Some say that winning transforms careers, agencies and businesses?

 

There’s one way to find out for sure, and that’s, of course, to compete! And the competition for direct marketers to be in is the ECHO Awards.

 

The Direct Marketing Association International ECHO Awards honor the world’s best direct marketing campaigns based on excellence in innovative strategy, creativity, and results.  You don’t have to be a member of the DMA to enter—the competition is open to anyone who feels they’re good enough to win. 

 

Submissions for this year’s ECHO honors will be accepted until the extended deadline of May 5th (though fees for entries received before April 14 will be discounted by 25 percent). And, new this year, one talented Seattle Direct Marketing Association member’s entry will be sponsored by the SDMA.  This means you’ll get to play for FREE, with the entry fees being covered by the SDMA.

 

Go to www.dma-echo.org to get started and submit your entry.

   

Campaigns will be entered and categorized in a dozen primary business media: alternative/insert media, catalog, direct mail, e-mail and instant messaging, mobile, print, search engine marketing, telemarketing, TV/video/radio, Web advertising, Web development, and “other.”

 

For more information about the business categories and to check out the killer Call For Entries visit www.dma-echo.org.

  

Don’t forget to enter the 2008 ECHO awards by April 14th and save 25% on your entry fee.

 

Deadline/Entry fees:    Save 25%, submit your entry by April 14th--$225 Entry Fee

                                 April 17^th—SDMA members applying for sponsorship (contact info below).

                     April 24th--$300 Entry fee

                                 May 5th--$350 Entry fee

 

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact Brian Hunt, ECHO Awards Ambassador at brian@hmgseattle.com.

 

To apply for Seattle Direct Marketing Association entry sponsorship, contact Sue Engdahl at Sue.Engdahl@cenveo.com or Michelle Lanham at Michelle.Lanham@printwest.net. Request for sponsorship must be received by April 17^th, 2008. If the winning entrant has already paid entry fees for ECHO’s early entry deadline, fees will be reimbursed by Seattle Direct Marketing Association upon notification of award. Entries will be judged by Seattle’s ECHO Awards Ambassador, Brian Hunt.

 

 

 

At the recent Seattle Direct Marketing Association education and networking event author Ron Jacobs presented about rethinking integrated marketing communications. Jacobs is an author and educator with more than 30 years working in multi-channel direct, database and digital marketing.

The presentation could have filled an entire semester’s worth of studies for a direct marketing student, as the topic is so large and dynamic in today’s changing media landscape. For those willing to spend a few more minutes, hours, or days studying the topics, free downloads are available at Jacobs’ web site: http://www.jacobsclevenger.com/resources/speeches.php.

What does Jacobs say multi-channel direct marketers need to look out for, and how can we address the challenges?

The Pitfalls:

• Media is getting more diffuse. (I think this was happening back when I was in communications school, it’s a wonder it can diffuse any more. But it does, as the once vast sea of the marketing audience continues to evaporate into unique droplets that we try and catch with a fingertip message.)

• 1,000 x’s the data about our direct marketing targets is available. Be careful what you wish for?

• It now takes 20 media messages to reach the same size audience as 3 TV networks used to reach.

• For heaven’s sake, don’t try to actually sell anything!  The new customer wants to want it, and you have to wait for him to take it from you.

• Communications firms must work together across their specialities on a single client’s work. Disjointed communications efforts stand out like a monster truck in the Columbia Tower parking garage.

The Opportunity:

• Evaluate and recreate your entire direct marketing process-- includes optimizing your mix, budgeting, integrating media, managing communications partners, managing growing number of channels.

• Think of your branding as transactional by managing the response and brand simultaneously. So, don’t direct market in a way that doesn’t fit the emotional connection you’re trying to make with the brand. Duh.

• Put your prospects at the center of decisions. Think about how will they feel about what your direct marketing message says to them.

• Keep your KPMs and KPIs.  Hooray. Old fashioned measurement is still useful. BUT, don’t think of ROI as purely a financial measure.  Evaluating ROI should be seen as an opportunity for the organization to continually ask about its objectives, audience, metrics and other indicators that tell us if we’re on the right track. (It will take a while to explain this to customers if you are an outside agency sending big invoices.)

• Make sure all of your direct marketing channels are pushing AND receiving messages.

While this all seems to mount to a daunting task, beginning with recreating the entire process, here is one metaphor I gleaned from the presentation that I found particularly easy to digest and apply: 

Think of the old marketing funnel as a new marketing spiral. 

We should no longer dump in direct marketing prospects by the pound at the top of the funnel, waiting to see what falls out the bottom. Instead, we must select our prospects carefully and then circle them with messages, experiences, and conversations, getting closer and more familiar with each swipe.

The suggested spiral process is 1) Seek affinity, 2) Have dialogue, 3) Involvement, 4) Engagement, 5) Interaction- ie. you are now my customer.

Now, the trick will be, learning the best way to get all this integrating in line, and the payoff done fast.

Last week’s networking and education event at the Seattle Direct Marketing Association featured a presentation on how to use social media to achieve direct marketing goals.

The presentation, by representatives from the Parnassus Group of Seattle, provided immediately useful “Dos and Don’ts” of social-media, and a bit on the mechanics of how it works.  The main focus of the event was on using Facebook as a direct marketing vehicle for Internet-based campaigns.

The Parnassus Group especially favors Facebook for the promotion of events. The vast communication network makes it easy to get your message to go viral, and to provide timely results. The audience of Facebook wants to know what is about to be “now,” and any hint of a bonafide news scoop makes for good social currency that is bound to be passed along.

The primary reason these social-media marketers believe this medium offers recession-proof marketing is that direct marketers can catch their audience in the decision making mode while they are doing research on the Internet, and while looking at what their social networks are saying about products, services and people. These are buyers. Not lookers. And they believe their friends.

The lesson seems to be that if you get real endorsements, directly from real people, your marketing budget only has to work half as hard.  This is because you don’t have to spend half your time looking for people interested in buying and half your budget convincing the audience that they should believe you before they even begin to grow receptive to your marketing message.

So, how do direct marketers go about saving half of their budgets?

 

There are a few mortal no-nos, and a few quickie-cuts to better direct marketing results:

DO

• Explore the groups
• Find groups related to your business, and be friends with the administrators of these groups
• Blog about Facebook groups- users will find you out in the “real world” this way too
• Buy social ads
• Design applications- You’ll have to explore the site to understand this if it’s not making sense right now, but the exposure here is huge
• Contribute & participate
  

 DO NOT

• Be fake. Poser sales guys are sniffed out & exposed immediately
• Spam
• Come out with a hard-sell up front
• Tag people to marketing content
• Poke people you don’t know, especially when you’re here for business, even if they poked you first
• Ignore your detractors- give them some honest conversation instead

Considering there are 66 million users currently registered with Facebook, and you can conduct a direct marketing campaign for little more than the cost of strapping an intern to the computer, there are probably not many marketers who can afford to ignore this space. 

The Parnassus group says it takes about 10 hours to launch a direct marketing campaign in a social media space (caveat, be familiar with the workings of Facebook first, then start counting these hours), at a cost of about $75-$200 per hour. And, companies can be hired to create the applications for you in a price range of $5-100k.

 

For more information on the Parnassus Group of Seattle, and the Seattle Direct Marketing Association’s social media marketing event visit: http://parnassusgroup.com/, and view the slides from the presentation. 

 

To find out about the Seattle Direct Marketing Association’s upcoming networking event visit:  http://www.sdma.org/events.php

 

The great thing about direct marketing as a job is that you get paid to socialize, which, is fab, if that’s your thing.  But what does the savvy marketer do when she finds that the business scene in Seattle is beginning to resemble middle-school, and her “cool equity” in this crowd is wobbling like a massive sub-prime loan?

 

A social media marketing campaign is badly needed, but where does one begin?

 

As part of an Internet or other direct marketing campaign, social media can seem like an ominous pond to fish in when you’re new.  You have to find the good spots, with shadows and hiding places.  And that spot with not too much competition.  But, you don’t have all day to sit there with a line in the water.

 

What you should do is go back to class! But, do it the smart grown-up way.  Attend the next Seattle Direct Marketing Association event, “How to use social media to achieve your direct marketing goals,” and save yourself a lot of time and worry.

 

At this educational event for direct marketers, attendees will learn quick tricks and tools to immediately launch, or improve, any online social media campaign.

 

As part of my personal Internet marketing efforts, I recently joined Facebook and found a lot of people I know in the Seattle area. I’m eager to learn how to use this tool as a direct marketing device, and to grow my business in Seattle.  But, I also want to avoid making any inordinately disastrous mistakes that could ruin my career, or at least embarrass myself for a good long while.

 

…Should I join this game or group? Should I write on this guy’s wall? Who knows!

 

What seems simple to me may be a major faux pas in social media.  I prefer to make educated choices about my Internet marketing in a space where the silliest misstep can spread quicker than the ripple of a ten-ton stone in my smooth little pond.  

 

As of today, seats are still available for next week’s social media event. Click here to get more info about the speaker, location and reservations: http://www.sdma.org/events.php

 

Also, in addition to great food, and a presentation from a trusted, local expert there will be time prior to the event for networking with other professional direct marketing experts from the Seattle area. So, be sure and show up early.

There’s no doubt that the economy is heading south.  Direct marketers are facing a challenge greater than anytime in our generation in getting consumers’ attention and convincing them to part with their hard-earned dollars.

As markets tighten, the direct marketer’s job is to make sure that consumers choose their products and services over the competition while maintaining a profitable marketing campaign.  If you are looking for new techniques to add to your repertoire, Mobile Marketing may be just what your toolkit is missing.

Launching, or refining, a new direct marketing program can be risky.  Before you get started with Mobile Marketing, you must attend tomorrow’s event hosted by the Seattle Direct Market Association.  Presented by Dennis McCormick of HipCricket, a Kirkland-based mobile marketing agency with over 24,000 campaigns to its name, this event will teach you:

- When and where mobile marketing makes the most sense
- The techniques for measuring discreet impact on a campaign
- A road map for the future of this exciting new medium

In addition to gaining insight into this growing area of direct marketing, you will also have the chance to network with other area direct marketers, representing a range of industries.  Networking time is scheduled prior to the dinner presentation.  The food is always great, and the topics informative and sure to give you the edge you need to maintain an effective direct marketing program for your company.

Where to be: Hotel 1000, 1000 1st Ave, Seattle
When to be there:  Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 5:30 pm – 8:30pm

Online registration is still available.  If you put it off to the last minute, you can also register at the door!

The Seattle Direct Marketing Association has ears to the ground on all the hot topics in the direct marketing industry.  Our PR guy has done a bit of research and a bit of pondering on the topic of green marketing and has expounded on the topic for the benefit of all direct marketers interested in how their work is affecting the environment.

Thanks to Jeff Wenker for the following contribution to our blog...

On Earth Day someone wrote that not printing an email isn't going to save the planet.  Fair enough.  However, what if everyone in your office stopped printing emails, everyone in a Fortune 100 company, everyone in a city? What if it became the norm to never print emails?  That might not save the planet either, but it might help.

People have been talking about the paperless office for a long time, I think it was Tom Seibel or Larry Ellison, some database guy back in the day (what day, you say) who was all gung-ho about it.  It's impossible, of course. The joke being, offices will be paperless when they remove the bathrooms.

As an interesting experiment, try this: don't throw away any paper.  Let it pile up.  Put it in a stack in the corner of your office or cube.  See how much you produce in a month.  Then multiply that by, I don't know 100 million, to pick a nice round number.  Leave that stack there and start a new stack for the next month.  Check and see if the second stack's shorter (hint: try to make it shorter).  Then do the math again.

There's a great Paul Kelly song - "From Little Things, Big Things Grow" - it has absolutely nothing to do with paper, but I think about the concept frequently.  From the acorn comes the mighty oak, the tiny mustard seed grows into one of the largest trees, we all come from that microscopic gleam in our fathers' eyes (or that's what they told me).  A pretty obvious point, little things grow into big things, but where are those little things?

There are things we accept now as second-nature that ten or 20 years ago were unthinkable.  Some are small.  It's a reflex now to buckle our car seat belts, kids have never done otherwise, a generation will have been strapped into carseats snug as astronauts, yet their parents were frequently tossed into the back of stationwagons to roll around like empty Coke bottles.  Some are large.  We can now call or email anyone anywhere in the world from wherever we happen to be.  If someone told me in 1985, the year I graduated from high school, that I could do that in 20 years time, I would have been

blown away (stoked at something so totally bitchin' but still blown away). High schoolers today wouldn't accept less, in fact they probably complain about the speed or coverage of their service.

So, what is the next big thing that we can't imagine now, but will be accepted as the norm to preschoolers tomorrow?

Paperless Direct Marketing?

How about Train-Planes?

Instead of viewing the transportation of humans in heavier than air machines across the skies and seas as a competitive endeavor to be done as cheaply as possible in order to lure the largest number of passengers, what if air travel was viewed as part of our global infrastructure.  Governments manage and regulate highways, railroads, sewage and the electrical grid, why not air travel?  After all, we don't have competing sets of train tracks.  Let's make wildly speculative imaginative leapings.  Say we had just one kind of plane for long flights and it looked like a troop transport plane with big empty space on the inside rather than one level of seats and one level of cargo.  Then imagine a train loaded with passengers rolling right onto the plane all ready for take-off.  You could build induction terminals closer to population centers where all security measures could take place away from a secure airfield designed only for safe landings and departures of uniformly designed planes.  If one plane broke down or needed repair (not that that ever happens) another one would be in line ready to go.  It's not drastically different from a modern airport like Hong Kong where you can check your bag in town and then take a train to the terminal.  You just take it a step further so it would be like the train ferry from Hamburg to Copenhagen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_ferry.  If a train can roll right onto a boat, why can't a lighter train roll onto an airplane?  Bags travel with you in your own private car or economy could share a car with other passengers, like the European train system.  You could even bring back smoking on planes by adding cars with their own air circulation systems.

Yes, it would be an engineering task of immense proportions - new planes, new specially designed trains, new induction terminals - but think of the economies of scale.  We wouldn't have airlines competing in a race to the bottom (not ideal from 30,000 feet) trying to cut costs and stay afloat in an era of rising fuel costs, necessary yet expensive security measures, and reluctant ridership (flying commercial ain't fun anymore).

Compared to a crazy scheme like this, Direct Marketing without paper sounds

downright logical.

Join Jeff's Discussion on Linked-In and Network Online with other Seattle Area Direct Marketers

As a marketer, I love strategy.  Most direct marketers probably do, and if not they will learn to crave those times when they get to sit down and look at the strategy.  Eagerly, the marketer analyzes the email, internet, direct mail, creative variations, and painstakingly it is all measured back to sales. Joy.

As a marketer, you want to do it, think about doing it, then you sit down and do it, and realize... a chasm.  An often gaping crevace the must be spanned.  You are marketing, and you rely on IT, and are accountable to sales. You have to bring them all together, because you are the marketer working in a dynamic field, and aligning these groups is your job.

Want to get better at building your marketing bridge?

The Seattle Direct Marketing Association’s next networking and educational event presents a speaker able to help you do just that.

As the Chief Marketing Strategist for Ascentium, John Kottcamp helps his customers to engage with their customers by applying his specialty- closed loop marketing- to their needs.  Ascentium is a leading national agency, and Kottcamp is personallhy known for his work with companies including Gateway, McCann Worldgroup, T-Mobile USA and more.  He is also a member of the Forrester Research Technology Marketing Executive Council, and I’m sure his customers pay a lot to learn from him by the hour! You can benefit from his wisdom for a fraction of the cost at the next Seattle Direct Marketing Association event. 

This SDMA event is coming up soon, on October 1.  It will be held at a new venue for the organization, at the Seattle World Trade Center.  Be sure and show up before the presentation start time to network with other Seattle area marketers.  

I also encourage you to check out Kottcamp’s thoughts on direct marketing at his blog, www.thecollaborativemarketer.com.

Event Details:

Aligning Marketing, Sales and IT for Business Transformation 

When: Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 5:30 am – 8:30pm

Where: World Trade Center - Seattle, 2200 Alaskan Way, 4th Floor, Seattle

What: A sales guy, a marketing guy and an IT guy walked into a room: A joke or a way to align your business?

Register Here

Register today.

Back to school.  Back to work.  Back to internet marketing.

 

The Seattle Direct Marketing Association is kicking off the 2008 season of networking and educational events with a topic of great importance to all direct marketers- Search Advertising. 

 

We expect James Colborn, of Microsoft, to deliver an insightful presentation for direct and internet marketers who are either buying or selling advertising in the search marketing space.  Colborn develops the go-to market communications strategies for Microsoft Advertising, and probably has an insider’s tip, or two, of value to share with us.   

 

Would you like to know where industry insiders think the search advertising market is heading? Need to get a feel for how your search advertising budget compares to your competitors? How about a general boost to your internet marketing plans? Well, then you need to come to this event. 

 

As usual, there will be time for networking before the dinner and presentation.  This is a great chance to catch-up with colleagues you may have missed over the summer and to network with other direct marketers in the Seattle area. 

 

The Search Advertising event is Wednesday, September 10^th, from 5:30 to 8:15 PM.  Networking starts before the event, and Mr. Colborn will end the evening with a Q & A session. (So, bring notes about the search advertising questions your marketing organization is facing, as you may be awe struck and forget what you wanted to know! Like visiting the doctor.) 

 

The event will be in downtown Seattle at the beautiful Hotel 1000.  As of today registration is still available, but some events do sell-out, so be sure and sign-up today.

 

More information and a registration link available here.

 

 

Launching a major international sports franchise must be a kick, and then some.  OK, we’re talking soccer here, so that was a bad one.  But, who can resist?  

Seattle has entered the realm of major league soccer and Adrian Hanauer, of the Seattle Sounders FC, has been selected to lead the charge as General Manager.  Hanauer offers an impressive background of experience in ventures that range from promoting international soccer events, to investments in the early stages of companies such as aQuantive and Amazon.com. His daily chores with the new Major League Soccer franchise include managing media contracts, international promotional schedules, and developing a close and supportive network of fans in the Seattle area.  And I thought my job had a lot to it!

Hanauer has been selected as one of this year’s keynote speakers at the annual Market to the Max event.  Event attendees will get a chance to hear about his recent efforts to bring famous European clubs to Seattle and what it took to bring major league soccer to our region today.  

Want to know about cutting marketing deals with Microsoft and X-Box Live?  Could your business benefit from media relationships with BELO, and attentions from investors like Joe Roth and Drew Carey? Need some tips on innovative marketing ideas that work from Seattle to a worldwide scale?

Well, then, you should attend Market to the Max, because this is what we look forward to at Hanauer’s presentation at MttM in October.

Get more event info here. 

Read more about Adrian Hanauer.

Wordsmith Sharon Long-Baerny, member and past president of The Seattle Direct Marketing Association, founder of We Know Words,  recently published an article in MarketingProfs.com.  Marketers nationwide rely on this web site for articles, seminars, case studies and other resources that help professionals stay up-to-date on the latest industry news and new thoughts on executing effective online and offline marketing campaigns.

With over 318,000 marketing professionals as MarketingProfs members, Sharon’s publication as one of the top articles of the week on the web site is no small accomplishment.  The article, “Are You Committing the Marketing Sin of Assumption?” provides a humorous look at the evil traps marketers can fall into when forgetting to look at their work from the prospect’s perspective, and offers useful tips on how to avoid being a sinner of this sort.  

Sharon's advice is actionable for marketers of every type, from direct mail to email, to web developers, and sales and communications collateral development of all kinds.

Congratulations go out to Sharon for this success!  We love to see SDMA members hitting the big time in national marketing circles. (Is self-congratulation a sin?)

Read Sharon’s article at MarketingProfs, and find out what kind of a marketing sinner you may be, and how to atone for your actions.

Visit We Know Words, and learn more about their work as copywriters and marketing consultants.

A crew of dedicated volunteers at the Seattle Direct Marketing Association are including planning for the upcoming season of events in their list of summer fun activities.  One of these events is the annual Market to the Max extravaganza. This major conference is designed for Seattle and greater Pacific Northwest marketers who want to learn about the latest trends and techniques in direct marketing.

OK, so it may not be true summer fun, but it is rewarding work!

Organizers have partnered with MRM Worldwide on the creative development, which is shaping up to be another award-worthy campaign.  Keep your eye out for this piece!

Attendees at the event will be able to choose from seminars covering three tracks of marketing:  direct, brand, and social media.  You can mix and match sessions throughout the day to get the assortment that suits you best.

The speaker line-up is still under development, and will be announced as the schedule gets confirmed.

This event proves worthwhile for all attendees every year, and should go on to your calendar today! Just mark out the entire day, as there will undoubtedly be great networking after the event, and a chance to discuss and really absorb all the day’s knowledge.

When: October 21, 2008; 9AM- 4PM
Where: Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA

To make sure you are on the mailing list, and will receive the clever marketing pieces designed by MRM, send your contact info to info@sdma.org, or visit the home page and sign-up for email alerts.

Do we need the Direct Marketing Association to sponsor a “Recycle Please” campaign, which asks members of the direct marketing community to display the “Recycle Please” logo in printed catalogs and direct mail pieces? 

 

I was surprised to learn of this because I hadn’t truly considered that consumers actually don’t know this stuff.

Like all good Seattleites, I figured that non-recyclers were just lazy or gluttonous and self-absorbed.  Further, I surmised that promotion of the “G” subject these days is often a simple self-serving tactic to show how with-it a company is, or is not.  I was jaded.  A different shade of green

 

As it turns out, many consumers want to do the right thing, but honestly don’t know if your direct marketing piece qualifies for recycling. And, it may be fear of contaminating the recycling batch that stops them from putting your catalog in the bin when they’re done buying everything in it.

 

Living in Seattle, where even the waste-cans at my local street fair are 90% dedicated to recycling, it can be easy to lose perspective.  Then, I remember that where my sister lives in Texas, the utility actually paid consumers to recycle along with their household waste.  I believe the program was eventually cancelled for lack of participation. Clearly, they needed better direct marketing.

 

That was a number of years ago, when they couldn’t even pay people to recycle, and I'm sure the good people of Fort Worth have learned how beneficial and easy recycling really is.  Maybe if every consumable product that entered their homes had an “I can be recycled” logo, the program would have done better?

 

On another perspective, as someone who participates in the paper buying process, I can testify that there is not enough recycled content out there to go around. There just isn’t enough post-consumer waste in the “system” to make direct marketing as green as it can be. 

 

At a recent Paper 101 class I attended with a local supplier, we were told that 100% of the recycled paper on the market is bought before it is even available.  And, the consumer demand to include this in our finished products is driving the prices up and up.

 

So, if you are a marketer with input in the design components of direct mail, or other printed collateral, take a moment to consider putting this little logo into your printed pieces.  And, consider that it may actually do some good in helping to get your direct marketing piece back into the recycling system, instead of looking through the cynical green glasses that are easy to sport when we feel inundated with disingenuous “go green” messaging.

 

There actually will be a selfish, positive, side-effect in bringing down the cost of recycled paper.  And of course, the cheaper it is, the easier it is to justify as a business, and all the better to sell as a marketer.  

 

Info on the Recycle Please campaign.
More publications and fact sheets on recycling for direct marketers.

 

 

 

When I was a kid, living in a rural California farming community, we still shopped at the local “mercantile”, where pneumatic tubes rushed your money to an invisible banker, hidden in a vault somewhere in the attic of the turn-of-the-century corner store. I can only assume they were worried about six-shooter toting bandits holding-up the defenseless lady clerks, and making off with the daily proceeds from the Stetsons and Levi’s. 

We had another window on the world when the Sears and Roebuck Wish Book catalog arrived once per year, offering a limitless assortment of clothes and toys that we would never get to touch. When I got a little older, and less enthusiastic about kitchen playsets, I noticed a Spiegel catalog for the first time, and remember being enthralled with the sophisticated models in exotic locales and clothes that inspired me to want to grow-up to be very tall, and to live somewhere that I could actually wear such fine things.   

It seems that not all consumers have the same fond feelings about their catalog mail.  But, in defense of consumers who enjoy shopping through catalogs, and the companies relying on this marketing channel for revenue, industry members regularly meet to discuss ways to promote the business.

Recently, President and CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, John A. Greco Jr. attended the 25th Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) in Orlando, and has important news to report back to us in Seattle, including legislative activity, and upcoming changes to USPS pricing and rules that will affect catalog marketers as soon as March 2009.  Get your policies and budgets ready!

Catalogs are still huge business.  From Greco’s report: According to DMA's ongoing "Power of Direct Marketing" study, US catalog sales are forecast to hit $157.4 billion in 2008.  If that number holds, that would be an increase of 5.1 percent over last year's sales.  Moreover, US catalog and mail marketing, combined, continue to make up the largest slice of today's multichannel marketing pie. Yet, just this year, 15 Do Not Mail bills have been introduced in 12 states.  None of these bills have yet passed, which may be attributable in part to work done by the DMA in educating legislators about the impact of new legislation on consumers and the direct marketing industry.

The Direct Marketing Association promotes industry self-regulation and responsible marketing practices through many initiatives.  One such activity was the establishment of Mail Moves America (MMA), in 2006.   According to Greco, the MMA disseminates information about the positive impact of catalogs and other advertising mail, and ensures that legislative proposals are considered in a balanced light.

If you manage catalogs, or other direct mail campaigns in Seattle, and want to be up-to-date on legislation and consumer issues in your industry, check out the MMA web site: http://www.mailmovesamerica.org/. Information about current bills in Washington State can be found here, as well as info on how you can get involved in supporting the economic future of your direct marketing industry.

Another resource for promoting responsible marketing and self-regulation is the Direct Marketing Association Consumer Choice web site, at http://www.dmachoice.org/, where consumers can modify their own direct mail (and email) preferences with ease.

Catalog and multi-channel marketers are an important constituency for the DMA, and along with heavy hitting additions to the advisory board from organizations such as JCPenny, Spiegel Brands, Inc., and Crutchfield Corporation, a new portal has been added to the DMA web site just for this group of marketers.  Here you can find more information and resources, including news, white papers and networking opportunities: http://www.the-dma.org/segment/catalogersmarketers.

P.S. Speaking of the new USPS rules...working on a postage budget for next year? Get the most for your money and make sure your flat-size mail follows new addressing requirements, going into effect March 2009: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-8621.htm.

Billed as “this year’s most informative exchange of ideas and information with marketing, IT, and operations experts from a range of industries”, the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) Summit of 2008 is coming up soon. This year, the Seattle Direct Marketing Association will be in attendance and is offering a great networking opportunity for members at this event. 

This season-ending event for the SDMA will take place June 4, from 5:30-8PM, at the Westin Hotel. Attendees can expect to mingle with industry leaders and visionaries working on issues such as building brand confidence online, secure e-mail, and the latest online marketing strategies. 

Behind closed doors we’ve been promised tasty food treats and cocktails, as well. So don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with today’s online business leaders. SDMA members get a special price for this event of only $25, and space is limited. Registration is still available at this web site, through the Events page. See you there!

More information about the AOTA Summit 2008 is available at www.aotalliance.org/summit 

I enjoy receiving email marketing, but as a marketer, I’m not really normal.  I like to analyze the subject lines in my Hotmail and give them ratings, and peruse them for any indication of today’s social or political climate. You can learn a lot about what’s going on by the email marketing you receive. For instance, if you always forget about Mother’s Day or Election Day, just sign up for a lot of email newsletters, and you’ll get plenty of reminders about important upcoming holidays and spending opportunities.

 

When there are few “natural” reasons to communicate with subscribers, direct marketers have to generate other reasons to send intriguing email marketing.  And, when this is done on a regular schedule, it can grow challenging to the creative mind.  Recently I received an email from 24-Hour Fitness that I thought was quite clever. (No, not the “take your mom to the gym for a free workout” one.  That, not such a hot idea!) The one I liked was the “24 years. 12 million lives.” campaign.

 

It is mathematically pleasing, with tying in the name of the company to the years, and then having a nice, round half-value for the second part. So, I clicked to see what this more subtle than usual sales pitch would be.

 

As a marketer, I found it interesting that their email campaign is driving visitors to their own “social media” site, where users can read inspiring stories, enter their own stories, and comment on others’ stories. 

 

There is a smattering of regular guy testimonials mixed in with a few super star athletes, in case we were to forget that it’s a big-budget Internet marketing campaign. The writing is also a mix of professional marketers as well as comments that I can only guess are being made by the real users. Or, very clever marketers disguising their persuasive abilities in bad grammar, punctuation, and notes about how hot one particular lady is in her jogging picture.

 

The first time I visited the site, the links were a bit buggy, with many of the home page stories going to error messages, but that appears to be fixed. One other non-user friendly programming issue is the links to the user profiles.  They take readers to a truncated version of the story, without indicating that it is not the real story, which makes the writing just look bad. If you are not persistent enough to keep clicking around, you may never see the actual story, and most consumers will not wallow in our direct marketing propaganda for long. No matter how ingenious the design team believes it is.

 

Overall, I give one check in the plus column for a good use of combined email and Internet marketing for this direct marketing giant.  Maybe I’ll check on FaceBook to see if they have a group there, and see how seriously social these guys really are!

Click here to see for yourself   

 

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At a recent Seattle Direct Marketing Association networking and learning event, representatives of the Parnassus Group presented on how to use social media in your Internet marketing mix. One of the topics they covered was how to monitor your organization’s coverage in the vast, vast Blogosphere. 

 

Due to a technical snag, attendees at the event weren’t able to view this part of the presentation.  But, our friends in marketing at Parnassus have created a quickie tutorial that can be viewed at their web site.

 

If you are a direct mail or email marketer, or any other kind of communications manager, and are not monitoring the Blogosphere because it seems too complicated, then this is good new for you!

 

These are easy-to-follow directions that can get you set-up to monitor any direct marketing (or other) news you want to follow in just a few minutes:

 

<http://parnassusgroup.com/2008/03/monitoring-the-blogosphere-with-google-reader-a-follow-up-to-the-sdma-presentation/>

Today was one of those, "Lessons learned days" that will prove invaluable, but that you wish you could know without it ever happening.  One you wish you were able to suck it back in, like a regrettable email. 

I recently changed my role from that of an in-house marketing manager to vendor with marketing customers.  Since Chief Marketing Officer is statistically the shortest lived position of ALL corporate roles, with an average life span of 18 months, chances are that this may happen to you some day too. My switch was by choice, but still, it comes with some adjustments. And, even though I began my career in agency, it is easy to forget some nuances of the outside position.

In my eagerness to "handle everything" for a very important client, I found that I'd overstepped my role.  The consequences were not fatal, but the anguish was visceral.  

Fortunately, my customer is experienced and understanding, aware that they are demanding and complex.  And they are willing to go through the learning curve with me. They must see some potential. I hope.

My pain involved my decision to approve a high profile project, in an effort to get the product to the customer expediently. I was confident in my ability to make wise choices, as I've done this for years on behalf of very discerning constituents.  

The problem.  I am the vendor.  The choice was not mine to make. 

Ultimately my eye on the color of this printed piece was acceptable. But the problem is, I've not yet earned this right to choose.

So, lesson of the day, if you are in a new position as an outside vendor, wait.  Wait until the marketing manager, or print buyer, or chief bottle scrubber has said, "You make the call on this one."  Then, put the dishes away with confidence.

Oh yes, and don't forget the beauty of the written word, and never forget their signature!  Think of it as filling your autograph book, and remember the customer is now the star of the show.

Buying software is now the same as renting an apartment.