Creative
Positive News on Macro Issues Highlighted at DMA Conference
There was a great deal of positive news coming out of the Annual DMA Conference regarding many of the larger issues facing direct marketers today. The DMA’s advocacy initiatives have been successful in ensuring there will be no increase in postal rates in 2010. This news was just announced last week. Additionally, the Do Not Mail bills that were pending in six states including California have all been defeated.
Other headway has been gained in the DMA’s environmental efforts with the debut of DMAChoice.org, a consumer-based program of opt-in initiatives that allows for the customization of mail messages consumers want to receive.
John Greco, President and CEO of the DMA credits the association’s preparedness and proactivity for these recent wins.
The other big battle the DMA is gearing up for is the new pending tax laws. These taxes would be imposed by the states as a way of generating new revenue from muliti-channel retailers. The DMA stressed the need for more individual involvement on this issue from all direct marketers, urging each of us to write to our state officials voicing our opposition to these taxes. This isn’t the first time I have heard that 2010 could be “the year of the taxes.” So, I’ll end this post now so I can write my Congressmen.
Omnipresence Theme Permeates DMA Discussions
The need for marketers to be everywhere was a theme that threaded through most every discussion at this year’s annual DMA Conference and Expo. Martha Stewart articulated it for everyone in her keynote remarks that ushered in the event stating, “we want eyeballs and we don’t care where we have t
o go to get them.”
Not surprisingly, harnessing digital media lead the conversations on how to become increasingly omnipresent. With 96% of all Millennials reporting that they are members of social media outlets and women over 50 being the fastest growing segment on Facebook, marketers have been quick to embrace the channel while openly admitting that we’re still pioneers working to understand the space.
Increasingly, “Voice of the Customer” research is being used by both B2C and B2B marketers to help determine which digital conversations to engage in and where. In discussing the needs of the customer, they are also uncovering their online whereabouts. This valuable information helps marketers, engage more appropriately, project a more authentic voice and prioritize online destinations and the connectivity tools to implement on their websites.
If you’re still wondering where to ramp-up your quest for omnipresence, CBD panelists Pam Evan of IBM and Bart Zehran of E-RM stated it best during our presentation on Millennials as the new B2B buyer, “first, get right with Google then make sure your website works as hard as possible to engage prospects and customers.”
MotoSocial Media
You know Social Media has come of age when major brands shift their product development focus to harness the power of social media. 
Motorola, in a mobile device product doldrum for the past couple of years is unveiling their latest entry in the smartphone universe, Cliq. But the big news is that product development objectives were first and foremost to make social networking a seamless if not endless experience on the Cliq. Based on Google’s Android platform, Cliq continuously receives feeds from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace so you can more easily stay in touch with your BFF. The big difference is that iPhone and others rely on Apps in which you must often exit in order to answer phone calls, change tunes on your iPod feature or access other Apps, and then re-launch the App. Cliq keeps you connected.
Leafy Green Viral Marketing
Nissan has been pushing its latest technological breakthroughs in lithium ion powered cars with a video posted on YouTube. The name of the car is Leaf. It’s an interesting move that will hit car lovers, environmentalists and the general populace with equal emphasis. I like the simple, creative way the message is portrayed and the heightened sustainability prowess it gives Nissan. Viral works, to prove it, watch the video.
Notes from CIMA’s Interactive Marketing Survey
There were no real surprises from Chicago Interactive Marketing’s (CIMA) 7th semi-annual marketing survey. 
Our friend, Troy Mastin, former researcher at Blair and new Director of Global Strategy and Operations for the Marketing Store, conducted the research again this year. The responses provided from Chicago area marketers, agencies and media were what I had expected: Continue reading
Link instead of Ink!
Yesterday in the mail we received a very nice four color self-mailer from our local community center. Their goal is to ‘enrich lives through education, cultural arts and charitable service’, and they offer a variety of classes for children and adults that range from Yoga, Bridge and Dog Training to Children’s Acting classes and Chess. I’m sure your community has a similar organization. 
Traditionally, they’ve mailed out a multi-page catalog that I’ve scanned rapidly and thrown away. Well, except for the year we signed up for dog training which we desperately needed at the time.
But this year they’ve really looked at the audience and figured out that we’re just interested in that one sentence description and can go to the next level on our own! To make the transition complete, they state upfront that this IS the Fall 2009 Catalog, and push everyone to either use their website or give them a call for more information or to register.
With the cost of postage constantly going up, and the volume continuing to fall (advertising is off 5% the past two years alone), smaller is looking better all the time!
I’d just sat down to write about this when I saw a report discussing the savings the University of Florida realized in their ‘Think Before You Ink’ campaign. They converted 160 print publications to web only to save over $1MM a year. These savings are recurring, too.
So let’s all study our target customers and Link instead of Ink!
