Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Remission!

To all my friends and colleagues who have sent along good wishes and prayers - a very special thank you.

This past Friday my PET scan (a test which measures the presence of cancer cells in the body) came back totally negative. No evidence of cancer cells anywhere.

I still must complete the course of Chemo Therapy prescribed, which will be over by mid November, and also have a couple of preventative treatments, but after that... I'm home free.

So now my only question is, should I let my hair grow back or keep the Yul Brynner bald look? Cast your vote:

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Youth marketing: SM vs DM

Here's a helpful marketing tid-bit while looking at your fiscal year... In a study done by Ball State University and ExactTarget (an email marketing company), 18 to 34-year-olds are more influenced by email and direct mail than marketing messages via social networks.

According to a white paper offered by ExactTarget called Messaging Behaviors, Preferences and Personas some 1500 Internet users were questioned about their general attitudes and usage of one-to-one communication tools, such as email, phone, text messaging (SMS), and social networking.

To recap, here are some of the most interesting findings about the "six different personas" identified in the research, as noted in their press release:

20 percent of Wired consumers have subscribed for marketing communications via SMS, more so than any other group, but they want to receive texts only for urgent customer service issues such as financial alerts or travel updates.

More than 50 percent of Young Homemakers use social networks and SMS during the day, but direct mail and e-mail are their two preferred marketing channels.

81 percent of Retired consumers have purchased online and 94 percent have been influenced by some form of direct marketing to make a purchase.

College Students are very spam-savvy and believe private communication channels such as SMS and social networks are off limits for marketers.

Teens use social networking more than any other group but are more likely to make a purchase from direct mail, followed by e-mail, SMS and social network sites.

Women are more likely than the men in the Established Professionals group to use new digital media channels such as IM, SMS and social networking to communicate with friends and family, but men and women alike shop online with 92 percent of the consumers in this group having made an online purchase.

Labels: social media

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Bus ads just got smarter

In NYC, the MTA is now testing digital ad screens, by Titan Worldwide, on the sides of buses running the M23 route. Each sign is embedded with GPS technology that changes the ad according to zip-code, neighborhood, time of day, demographic and ethnicity.

According the NY Post "the screens can show an ad for Saks Fifth Avenue while in Manhattan and change to Target in Brooklyn. The ads can even change languages according to the ethnicity of a neighborhood."

Consumers are already complaining about how invasive the very bright ads are, but if the test is a success, we can expect to see 200 buses with them by 1st quarter 2009.

Labels: advertising

Friday, October 17, 2008

Random musings from Vegas

Well, I survived DMA08. It was my first fall conference in a while since I have been out of the pure list business the past few years. One thing about this industry is that it doesn't change much. Oh, you have technological advances but the business is still about mailers doing their thing and the brokers and managers playing both coach and referee.

This was the first show where I never made it to the exhibit hall. I think I did the smart thing and scheduled all my meetings at the RMI suite at the Bellagio, or within the hotel. The meetings were productive. I think the mailers are comforted by the fact that they have the same challenges. And it's good to get together and see how others are tackling them. If you can come out of a meeting with just a few good takeaways, then it was worth it.

Made it to one show - La Reve at the Wynn. Not an event I would normally choose to attend but I must admit it was fantastic both visually and physically. I can't even do a chin-up these days and to see what these extraordinary performers can do with their bodies. Just amazing. Don't tell Martin but I even found time to win a few sheckles at the tables. Blackjack. It wasn't easy though. Down early, but then the late comeback. Anytime you leave Vegas with money in your pocket, you've made out okay.

Good show. Oh, I almost forgot. The fountain... made me think of that scene in Ocean's Eleven. Very cool. ‘Til next time...

Labels: DMA, Las Vegas

Friday, October 10, 2008

Search for a cause

The September issue of Home Magazine had a little article on a website called goodsearch.com. It’s a Yahoo-based search engine that donates about a penny to the charity of your choice every time you perform a web search. Over 60,000 national and local nonprofit charities and schools are listed on the site, and you can even choose a different charity every time you search. Several of our clients are registered on the site: Christian Appalachian Project, Arbor Day Foundation, American Institute for Cancer Research, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation all participate.

Just think of how many times you web search each day – the pennies can add up quick for these organizations.

Labels: fundraising, nonprofit

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Courtney Waters’ (soon to be Kowcheris) RMI Bridal Shower

Yesterday afternoon I asked Court to take a walk, a normal routine for my friendly neighbor and I. As we skipped to the loo, Court already knew that we were really headed to the conference room…

Turns out Siobhan was able to plan the traditional RMI family get together, a surprise mid-afternoon shin dig we throw for all of our brides, grooms, and parents “to be”.

The homemade cake was successfully snuck in and decorations set up, but when it came to everyone shuffling into the room -- the closing and opening, and closing and opening of the door that actually shook Courtney’s cube wall -- she knew something was up.

So although it was not a complete surprise (and Ginny “forgot” to add the Stoli to the punch) we were all able to wish Court the best on her upcoming vows.

Congratulations Courtney and Jeremy. We wish you all the love and happiness life has to offer.

Labels: employees

Friday, October 3, 2008

A la cuisine!

Yesterday, RMI "Social Committee" chairman Carol Forbes hosted our third Iron Chef competition - this time the secret ingredient being apples.

19 awesome entries were submitted in all categories of food - everything from salads and pies, to cakes and cookies - making this competition incredibly difficult to judge, to say the least. But at the end we all applauded three outstanding winners, and the recipients of the much anticipated $100, $75 and $50 gas card prizes:

1st Place: Ginny Naclerio (again!) for her Apple Cheesecake
2nd Place: Janet Ward for her Apple & Grilled Chicken Salad
3rd Place: Courtney Waters (again!) for her Caramel Apple Bars

You can check out a video of the challenge here.

Thanks to all participants and congratulations to our top three!

Labels: employees

Can your phone do this?

I still can't get my office emails from my iPhone but now I can use it to check real estate listings. Woohoo! Coldwell Banker has developed software which allows iPhone owners to search for homes, check real estate values and more from their phone. They claim it will shorten the time involved in finding homes and agents to begin the buying process.

A great release in a housing slump!

Labels: technology

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Marketing Society's Top 50

Got this item from Darryl's Blog (thanks). It's a great concept. To commemorate the last 50 years of "branding", the Society has selected the top 50 brands over the past 50 years.

As the article states, it's a work in progress and is asking you to give them feedback as to what your vote would be. You can even go to the year you were born and see their choice for that year. Of coarse, being over 50 I don't get a fancy schmancy page for my birth year - but you can check out RMI's which is Microsoft for 1985.

Labels: marketing

Alliance for Pediatric Quality recognizes CFF

What an honor it is to work with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. CFF was just selected by the Alliance for Pediatric Quality “as a program of excellence because of its impact on improving the quality and length of life for children with cystic fibrosis”.

You may not hear about CFF as much as I do but they are constantly in the news for breakthroughs in research, clinical trials of new drugs, and developing new treatments and programs for treating cystic fibrosis. The organization has also been highlighted for their unique business model of funding development and testing of new drugs, and for their amazing efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

CFF is truly an inspiring organization and RMI is honored to help them in their fight against cystic fibrosis!

Labels: client, nonprofit

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

They're watching us...

I heard about this new book called The Numerati by Stephen Baker. I haven’t read the book myself, but I heard the author talking on the radio about it, and also check out his website and the book listing on amazon.com.

Basically the Numerati are a group of mathematicians who are tracking our every moves in ways no one else has done before – from the website we click on to the stores we shop in, to the phone calls we make to the toll booths we drive through. The purpose? What else but to predict and influence our behaviors.

Look out iPhone, there’s a new kid in town

Looks like Martin’s beloved Apple iPhone has some competition. Google and T-Mobile teamed up in launching the G1 phone.

The phone is loaded with Google’s android software, which resembles the iPhone in both function and appearance. The major difference is that the G1 is highly customizable – a major benefit over the iPhone. Much like a PC, individual users can upload features and programs that best fit their needs.

Another big difference is that while the G1 has a similar touch screen to the iPhone, it also has a flip screen that reveals a full keyboard, adding to the ease of use, particularly for the enhanced web capabilities the phone offers.