Direct Marketing articles from February 1997

Direct Marketing archives from February 1997

Mail order gridlock.(Editorial)
February 1, 1997... This electronic thing I love so much is beginning to get me down. Everywhere I look I see bad news on what's happening in the digital world. America Online (AOL) is having severe problems with customers trying to log on, and when they do finally...

AOL agrees to refunds for disgruntled subscribers. (America Online)(Direct Intelligence)
February 1, 1997... The online service company has agreed to give millions of dollars in credits and refunds as compensation for network traffic jams that have frustrated customers since December. Originally America Online (AOL) addressed the complaints by...

Australian Tourist Commission uses multi-level marketing to encourage visitors "Down Under."(International Direct Marketing)(Cover Story)
February 1, 1997... To bring more North American travelers to Australia, the Australian Tourist Commission developed a multi-level direct response program designed to motivate, educate and reward agents and operators while responding to consumers' needs in an...

Food promotion - catching the consumer's attention.
February 1, 1997... The food industry, more so than any other industry, best illustrates the importance of consumer behavior in the world of marketing. So, what really influences consumers to buy or not to buy food products? Consumer behavior is an old segment of...

The new world of direct marketing in the third world of Pakistan. (Second Direct Marketing Symposium)(International Direct Marketing)
February 1, 1997... Not too long ago I told you the story of Ozair Hanafi, Mr. Direct Marketing-Pakistan. This is a follow-up. Earlier this year, 16 months after the First Direct Marketing Symposium in Pakistan, there was a second. Organized again by Ozair...

Partnering for profit - how to achieve impressive cost-benefit results.
February 1, 1997... Today's partnerships, are smarter and more cost-effective than the traditional alternative venues such as card decks, co-ops, and ride-along programs. "Cooperative marketing relationships enhance our marketing resources." - Kimberly De...

Bathtubs, lightning bolts, and writer's block: (or, how to start being creative by not being "creative" - part 1).
February 1, 1997... We need to reorient our view of creativity; we need to think "problem solving" rather than "creation." Creativity is not a mysterious, disorganized "AH-HA" experience. Let me tell you two stories: For the first, we go back to Syracuse,...

The six blind men and the elephant. (Strategic Creative Imperative in direct marketing)(Creative Strategies)
February 1, 1997... Today, I'm not sure if having a big idea is enough. It's much more important to have the right big idea. I call this "The Strategic Creative Imperative." I have spent more than a dozen years telling clients, creative groups, and audiences all...

Being Direct: Making Advertising Pay.
February 1, 1997... In essence, Lester Wunderman is a Renaissance Man. The fact explains why he has been recognized as the unchallenged vanguard in initiating and innovating new successful policies and practices in direct marketing over the past half century. The...

Interactive home shopping: all the comforts of home.
February 1, 1997... Interactive home shopping provides retailers and consumers with the tangible benefits of Internet-based marketing and purchasing. From her home in Gainesville, FL, a woman sits in front of her personal electronics center reviewing her...

Finding and negotiating new catalog items.
February 1, 1997... How you negotiate with new manufacturers is extremely important to the bottom line profitability of a catalog. The ongoing quest is to find new items for our catalogs. What resources are available to find them and how do we go about negotiating...

Strategic marketing & the prisoner's dilemma. (database marketing)
February 1, 1997... Why savvy marketers need to adopt database marketing and look outside the "box" for continued growth. The Prisoner's Dilemma The police round up two men suspected of robbing a jewelry store. One ambitious detective demands the assignment,...

Millennium approaches preceded by American Family Publishers and Publishers Clearing House. (sweepstakes mailings)
February 1, 1997... For the first time in years, I'm a bit disappointed by American Family Publishers, whose sweepstakes mailing (along with Publishers Clearing House) slithered out of my mailbox on December 27. I hope it's only a temporary pause for breath, and...

Pharmaceutical database marketing on a shoestring: an interview with Mike Precopio of Summers Laboratories, Inc.(Interview)
February 1, 1997... Summers Laboratories is one of a number of niche marketers of pharmaceuticals in the dermatological field. They are marketers of ethically promoted over-the-counter and prescription dermatologicals. Summers Laboratories is one of a number of...

How casinos use direct marketing.
February 1, 1997... Today, adapting databases at casinos is as much a part of their business as slot machines. Casinos are retailers, like any other business, and have to handle their customers one-on-one. "In 1985, I didn't know a single major casino with a...

Can small-space DM ads pull? Sure, they can ... if they observe three rules.
February 1, 1997... Space ads aren't a sure-fire source of leads, let alone a dollar-producing response. One reason is a misunderstanding of what the reader expects to see in a space ad. When the space ad is tiny, problems are compounded but not insurmountable. By...

ABE implementation delayed again. (Automated Bar Code Evaluation)(Column)
February 1, 1997... After another planned implementation date of February 15, ABE (Automated Bar Code Evaluation) has been pushed back to May 15, 1997. Although not completely satisfied, industry representatives are at least relieved that the still evolving...

Transactional and attributable nexus in cyberspace. (taxability of online business transactions)(Column)
February 1, 1997... Everyone is celebrating the growth of the Internet's unprecedented connectivity, and right we are to do so. However, just as many database marketers wonder about the nexus implications, all must wonder about personal jurisdiction in this legal...

Curbing unwanted, unsolicited d-/e-mail. (America Online Inc.'s PreferredMail program)(Editorial)
February 1, 1997... Curbing unwanted, unsolicited D-/E-MAIL has become a major challenge for the communications industry. America Online (AOL) has taken a giant step in screening out unsolicited, unwanted e-mail directed to its eight million subscribers, with the...