Direct Marketing articles from March 2001

Direct Marketing archives from March 2001

SNAP! Beam me up Scotty!(new technology allows marketers to access customers more often)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Snap! It is as easy as that, according to Tom Sweeney, president and CEO, Classwave Wireless Polyphony. The next revolution is coming faster than most know. Wireless and the next generation of cell phones and PDAs will be able to receive,...

Montgomery Ward Shuts Down.(Montgomery Ward and Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Montgomery Ward, the 128-year-old retailer that helped invent mail-order and ran stores in 30 states, is closing after losing customers to newer retail chains. Citing weak 2000 holiday sales and a difficult U.S. retail environment, the company...

Nielsen//Netratings Ranks Top E-Tailers of 2000 Holiday Season.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Amazon.com and Toys R Us lead all e-tailers during the 2000 holiday season with a record-breaking 123 million shopping visits, according to Nielsen//NetRatings Holiday E-Commerce Index. The Index measures home and work shopping trips to...

At Least 210 Dot Coms Shut Down In 2000.(Internet companies)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... At least 210 Internet companies shut down in 2000, according to an updated study from Webmergers.com. Shutdowns accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2000 as dot corns ran out of funding; nearly 60 percent of the year's closures, 121 in total,...

B2B E-Commerce Revenues To Reach 2.7 Trillion By 2004.(eGlobal Report )(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... A new eMarketer report indicates that near-term (2001 to 2002) and future (2003 to 2005) growth of e-commerce will be driven by the business to-business segment, not retail business-to-consumer transactions. The business-to-business sector...

Impending Privacy Issues Concern Wireless Industry.(technology that can track customer location leads to privacy issues)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Recently, during a two-day conference, leaders of the wireless industry met with senior FTC officials to address wireless privacy and security problems. To comply with a Federal Communications Commission (www.fcc.gov) mandate, wireless device...

Hanover Direct Realigns Business Operations.(Hanover Direct Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Hanover Direct, Inc. will strategically realign its business operations to reduce costs, improve cashflow and maximize shareholder value. Key elements of the strategic business realignment program include: concentrating on core brands...

Nordstrom Consolidates Catalogs.(Nordstrom Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Nordstrom.com, the catalog and Internet subsidiary of Nordstrom Inc., plans to realign and consolidate its catalog business to increase its profitability. Currently, Nordstrom.com mails four different catalogs to customers on a regular basis....

General Mills Site To Let Customers Customize Cereals.(General Mills Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Aiming to spark cereal sales, General Mills Inc. has begun testing a Web site that allows visitors to create their own customized cereal. Selected consumers will be able to tailor the cereals, based on their individual health needs and taste...

Online Community Programs Critical To Net Marketplaces.(Participate.com survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Net marketplace users who conduct the largest, most frequent transactions require community programs like discussion forums and buyer/supplier profile pages to get business done, according to a new online survey conducted by Participate.com, a...

Investment Company Seeks To Purchase B2B and B2C Catalogs.(Penn Capital Group)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Catalog expert Donald Libey has partnered with Industry veterans Kenneth Evans, Jr. and Geoffrey Walker to form Penn Capital Group, a private investment firm interested in the purchase of business-to-business and business-to-consumer catalogs...

Consumers Show Interest In TV-Based E-Commerce.(report from TechTrends Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A new study by TechTrends, Inc. reveals that 46 percent of consumers are interested in TV-based e-commerce services (t-commerce), but interest levels vary greatly among different applications. For instance, while 53 percent of consumers are...

DailyShopper Network Puts Retail Circulars Online.(launches NetCircular)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... DailyShopper, an online promotions network for retail advertisers, has launched NetCircular, a new service designed to help retailers cost-effectively increase exposure for their print circulars on the Web. NetCircular lets retailers display...

Study Examines Gift Buying Behavior On Web.(Forrester Research's "Pulling in Online Gift Buyers")(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A Web retailer's success or failure as a gift-buying destination depends on how well its presence and offerings match what the 20 million online gift buyers expect when they search for gifts online, according to a new Forrester Research study....

New Service Analyzes Efficiency of Teleservices Programs.(Kowal Associates)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... CRM consulting services company Kowal Associates, has launched CCMonitoring, a call center monitoring plan that helps companies analyze and track the progress of teleservices programs. Designed to observe the workings of both in-house and...

Federal Program Cracks Down On Deceptive Mail, Fax and Spam Offers.
March 1, 2001... For the fourth straight year, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (www.fte.gov), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) (www.usps.gov/websites/depart/inspect), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (www.sec.gov) and the National...

Benson Scholarship Winner To Earn M.A. In Direct Marketing at NYU.(Richard V. Benson scholarship goes to Alexis Bonnell)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... New York University's (NYU) Master of Science in Direct Marketing Communications, the first such program in the United States, now has an endowed scholarship program to honor one of the world's great practitioners of direct marketing strategy,...

Roxy.com Offers Instantly Redeemable Online Coupons.(via alliance with OneClip.com Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Online shoppers for personal communications and consumer electronics products can instantly redeem manufacturer-sponsored discounts and special offers through a new ROXY.com and OneClip.com alliance. With patented technology provided by...

Service Measures Time of Shoppers' Online Transactions.(Envive Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Envive Corporation, a provider of e-business performance management solutions, is offering a service that measures how long it takes consumers to conduct complete online transactions including browsing, think time, searching, and adding to a...

Barnesandnoble.com Launches E-Publishing Unit.(dubbed Barnes and Noble Digital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Aiming to grow the market for digital books that can be downloaded and read on personal computers or on handheld devices, Barnesandnoble.com will launch an electronic publishing unit, set higher royalties to attract authors and lower prices to...

Privacy Software Alerts Consumers To Web Bug Surveillance.(Privacy Foundation's software will detect clear GIFs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The Privacy Foundation, a Denver-based non-profit privacy group, is testing a beta version of a browser plug-in that will alert consumers when they are being tracked by invisible surveillance tags. The tracking devices, which are almost never...

Joint Venture To Expand Japanese Loyalty Market.(Customer Loyalty Network K.K. to do business as Netcentives Japan)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Five leading Japanese companies including Itochu Corporation, Dentsu.com Inc., JCB Co., cyber communications inc. and EC-One, Inc. have partnered with U.S.-based Netcentives to form a joint venture, Customer Loyalty Network K.K., which will do...

Postal Service and FedEx Form Business Alliance.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx have formed a business alliance under which the Postal Service will buy space on FedEx airplanes to transport Express Mail, Priority Mail and First-Class Mail and FedEx will locate overnight service collection...

New Service Manages Inbound Customer E-Mail Messages.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Ecometry Corporation's new E-mail Executive module allows companies to efficiently automate the management of inbound customer e-mail messages. E-mail is processed and categorized through the module's automation engine and forwarded to the...

EIN Launches Pan European Internet Portal.(European Internet Network)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The European Internet Network (EIN) has launched an English language Pan European Internet portal, www.EuropeanInternet.com, to provide daily news and information about Europe to Europe's English speaking population. EIN currently operates 13...

Ethnographic Study Examines Consumers' Wireless Use.(of Web)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A global ethnographic study of consumers' wireless use has found that cultural differences, difficulty learning to use devices, and not enough emphasis on the social utility of wireless are keeping the wireless industry from reaching its...

10 Internet Direct Marketing Trends For 2001.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... 1) Customer relationship management will continue to grow in importance; however, heroes will be made of those that can acquire customers profitably; 2) E-commerce pure plays will meet their profitability forecasts in 2001--or go out of...

FTC Targets Data Mining Firms Violating GLB Act.(Federal Trade Commission; Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... The Federal Trade Commission's Division of Financial Practices has launched "Operation Detect Pretext," an effort to protect consumers from data mining firms that obtain personal information from consumers under false pretenses--a practice...

Passing The Torch.(family-owned businesses transferring to next generation)
March 1, 2001... Many successful transitions have occurred over the generations, but a failure to plan for tomorrow could lead to unforeseen problems. Family-owned businesses must plan for an eventual transition from parents to sons or daughters. Family...

The Song Remains The Same.(privacy regulations)
March 1, 2001... In the rear view mirror of history, politics, or sociology, "privacy," as an issue, is a great non-starter. (Part 1 of a two-part series.) The past few years have been good ones for the privacy cottage industry. For 100 years now, each...

Junk Mail, 2001: Physical and Virtual.
March 1, 2001... If, contrary to historical precedent, e-mail does end up replacing physical direct mail, what a world of goofiness we will lose. You just can't beat the physical world when it comes to pratfalls. Direct marketers have adapted to the...

Developing Internet Partnerships.(tips for developing strategic partnerships)
March 1, 2001... The Internet has spawned its own brand of partnering--affiliate programs. To be successful at Internet partnerships, the first step is learning how to pick the right "alliances." B-to-b partnering is not a new concept. Strategic alliances,...

Who Wants To Market To a Millionaire?(techniques for marketing to the affluent)
March 1, 2001... One of my favorite techniques for marketing to affluent people is to offer them something that their money can't buy. It was F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote, "The rich are different than you and me." To which someone added, "Yes-they...

Twelve Tantalizing Tips on Testing.(direct marketing)
March 1, 2001... Answers to your questions about the what, when, why, and how of testing direct mail and direct response ads. Mark Twain once said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." And if you know anything about this distant...

Confessions of a Permission Marketer.(marketing techniques)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Here are two e-mail marketing ideas that seem simple, but are rarely put into practice. In online marketing, e-mail retention campaigns have taken off as the preferred choice for more and more companies- etailers, B2B, in fact anyone who...

Sharpen Your Headline-Writing Skills.(advertising technique)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... There's a book and magazine store in Old Folsom, California, with an amazing selection of old-time magazines. The locals call this section of the city of Folsom "Old Folsom" because the main street, Sutter Street, used to be the only mercantile...

Make Someone Like You.(marketing techniques)
March 1, 2001... "You like me. You really like me!" Sally Field, accepting her Academy Award. Several years ago Lee Iacocca, then CEO of Chrysler Motors, gave a keynote speech to his dealers at their convention in Atlantic City. Here's what he said:...

Slicing & Dicing Your Catalog Sales Results.
March 1, 2001... If you're not calculating sales per book, you're depriving yourself of one of the handiest tools there is for catalog results analysis. Ask 10 catalogers how they analyze their catalog sales results, and you'll get 10 (or 12) different...

Lillian Vernon Celebrates 50th Anniversary.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Lillian Vernon, a leading cataloger and e-tailer of gift, household, gardening, kitchen and children's products, was launched 50 years ago from Lillian's kitchen table in Mount Vernon, New York. Leading specialty cataloger and online...

Shaping the Future of Relationship Marketing.
March 1, 2001... The continually expanding definition of CRM and the many opportunities and pitfalls created by the Internet have caused confusion in the marketing industry. Corey V. Torrence, talks about relationship marketing during this transitional time....

Delphi.com Expands Advertising Opportunities for Online Forums.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Delphi.com, a provider of self-man aged online communities and Web-based affinity groups, is offering a new Web advertising program called OptIn@LogIn. The service presents an opt-in screen that gives participants of online communities the...

MailnetExpress Expedites Direct Marketing Campaigns Via Internet.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Mailnet Services, Inc. (MSI) has launched MailnetExpress, (www.mailnetexpress.com) an Internet-based service that fully automates direct mail, fax and e-mail marketing campaigns, from creative development to final delivery. MailnetExpress...

Advertisers Reach Generation Y Through NeoPets Web Community.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... A new interactive Web community, NeoPets.com, is integrating advertisers' products and messages into the activities and adventures of the site. Users at NeoPets.com interact directly with sponsors' products, characters, and messages for...

Free Business Card Service Now Offered Via Co-Branded Platform.(VistaPrint.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... VistaPrint.com is offering e-businesses a new tool for customer acquisition and retention. Following the success of its free business card service which helped acquire 85,000 paying customers and more than 200,000 registered users,...

Driveitaway.com Partners with Ford to Auction Used Cars.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Driveitaway.com (www.driveitaway.com), the first Web site to focus on dealer to-consumer used car auctions, has expanded its dealer network to include 28 dealerships operated by the Ford Dealer Development group from Maine to North Carolina....

E-mail Service Blends Educational Content With Product Offerings.(Zooba.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Zooba.com is offering consumers a free, opt-in service that creates and delivers weekly knowledge-based e-mails on more than 40 subjects including Great Minds; Food & Cuisine; Destinations; Thinkers & Thought; Fitness, Nutrition & Diet; and...

New Information Portal Examines Voice/Data Convergence.(COMMfusion.com)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... COMMfusion, a technology research, analysis and consulting firm, has launched COMMfusion.com, a new Web site devoted to voice and data convergence. The site will be a source of information on various technologies, including next generation...

People.(appointments and selections in direct marketing)
March 1, 2001... ZAEPFEL TO HEAD SPIEGEL GROUP The Spiegel Group (www.thespiegelgroup.com) has appointed Martin Zaepfel as president, CEO and vice chairman of the board of directors--effective July 1, 2001. Zaepfel, a Spiegel Group board member since 1996,...

Online Rights Exchange Offers New Subscription Model.(RightsCenter Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Rightscenter.com, an online exchange for buying and selling rights, is now offering its services and a new suite of publishing tools to companies who sign up for an annual subscription. These new features benefit multiple departments including...

AutoCheck.com Provides Access To Auto Records.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Autocheck.com is now offering customers instant access to over 1.7 billion automobile records via the Internet. Consumers can buy vehicle history reports to check for possible salvage, flood damage, odometer fraud, and major damage history. ...