Response articles from September 2003

Response archives from September 2003

Industry service becomes less about self-promotion, more about doing hard work.(Editor's Note)
September 1, 2003... "The noblest service comes from nameless hands, and the best servant does his work unseen." --Oliver Wendell Holmes As autumn comes slowly upon us, it's time again for the direct response industry's most important events: the annual...

The 13th Annual ERA Conference & Exposition: September 14-17, 2003: Paris Las Vegas Resort.(Electronic Retailing Association)(Calendar)
September 1, 2003... The Electronic Retailing Association's (ERA) 2003 Annual Conference & Exposition returns to the Paris Las Vegas Resort, Sept. 14-17. The excitement begins on Sunday, Sept. 14 with the annual ERA golf tournament and closes on Wednesday, Sept. 17...

DMA set to debut new Broadcast Pavilion at Orlando event: the association reaches out to DRTV with special section of show floor and expanded track of broadcast-based seminars during Oct. 11-15 event.
September 1, 2003... "There are so many positive changes in how DRTV is being embraced at DMA." So contends Jake Weisbarth, president of DR consulting firm Content=Commerce, co-chair of the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Broadcast Council, and a member...

The DMA Annual Conference & Exhibition: Oct. 11-15, 2003, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.(Calendar)
September 1, 2003... Schedule of Broadcast/Interactive Conference Track Sunday, Oct. 12 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. ITV: The Future of Television? Panelists: Kevin Noonan, executive director, Association of Interactive Marketing (AIM) Marcia Zellers,...

First down for the football network: multi-platform approach builds awareness for programmer.(Cable Network Spotlight)
September 1, 2003... BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Football Network (TFN), founded in 1999, has been gearing up to provide around-the-clock programming on all things football. The network, while downplaying its lack of NFL coverage, fervently believes that many of this...

Recipes for success!
September 1, 2003... Introduction Welcome co the delicious world of the Mercury Media Kitchen. The goal of this publication is to ensure your time on the range is pleasurable, productive and executed in a cost efficient manner. After 15 years of stirring,...

For the record.(Field Reports)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2003... On page 26 of Response's June 2003 issue, the titles and responsibilities of John Bramm and Ruiner Weihofen were incorrect. Weihofen serves as chairman of the Vector Group, which encompasses Vector Direct in the United Kingdom and Holland and...

CPO Direct survey says most cable nets OK special requests.(Exclusive!)
September 1, 2003... What DRTV advertiser doesn't dream of locking fixed schedules into specific programs on a pay-for-performance basis? To get a grip on reality, CPO Direct surveyed 92 cable networks about how they deal with clearances and handle special...

Videa finds swashbuckling success with spots for Discovery Kids.(Response Case Study)
September 1, 2003... "Well, we just decided to go for it. But, man, that bridge was just rocking all over the place. It was wild." On a shoot, those words were not quite the last thing I needed to hear from the driver of the five-ton production truck. "I think...

Members of Blue Man Group transform into 'Chef O'Matics'.(Field Reports)
September 1, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- Three members of the famous Blue Man Group percussion stage performers have shed their patented all-blue on-stage persona to make an appearance in a new infomercial for the Chef O'Matic cooking machine. The show was produced by Las...

Industry legend Mike Levey dies.(Field Reports)(Biography)
September 1, 2003... LOS ANGELES -- DRTV industry pioneer Michael S. (Mike) Levey, creator of the incredibly popular "Amazing Discoveries" series of infomercials, died Aug. 2 after an illness at age 55. Levey, the co-founder of Positive Response Marketing, became...

John Stones, InPulse Response Group.(Response Q & A )(Interview)
September 1, 2003... John Stones is founder and executive vice president of Phoenix-based InPulse Response Group. Recently, Response was able to chat with Stones about his background and what's coming up for the company. Response: How long have you been with...

Jordan Whitney's program rankings.(Research)(Illustration)
September 1, 2003... TOP 10 INFOMERCIALS LAST RANK MONTH PROGRAM HOST 1 6 Bowflex Tom Purvis 2 2 Carleton Sheets Carleton Sheets 3 1 The...

The IMS top 20 DRTV national cable rankings.(Research)
September 1, 2003... The IMS Top 20 DRTV National Cable Rankings LONG-FORM PROGRAMS WEEKS ON RANK CHART SHOW MARKETING COMPANY COUNT 1 549 Carleton Sheets Professional Education ...

From the lab: the anatomy of a marathon DRTV hit.(Research)
September 1, 2003... Have you ever wondered why, oftentimes, five of the top 10 infomercials have been on the air for years? What is it that not only got them there but also keeps them there? This month, TEST Marketing looks at the commonalities among the...

REVShare Search Engine Internet popularity report *.(Research)
September 1, 2003... REVShare Search Engine Internet Popularity Report * NUMBER OF RANK TITLE DISTRIBUTOR SEARCHES 1 Coral Calcium ITV Direct ...

Long-form billings continue growth for the 6th consecutive quarter: health and fitness category sets an all-time high, while the fundraising category bottoms out.(Research)
September 1, 2003... Second-quarter 2003 long-form media billings reported a 6.3-percent increase over 2002's second-quarter figure--pushing the number of consecutive positive growth quarters to six. A record second-quarter low average cost of media facilitated a...

2Q short-form DRTV media billings up 42 percent: entertainment and electronics categories continue to lead growth movement.(Research)
September 1, 2003... Short-form DRTV media billings for second-quarter 2003 reflect a $40.8 million increase over 2002--a clean jump of 42 percent. In the spirit of first-quarter 2003, 11 categories showed gains while only five reported lower figures to 2002. Some...

Siegfried & Roy: the masters of the impossible pounce on DRTV: thanks to Hal Altman of Motivational Fulfillment and Joseph Torkan of Vox Corp., the best of Las Vegas' magical duo is looking to cast a spell on the direct response market.
September 1, 2003... Contemplating Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn--Siegfried & Roy, the famed magicians from Germany who have entertained more than 25 million people in Las Vegas during the past 30-plus years--Hal Airman, CEO of Motivational Fulfillment in...

Reaching our northern neighbors: U.S. DR marketers exploring the foreign marketplace can find success just a stone's throw away. However, understanding import and customs regulations, postal requirements, as well as the media landscape can mean the difference between thriving in a new market and being turned away at the Canadian border.(Response Magazine's Second Annual Canadian DRTV Marketplace Guide)
September 1, 2003... U.S. DR marketers exploring the foreign marketplace can find success just a stone's throw away. However, understanding import and customs regulations, postal requirements, as well as the media landscape can mean the difference between thriving...

Why DRTV works.(Canadian DRTV Marketplace Guide)
September 1, 2003... The following is an excerpt from a new book by Ian French, president of Toronto-based Northern Lights, a full-service DRTV production agency, entitled "But Wait, There's More: A Definitive Guide to Producing Dynamite DRTV." For mere information...

The dollars and cents of it: capital funding for DRTV projects remains slow but steady.
September 1, 2003... All David Mattson really wanted to do was get his innovative music product on television without handing over too much control to a DRTV marketing agency or outside investor. To get there, Mattson dedicated three years to product research and...

Maximizing trade organization opportunities: becoming involved with a trade group can be as easy as attending a show and meeting new industry players: Part 9.(Response Magazine's DRTV Best Practices Primer)
September 1, 2003... At first blush, it would appear that if one joined and attended every trade organization event that surrounds the direct-to-consumer marketplace, they would have no time left to do anything else. How then does one decide which organizations to...

Stilson: celebrating 25 years as DR's quiet dynamo: since 1978, Eric Stilson's Utah-based agency has confounded the bicoastal agency monopolies by quietly producing high-quality brand and direct response advertising. What does the next quarter-century hold?(Special Advertising Section)
September 1, 2003... For the last quarter-century, Eric Stilson has been following the beat of his own drum--and the strum of his own guitar. The musician, CEO and creative director of Stilson & Stilson, the advertising and DR agency he founded in 1978, believes...

Testing, tweaking, retesting, tweaking ...(Media)
September 1, 2003... Since media rates have risen over the years, it has become more difficult for shows to pay out. The reality is that very few shows are an instant hit. Even the most successful direct response marketers often have to go through several rounds of...

'Seasonality' impacts DRTV short-form performance.(Media)
September 1, 2003... In Response's June 2003 issue, part one of this two-part series discussed how HUT levels and rates are affected by seasonality in the short-form DR media market. Now, in part two, John discusses the effects of seasonality on response potential...

Defining objectives--it has to start here.(Media)
September 1, 2003... I always found the best thing about direct response marketing is that everything is held to simple "direct" communication standards. "Create a sense of urgency... give the viewer a reason to respond... have an effective call to action"--all...

Warren Direct brings SCOOTER Store's 'bebop' vehicle to DRTV.(Media)
September 1, 2003... AUSTIN, Texas -- The SCOOTER Store and Warren Direct have teamed to launch the "bebop" personal transportation vehicle (PTV) via a long-form DRTV campaign. Warren will also provide media strategy and buying during the campaign, which rolled out...

E&M Advertising launches MMS Media Management software.(Media)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- E&M Advertising, a direct marketing services agency, announces the launch of MMS Media Management Systems[TM], a proprietary tool to help E&M's clients maximize return on their direct response advertising investments. With the...

Dedicated agents increase product sales.(Support Services)
September 1, 2003... The term "dedicated" connotes many things, all of them positive. In direct response sales, call centers using dedicated agents typically generate higher sales for their clients. In contrast to general agents who take calls on behalf of many...

Moulton adds new client, consolidates promailers into operations.(Support Services)
September 1, 2003... VAN NUYS, Calif. -- Moulton Logistics Management, a 35-year-old, ISO 9002-certified fulfillment house, will provide its range of services to Dosho Design Inc.'s Ab-Lifter Plus. The company also announces the consolidation of Thousand Oaks,...

Controversy continues to swell around national 'do-not-call' list.(Support Services)
September 1, 2003... WASHINGTON, D.C., and NEW YORK -- The New York Times reports that consumers eager to block telemarketing calls overwhelmed a government Web site that began accepting phone numbers June 27 for the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) much-ballyhooed...

Making sense of new FCC and FTC telemarketing and fax rules.(Legal Review)
September 1, 2003... New rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have further complicated telemarketing and fax solicitation activities by businesses. In addition to adopting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) national "do-not-call" (DNC)...

Permission e-mail and banner advertising: 2 great ways to supplement your DR campaign.(Guest Opinion)
September 1, 2003... As postal, media and call-center costs increase, customer acquisition and retention through E-mail messages delivered below one cent per name looks pretty attractive. A 2002 eDialog survey found 82 percent of marketers believe E-mail is the...