Trish Dominy says it can take years to build up a good relationship with consumers, but just moments to destroy it – so nurture their confidence carefully.
As a list supplier, I increasingly see the need that mailers have for greater selectability on data. 
Buying preferences, date of birth, family composition and household income are a few [...]

[Read more →]

But that doesn’t mean traditional channels are finished, says Stephan Merz.
When I attended the Digital Marketing Days event in New York, mid-June, most presentations seemed to be centred around online networking, blogs and social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and the like. 
Some still consider the channels a passing trend and only watch them passively, [...]

[Read more →]

Arnaud Le Lann is concerned about which works best.
Some weeks ago, I was in a meeting with a B2B mailer who operates in many European countries, and we were talking about the next email strategies to adopt.
During this meeting, my contact told me how he had done some data tests using a database available on [...]

[Read more →]

How did two French and German marketers succeed when given the brief to broaden the National Pen USA brand into Europe? Arnaud Le Lann and Stephan Merz tell the story. Hear more from Merz and Le Lann – together with their client Ron Childs of National Pen – at next month’s iDi Marketers Forum in [...]

[Read more →]

It doesn’t have to, says Trish Dominy.
Sometimes, research tells us what we already know. A recent US study by Pitney Bowes Business Insight into mailing address quality concludes that direct marketers are still not paying enough attention to dealing with returned mail. 
The USPS has tried to improve the position with a financial incentive for customers [...]

[Read more →]

Reporting from Germany, Stephan Merz wonders if we will prosper with the season.
After a stressful 2009, a year dominated by the global recession, we endured a long and snowy winter. Now, we have left the cold behind us and can enjoy rising temperatures. But which economic climate can we expect for the year 2010? What [...]

[Read more →]

French marketers are recognising that changes in their own country are imminent, says Arnaud Le Lann.
Last month, the largest summit meeting organised by the SNCD (the French direct marketing association) was held. Why was it 
the biggest, why did almost every member attend and why, exceptionally, were non-members also asked to go along? 
Because France is now [...]

[Read more →]

But they are still scarce internationally, says Trish Dominy. 

In the UK we have seen a massive growth in usage of email lists over the past eight years, with many mailers – despite being hesitant initially – embracing the channel in abundance.  
This did arguably lead to a period where the online channel was overused, but alarm [...]

[Read more →]

Rupert Tomalin (pictured below) says quality data are the diamonds of DM and should be treated with extra care.
Around the world, more and more consumers are becoming concerned about data quality and security. The feeling of mass paranoia over how personal information is being handled by government and private sector organisations turns out to be [...]

[Read more →]

Steve Cox (pictured below) shows how to enhance your brand’s image and the bottom line, despite the chilly sales climate.
With brand marketing becoming increasingly global, a question that CEOs and boards are increasingly asking below-the-line marketers is: ‘Can we support our brand activity through integrated marcoms activity?’ Given the current economic climate, I think [...]

[Read more →]