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, October 17, 2007
It's time to get serious

This is a scenario that happens all the time. At industry functions the conversation moves to "what's the DMA doing about 'X'" ? And no one has the answer. Well John Greco gave us all the answers. And did it quite passionately.
Now it's up to us as members of the Direct Marketing community to get behind the initiatives laid out by the DMA and make sure our clients are at least aware of what needs to be done. I've already heard people say this is just a lot of inflammatory rhetoric. Maybe it is. But I'd rather prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised than suffer the consequences. We can't afford to be wrong on this one.
Labels: chicago, conference, DMA, legislation
Friday, October 12, 2007
Off to Chicago
Gonna be busy for the next few days. Not unlike other companies, we start planning for the Fall DMA Conference immediately after the prior one. So, our meetings are all set up, our schedules are full and we're psyched to go. An interesting point; so many people I speak to about
this Conference immediately bring up next year's in Las Vegas. Hmmmm? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Be back next week.
Labels: chicago, conference, DMA
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
How quickly your dance card fills

Direct marketers are about to face the same problems our potential customers face daily. We are going to descend on
Chicago to our
annual conference in hopes to accomplish whatever our predetermined goals are. The only obstacle: so is every other direct marketer. The next problem is time. We only have about three days to do it in.
Broker/manager, mailer or data service provider, we all want to make that contact who will seal a deal or promote our business or our client's business. It's hard! It's like trying to be at every one's wedding on the same day. Or mail box clutter.
We need to take a tip from our own play book. Make sure you stand out in the crowd. Then above all make sure you deliver what you say you will.
See you in Chicago and... have a good and productive show.
Labels: chicago, conference, DMA