Direct Response articles from March 2003

Direct Response archives from March 2003

EDITORIAL: Common complaints.(Editorial)
March 12, 2003... Does size matter? It does if you operate in a market where customer churn and prospecting are major concerns. Sectors such as charities and financial services grapple constantly with these issues, maintaining huge databases to do so. ...

NEWS FOCUS: Electoral roll - Affluent ER opt-outs cause concern.
March 12, 2003... There have been mixed reactions to the first indications on the level of opt-out from the new Electoral Roll. There was relief at reports that the overall opt-out rate was a little over 20 per cent of voters, or eight million people,...

NEWS FOCUS: Electoral Roll - ER High Court challenge stalls.(Electoral Roll)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... The legal battle over the use of the Electoral Roll for credit referencing purposes was halted dramatically last month when the plaintiff, retired accountant Brian Robertson, failed to secure free legal aid. Robertson is claiming that the...

NEWS FOCUS: Training - IDM says DM training faces 'funding crisis'.(Institute of Direct Marketing)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Academic training in direct marketing is facing a 'funding crisis' that will lead to a future shortfall in skills. John Watson, senior partner at Watson Phillips Norman and the former chairman of the IDM, told guests at last month's IDM...

NEWS FOCUS: Events Planner.
March 12, 2003... MARCH 2003 4 - The DMA Conference at the IDMF 2003 Venue: Earl's Court 2, London. Visit: www.dma.org.uk 4-6 - The International Direct Marketing Fair 2003 Venue: Earl's Court 2, London. Visit: www.idmf.co.uk 18 - The IDM 2003 Annual...

NEWS FOCUS: Postal Services - Deya pulls out of post race.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... The advent of competition in UK postal services suffered a small setback when Deya, one of the interim postal service licence holders, withdrew its application for a full licence. The company blamed the costs of negotiating with Royal Mail for...

NEWS FOCUS: What's new.
March 12, 2003... Contracts - Database management Jigsaw Consortium, the data pooling joint venture between Cadbury Trebor Bassett, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever, has asked OgilvyOne to provide a range of CRM-related services including data acquisition and...

NEWS FOCUS: Database Analysis - M&S Financial Services to double its data team.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Marks & Spencer Financial Services (M&S FS) is to double the size of its data analysis team as it ramps up its challenge to US charge and credit card competitors operating in the UK. The retail giant is currently seeking database analysts...

NEWS FOCUS: Digital Marketing - B2B firms adopt digital marketing gets.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... B2B companies are now spending 20 per cent of their marketing budgets on digital marketing, according to Interactive Prospect Targeting's B2B survey. But it is the smaller players who are investing the most. The survey reveals that...

NEWS FOCUS: Diary of a Doormat.
March 12, 2003... Simon Antenen, is creative director of brand agency CCHM. He lives in Wandsworth with his wife, a criminal defence lawyer. His interests are Bolton Wanderers and evolutionary genetics. Two unmistakeable signs of recession. One, cab drivers...

NEWS FOCUS: Direct Mail - Direct mail gets COI vote.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... The government was the fastest-growing user of direct mail in 2002, according to figures from the Direct Mail Information Service (DMIS). And it's a trend likely to continue, according to the government's most senior direct marketer. The...

NEWS FOCUS: Exhibitions - IDMF goes online as year-round show.(International Direct Marketing Fair)(International Direct Marketing Fair)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... The International Direct Marketing Fair, the biggest showcase in the UK direct marketing industry's calendar, is set to become a year-round event. Reed Exhibitions, the show's organisers, and Haymarket Publishing, publisher of Direct...

MOVERS: Appointment at Claritas Interactive Europe.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Matthew Kelleher has been appointed as general manager of Claritas Interactive Europe. Kelleher, who launched Claritas Interactive UK in 1999, spent nearly 10 years at Claritas UK, as an account manager, divisional director and commercial...

MOVERS: Appointment at QAS.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... QAS has appointed Nigel Travers-Griffin as European sales manager. He joined in 1994, most recently holding the position of UK national sales manager.

MOVERS: Appointment at Response Handling.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Glasgow-based contact centre Response Handling has appointed John McClelland as executive chairman. McClelland has been VP of worldwide operations for IBM's personal computer arm and global chief industrial officer at Philips. He is currently...

MOVERS: Appointment at Intellidata.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Intellidata has appointed Andrew Haines to the position of IT director. Prior to this, Haines spent seven years at Swetenhams, most recently as head of IT.

MOVERS: Appointment at 2Touch.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Sunderland-based contact centre and fulfilment company 2Touch has appointed Sally Farnsworth as new business sales director. She joins from Thus, where she worked as sales manager for the contact centre solutions team.

MOVERS: Appointment at CCB-Profits.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Sarah Merron has joined subscription and CRM database consultancy CCB-Profits from Data as sales manager. Before this she worked for lifestyle list owner Consodata as customer solutions sales manager. - Send your Movers news and pictures to:...

OPINION: Why DM makes such a soft target.(Column)
March 12, 2003... Check your mailing lists, then 'fess up. Who's been bombarding Michael Meacher with unwanted opportunities to transfer his credit card debts, buy an ISA, and test drive the latest unknown Asian car marque? Someone has to carry the can. The...

How to ... market your brand to children.
March 12, 2003... Given that the average British youth is exposed to 22,000 television ads a year, brand marketing to kids is far from child's play. Martin Lindstrom advises on how best to cut through the clutter. An average British child between eight and...

Legal eagle.
March 12, 2003... Questions on new EU-wide rules on faulty goods, VAT rating for DM materials and direct marketing of financial services are answered by James Milligan. Q: I've been having problems with my local VAT office over claiming zero-rating for my...

Creative masterclass on ... what makes a direct e-mail really deliver?
March 12, 2003... Don't confuse direct mail and e-mail. George Boyter and Nigel Lawrence explain the creative challenges for design and copy that lie in cyberspace. It shouldn't need saying, but let's make one thing clear right away: you can't treat direct...

CASE STUDY: Blockbuster - Fast forward; Building loyalty in video rental.
March 12, 2003... The video rental market is highly volatile: could Blockbuster make any difference with its CRM programme Premier? Simon Clarke reports. The video rental market is essentially flat, with few seasonal peaks apart from the Easter holidays....

DATA CLINIC: Ask the experts.
March 12, 2003... Leading database specialists answer readers' real life data problems. This month they advise on cross-selling, speeding the mailing cycle, attitudinal segmentation and SMS. Our publishing firm runs an outsourced customer service centre. We...

DATA CLINIC: Get connected.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... The Database Group's Mike Wass works hard to keep up with news and opportunities, tracking cutting-edge CRM thinking and digging deep into the latest market research. In my role I have to ensure I keep abreast of all the current issues and...

DATA CLINIC: How to buy ... data processing.
March 12, 2003... Selecting the right bureau can be a real minefield, warns David Laybourne. Get it wrong and you could pay the price in wastage, volumes and response. Separate the wheat from the chaff Sophistication, levels of systems, techniques and...

DATA CLINIC: DataTalk.
March 12, 2003... Sharing a database of transactional information may seem unwarranted, but Dawn Orr believes the improved targeting and better response rates that result will be of benefit to everyone involved. At this year's annual IDM lunch, Nectar...

DATA CLINIC: What I do in data.(Column)
March 12, 2003... How did you get into this job? Looking back, it was a natural transition after I decided not to pursue a career as a professional musician. Both worlds demand creativity, but within a very structured environment. I extended my...

DATA CLINIC: What is ... Fuzzy logic.(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... Fuzzy matching allows identification of things that are similar, but not exactly the same. The information (especially name and address) that marketers have on people often shows slight discrepancies. So fuzzy matching is essential for...

DATA CLINIC: Data Health Check.
March 12, 2003... Johnson & Johnson.MSD Standardised formatting has helped streamline data collection and management on a tight budget. The case Johnson & Johnson.MSD is the UK consumer pharmaceuticals arm of Johnson & Johnson, specialising in...

DATA CLINIC: Case study - More Th[s19]n.
March 12, 2003... The direct sales arm of insurer Royal & SunAlliance had a mammoth legacy integration task on its hands when it embarked on a project to link all its customer data. Simon Clarke reports. More Th[19]n is the successful direct sales arm of...

DATA CLINIC: Technique - Estimating the potential of your chosen market.
March 12, 2003... Both market research and small-scale testing have their limitations when trying to understand the size of a likely market. The key is to combine them with demographic data or segmentation, suggests Kerry Hucker-Brown. Market potential...

DATA CLINIC: A broker's view.
March 12, 2003... Media neutral planning is all very well in theory, but Mark Arnold says one of the first stumbling blocks for most media agencies is their inexperience with direct mail. Media neutrality is the phrase du jour, but, though its objectives...

DATA CLINIC: Which list? A round-up of new or updated consumer, business and online lists.
March 12, 2003... NEW LISTS - CONSUMER ARG Equation For the first time, ARG Equation is making three of its mail-order agency brands (Great Universal, Kays and Choice) available for list rental, together with new direct brand (abound). There will also...

CRM: In search of the single customer view.(customer relationship management)
March 12, 2003... The path to a merged, single-view database may not be smooth, but it's worth travelling, says Noelle McElhatton. The so-called 'single customer view' is the foundation stone of profitable CRM. But the path to merging databases to provide...

IDMF PREVIEW: On with the show.(International Direct Marketing Fair)
March 12, 2003... David Murphy previews the International Direct Marketing Fair, and celebrates its 25th anniversary. The first International Direct Marketing Fair was staged at Quaglino's restaurant in London in 1979, with 14 exhibitors and 620 visitors. A...

IDMF PREVIEW: IDMF 2003 fact box.(International Direct Marketing Fair)(Brief Article)
March 12, 2003... How to register Pre-register by clicking on www.idmf.co.uk. Then use the guide in this issue of Direct Response to plan your visit. When and where Tuesday-Wednesday, March 4-5, 9.30am-6pm Thursday, March 6, 9.30am-5pm Earls...

IDMF PREVIEW: EXHIBITOR PREVIEW.(International Direct Marketing Fair)
March 12, 2003... To help you find your way around the wealth of new products and services on offer at this year's International Direct Marketing Fair, here's a guide to some of the exhibitors arranged by specialisation. DATA & DATABASE SOLUTIONS AFD...

SECRETS OF MY SUCCESS: Marc Michaels, Director of direct marketing, COI Communications.(Column)
March 12, 2003... It was the late 80s and there I was with my first-class honours business degree, the Institute of Marketing diploma, MRS diploma and an art diploma from Goldsmiths. And I couldn't get a job. Then I saw this ad calling for a 'creative marketeer'...