Target Marketing articles from May 1999

Target Marketing archives from May 1999

The sizzle or the steak.(direct mail advertising)(Cover Story)
May 1, 1999... DIRECT MAIL CREATIVE THAT WORKS: AN ANATOMY OF A CONTROL A Direct Mail format that has always baffled me is the magalog - that curious 8 1/2[inches] x 11[inches] booklet that is a cross between a magazine and a catalog. The very first...

Digital drives direct mail.(Cover Story)
May 1, 1999... Variable data printing ushers in new wave of customized mailings When most business-to-business marketers or small retailers thought about direct mail what came to mind was "white" mail - typically consisting of a cover letter, slim-jim...

The creative high road.(direct mail)(Cover Story)
May 1, 1999... Sure, hype still sells. But sometimes it pays to steer clear of ugly, sensationalist direct mail creative Your copywriter turns on his computer: a blank slate. Those empty pages can be used for the purposes of good or evil, credibility, or...

Guess the winner.(results of a direct mail test)
May 1, 1999... IN THIS DIRECT MAIL TEST, A SEED PACKET WAS ADDED TO THE CONTROL. DID THE FREEMIUM PRODUCE MORE SALES? In his "Guess the Winner" article series, Tom Meyer details actual direct mail tests - and then shares the results. For information on...

Direct response creative: what to test first.
May 1, 1999... "TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST?" For direct response professionals, this isn't the question. One of the most important elements of direct response creative that sets it apart from general advertising is testing. Direct response writers and art...

Boosting B-to-B customer retention.
May 1, 1999... Profiling your database will tell you how to keep your business customers Customer profiling and segmentation have never been more popular, and the reason is simple: We are all in search of more customers who look and act like our very...

The multilingual labor search: how to staff your pan-European call center.
May 1, 1999... The telephone sales representatives (TSRs) that staff your call center are the voice of your company; therefore hiring qualified reps is paramount. If you are staffing a pan-European call center, finding quality reps becomes a bit complicated....

Fight brand tyranny!(product management)
May 1, 1999... The current marketing mantra is "brand." Virtually every marketing publication and conference features articles, discussions, seminars, workshops, roundtables and speeches about the overriding importance of brand. The new marketing field of...

Warming up to e-mail marketing.(includes related article on e-mail lists)(electronic mail)
May 1, 1999... Two Web catalogs test e-mail prospect lists What's colder than contacting a cold prospect? Contacting a cold prospect using an untested list, an untested offer and an untested medium. To avoid a big chill when it comes to response, some...

Briefings.(catalog marketing)
May 1, 1999... CREATIVE B-to-B Catalog's Not All Business The Hallmark Business Expressions (HBE) catalog successfully speaks to people - not companies. From the front cover - with the tag line "Hallmark's Guide to Building Stronger Relationships" -...

On track at ClubMac.
May 1, 1999... From humble beginnings in the garage to state-of-the-art Web cataloger In 1989 Mike McNeill was fresh out of college, having just graduated from the University of California at Irvine. A Macintosh computer enthusiast, he convinced his dad...

Catalog production trends.
May 1, 1999... Seasons change, trends come and go, but to a cataloger, one concern remains the same: "Can we do it faster and cheaper?" says Susan McIntyre, president of McIntype Direct, a Portland, OR-based catalog consultancy. While certain issues plague...

B-to-B software buyers.(business-to-business software)
May 1, 1999... Don't call it a niche: These IT decision makers spend $135 billion per year Nearly every business is a high-tech business. Manufacturers, financial services, marketers, retailers and, yes, technology companies require networking,...

Dear Bob....(sweepstakes)
May 1, 1999... TO: Robert Weintzen, President The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) The sweepstakes/DMA complex is the most pernicious and destructive force in American direct marketing today. Let's start with the fact that sweepstakes are bad...