Direct Response articles from March 2002

Direct Response archives from March 2002

EDITORIAL: No tears for Roll's loss.
March 1, 2002... We've grown used to hearing industry figures argue passionately, and convincingly, about the catastrophe that is the loss of the full Electoral Roll. (Can it be almost two years since its death knell was sounded by the Home Office?) It has...

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Postal Services - UK postal competition takes shape.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The first details of how competition will be ushered into the UK postal services market have finally emerged, almost two decades after the notion of competition to monopoly operator Consignia was first mooted. Postal regulator Postcomm has...

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Data quality - DMA B2B list audit service plan is 'long overdue'.(Direct Marketing Association)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The DMA is preparing to launch a business-to-business (B2B) list auditing service - a move that is being welcomed by practitioners as 'long overdue'. Research by the DMA has revealed a lack of confidence in B2B data quality, with the chief...

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Data protection - New data protection course.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A new certificate aimed at helping marketers achieve full data protection compliance has been launched by the Direct Marketing Association. The DMA fears that companies may be unknowingly falling foul of the Data Protection Act 1998....

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Media - Postcards punch above their weight.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... E-mail and SMS text messaging may be the in-vogue marketing tools, but postcards are emerging as a surprise success story. Latest Royal Mail figures show the number of postcards received last year has rocketed by over 11 per cent to 32.6...

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Agencies - Start-ups aim to beat slump.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The first quarter of 2002 has seen the launch of a group of agency start-ups hoping to turn the economic slump to their advantage. The cool economic climate has not put off the formation of Kitcatt Nohr Alexander & Shaw, a full service...

ONE-MINUTE BRIEFS: Industry awaits Roll ruling.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The fate of the Electoral Roll still hangs in the balance as a government statement on its future was postponed for a second time. The statement was due in response to a High Court ruling late last year preventing local councils from...

OPINION: Drayton Bird on ... hiring an agency.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Choosing an agency reminds me of a statement made by a French 19th century wit, Count Montrond: 'Beware first impressions; they are almost invariably good.' So many factors may be involved in the final decision that it can prove something of a...

OPINION: Ken Gofton on ... company names.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... If I'd wanted to be indecently wealthy, I'd have built an agency and then sold it. Of course, getting the name right would be important. Start with my own - Gofton. Flip it around - Notfog. Could be the germ of an idea there, communicating...

HOW TO: How to ... calculate the value of data & databases. Latent value, market value, strategic value or book value - what's your data worth? Tony Lamb navigates through a few of the assessment models.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Databases are now recognised as being the lifeblood and driving force behind modern business. They are not, however, simple things to own. Like a young child, they require lots of nurturing, time and money to allow them to perform to the best...

LEGAL EAGLE: Tracking info on the web - Jodie Sangster fields questions on the legality of cookies and new curbs on using the Electoral Roll.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Q: I'm a retailer conducting a large part of my business through a website. I'd like to use cookies to boost personalisation by storing repeat visitor data. What's the current legal position? A: It is likely that 'repeat visitor data' will...

CREATIVE MASTERCLASS: Selling a good cause - Involvement is crucial to successful fundraising. Anna Jewes and David Burrows reveal how compelling creative can draw in the donors.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Many agency creatives have a love-hate relationship with fundraising briefs. They love the freedom they are given - no product shot, no rate table, no impenetrable 'key features' leaflet - and they love the opportunity to use their skills to...

WHICH LIST?: A round-up of new or updated consumer, business and online lists.
March 1, 2002... NEW LISTS CONSUMER LISTS BrightMinds Educational toy mail order company BrightMinds is releasing its list to the market for the first time, through Isis Direct. Predominantly female aged 30 plus, almost three quarters of the...

ADS ON TRIAL.(Mars, BT Cellnet, Heineken)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Agency creatives give a direct response spin to three high-profile, above-the-line TV campaigns. 1 Client Mars Product Revels Agency D'Arcy Additional activity A viral marketing and radio campaign - using the Russian Roulette theme...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Clients - Skoda UK.(Chris Hawken)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Chris Hawken, marketing director at Skoda UK and the client behind Skoda's recent DMA Royal Mail award-winning DM campaign, is moving to the Continent to take up a management position in Skoda's parent company Volkswagen. He is being replaced...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Agencies - Dunnhumby.(creates ad agency called Cinnamon)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Dunnhumby, the database consultancy majority-owned by grocery giant Tesco, has set up its own creative agency, Cinnamon. Dunnhumby's director of consulting and product strategy, Laura Scarlett, is the start-up's MD. George Boyter, creative...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Agencies - The PHD Group.(forms PHD Confidential)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Media buying agency The PHD Group has set up a direct media buying and planning arm, PHD Confidential. Former Initiative Media communications planning director Simon Foster has been hired as MD. PHD said the move was in response to the growing...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Agencies - The Ashley Bolser Agency.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ashley Bolser, WWAV North founder and a former managing director of ehs:realtime Leeds, is setting up his own agency, The Ashley Bolser Agency

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Agencies - Tullo Marshall Warren.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Tullo Marshall Warren has promoted deputy creative director Daren Kay to creative director, taking on the day-to-day running of the creative department. Jasmine McCorry has been promoted to head of copy, while Paul Tullo moves to the position...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - Claritas.(launches Spectra Europe)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Lifestyle database company Claritas has launched a pan-European division, Spectra Europe, as a dedicated unit for its branded goods and grocery retail services. It has appointed Alison Bate as the division's general manager.

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - Dudley Jenkins.(Sarah Shohaib, Rebecca Miller)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Dudley Jenkins has expanded its list broking division with two new appointments. Sarah Shohaib joins as a broker in the international division from Business Monitor International, where she was marketing manager. At the same time the company's...

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - Broadsystem.(Caroline Worboys)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Caroline Worboys has been promoted to deputy MD of outsourced contact centre provider Broadsystem. Worboys takes on the day-to-day running of corporate client business while retaining responsibility for marketing and new business.

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - The Preference Service.(Thomas Adalbert)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Thomas Adalbert has become MD at lifestyle data company The Preference Service. Adalbert was TPS's sales director. He takes over from Bryan Cassady who is now focusing on TPS's overseas development.

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - Kensington House Group.(Jerry Smythe)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Jerry Smythe, former commercial director at TeleDynamics, has joined DM services provider Kensington House Group as group sales director.

MOVERS & SHAKERS: Suppliers - MRM Promotional.(hires Lynn Wood)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Promotional fulfilment and telemarketing company MRM Promotional Services has appointed Lynn Wood to its board as new business director. Wood has held promotional handling roles at Granby and McIntyre & King.

ASK THE EXPERTS.(managing direct marketing databases)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... What does an M-coupon campaign involve? A good example of a M-Coupon campaign is the Carlsberg promotion at Punch Pubs that centred around England's World Cup qualifier matches. Customers texted into a number that was advertised on banners...

SELF IMPROVEMENT: My best lesson.(direct mail marketer emphasizes importants of testing decisions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Having spent so many years in the DM industry, it's hard to know just what to highlight. After some deliberation I'll share an example that I can sum up in just a few words. Never forget to test everything. When Response Direct Publishing...

SELF IMPROVEMENT: Courses & seminars.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... March 2002 5-6 March Successful Creativity Venue: IDM, Teddington. Visit: www.theidm.com 6 March Digital marketing: the legal issues Venue: IDM, Teddington. Visit: www.theidm.com 7 March Statistics and testing Venue: IDM, Teddington....

SELF IMPROVEMENT: Course review - Tactical telemarketing.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Most of us have been the victims of unwanted, badly targeted sales calls, but we all know how effective telemarketing can be when it's done properly. It is not the easiest to get right, however, which is why the delegates of this...

DATA POOLING: Taking the data plunge - Pooling is one answer to diminishing data sources. Noelle McElhatton looks at how and why mail order clients have embraced the concept.
March 1, 2002... For many clients data pooling is one of those idealistic concepts that seems fine in theory, but dangerous in reality. Why should any sane commercial company part willingly with as core an asset as a customer database, so that it can be...

CUSTOMER MAGAZINES: Magazines make their mark - Customer titles create a context for brands that can lift retail relationships to a more interactive level. David Murphy explains how.
March 1, 2002... Customer publications have come a long way since the days of the four-page newsletter. Among the converted, customer magazines have extraordinary power as a communications tool that delivers returns for clients prepared to invest in them. ...

FIELD MARKETING: Field force - Field marketing has cast aside its second-class image and emerged as an integral ingredient of the multi-channel drive, says CPM's Tom Preece.
March 1, 2002... Response matters to all marketers. But as traditional media response rates start to fall, many marketing professionals are re-evaluating their tried and trusted routes to market and seeking new ones. Step forward field marketing, once the...

THE MARKETING EXPO 2002: Marketing Expo 2002 - Newly renamed and uniting four key events, Marketing Expo is now a fully-integrated show Claire Sames reports.
March 1, 2002... Direct marketing specialists are gearing up for Marketing Expo 2002, Europe's largest direct and relationship marketing event, which takes place from March 12 to 14. For the second year running, the event will be held at Excel, London's...

THE MARKETING EXPO 2002: Speaker preview.
March 1, 2002... Recycling data requires nothing more than a little legal know-how Shelagh Gaskill looks at your rights. The beauty of information is that it is never consumed. Different organisations can take the same piece of information, add their own...

THE MARKETING EXPO 2002: A-Z of Exhibitors.
March 1, 2002... 1 Stop Data Stand: 4710 3M United Kingdom Stand: 4500 494 Stand: N8110 A1 Envelopes Stand: 5302 Absolute Data...

THE MARKETING EXPO 2002: Exhibitor preview - Just a sample of the hundreds of new products and services on offer from exhibitors at The Marketing Expo 2002 at ExCeL, London between 12 and 14 March 2002.
March 1, 2002... DATA & DATABASE SOLUTIONS Absolute Data Solutions: Stand 4720 Absolute Data Solutions offers targeted data supply, telephone numbering, name and address cleansing and suppression services. Acxiom: Stand 6516 Acxiom will be...

SECRETS OF MY SUCCESS: Steve Aldridge, Creative partner, Partners Andrews Aldridge.(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
March 1, 2002... I wasn't the sharpest pencil in the pencil case at school. I was good at football and art, not a recipe for success, particularly when it was a Welsh school and they only played rugby. My first experience with commercial art was doing other...