively personality, integrity, intelligence and wit, contagious smile, superior professionalism, and even her practical jokes.

Laura first entered into the direct marketing industry at the age of 17 when she joined AZ Marketing Services, Inc. In 1988, she accepted a position at RMI Direct Marketing. She was soon promoted to Director of Management where she remained as a cornerstone in the company’s growth and development.

Laura was passionate about her job, her clients and the success of RMI. She carried her devotion with her outside of the office volunteering for many industry organizations including the New England Mail Order Association, the Direct Marketing Club of NY, and the DMA Catalog Council. Laura was Past President and Advisor of the Hudson Valley Direct Marketing Association and most recently served on their Steering Committee. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Fulfillment Management Association (FMA), and was a trained instructor
for the DMA List Leaders Basic Training Class.

The RMI staff and her industry friends will always remember her for her cherry red Harley Davidson, her ever present cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, her many pet birds, her padding around the office either barefoot or in her Doctor Scholl’s, her inventive home-made Halloween costumes, and above all her infamous April Fools Day pranks.

She will be dearly missed.

In lieu of flowers, her family has requested that donations be made in her memory to the Arbor Day Foundation at www.arborday.org/laurasmith.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Something out of the ordinary...

I'm not talking direct marketing here. I'm taking a little side step on the blog.

I LOVE MY IPHONE! But like a gunslinger there are people out there trying to take it away from me.

OK, I admit there are problems with it. Like Tally always reminds me, I can't get my RMI emails on it. I have to go to our web server and download them from there. Sure she's right, I admit it. But in June, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs will make up and a new update will make it all go away. However, there's a new guy in town called The Instinct. Oh it's got fancy stuff too, but it won't be able to get onto the Microsoft platform any time soon.

So, I'm keeping my iPhone... sorry Tally.

Labels: electronics

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Post-it note fairies strike again

You may not associate April Fool's Day with Post-it notes, but Laura Smith in Management does. A couple of years ago they visited her office on April 1st and left their trademark on almost ever square inch of her space. This year they returned to bless her car. Luckily for Laura, the fairies understand the damaging effects of sticky glue on paint jobs and simply "stuck" (sorry, bad joke) to all six windows.

Kate Dullard, in our Counts & Shipping department (who also fell victim of the fairies' wrath), said she spotted Laura driving around town after hours with the notes still intact. We know better not to ask about that - nor the so called parking job pictured above.

PS: Tally, who has been with RMI for 20+ years has managed to avoid ever being the butt of an April Fools joke. Yesterday, she chose to work from home. Coincidence? I think not.

Labels: employees

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Denny, that's not the point

In the April edition of Target Marketing, Denny Hatch puts a different spin on the ad spots from InfoUSA. Denny's position is that as long as they make a profit, they're OK. He's addressing the negative feedback from critics who just don't like the ad concepts.

As a marketer, I agree with Denny. Hey, I'm not in any position to judge... But it's not the content I object to, it's the idea that anyone can get a mailing list of people for "free". No screening. No where do you have to submit anything for approval. With all the various privacy advocates, "do not mail" groups and environmental groups breathing down our industry, is it wise to flaunt this?

It just flies in the face of the way most list businesses work. There are approval processes, sample clearance processes, mail date approvals, service bureau approvals, list rental agreements, mail date approvals and the list goes on and on. All this to prove that we are monitoring what is being delivered to consumers.

I wonder how much of a drop in InfoUSA would see if they followed the same practices?

Labels: DRTV, privacy