Tag Archives: Dick Wechsler

May 21

Response April: An Exercise in Synergy

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Landing online just prior to last month’s MTC Expo, Response‘s April issue was chock full of the kind of editorial tie-ins that we’re happy to feature at that event. The cover story — an interview with the Safelite Group‘s Renee Cacchillo — was backed in San Diego with an appearance by Bruce Millard, Safelite’s VP of digital and customer innovation. A media spotlight feature on TV’s advancing technology includes thoughts from three more Expo speakers: Nutrisystem‘s Lauren Mitchell, DISH Media Sales‘ Scott Berger, and Hulu‘s Michaela Giovengo. THOR Associates‘ Fern Lee — who took the Expo stage twice in San Diego, once as a moderator and once as an inductee to the DR Hall of Fame — and Koeppel Direct‘s Peter Koeppel (who helmed a sponsored DRMA Learning Annex session) serve as sources for our story on the financial services marketing space. And, speaking of the Hall of Fame induction, which took place on April 26 in San Diego, our fourth feature in this issue is a roundtable featuring all seven 2018 inductees. Looking for more information on how this issue came together? Read on!

  • The genesis of what became the cover story on Safelite — c’mon, sing the jingle with me … “Safelite repair, Safelite replace!” — was an email conversation with the company’s PR contact in the run-up to Response Expo 2017. Yes, sometimes the process takes a bit. After letting the contact go cold until last fall, I reached out to a new Safelite contact, Katie Salvator. Prior to her departure from the company earlier this year, not only did Katie work hard to get me squared away for this interview with Renee, but also got the ball rolling on bringing Millard in to speak at the Expo. As we went through the process, the company’s director of communications, Keriake Lucas, also jumped in to lend a helping hand. The whole team at Safelite was outstanding to work with and Cacchillo provided incredible depth to her comments during the interview. All in all, it’s one of my favorite pieces of the past year. If you missed the link above, click here: A Clear View
  • Freelancer Bridget McCrea handled our 2Q media spotlight feature, which dives into the expanding world of TV and how consumers’ demands on marketers — and those delivering content — are driving technological change. With thoughts from marketers, media agencies, technology providers, and media outlets, the piece gives a decent snapshot of some of the options out there for marketers today — and what’s coming in the near future. That link, once again: Expanding Technology, Demanding Viewers
  • New to our freelancer team, but not the industry, Ian Murphy was a natural for our look at performance marketing in the financial services space. Banks, insurance, and other FS marketers have been long-time leaders in using the full array of performance media, and as technology accelerates change, these marketers remain at the forefront. Here’s that link again: Everything, All the Time

  • Dick Wechsler, Cathy Mitchell, Fern Lee, Keith Mirchandani, Steve Netzley, Colleen Szot, and Hal Altman celebrate their Hall of Fame induction on April 26.

    Freelancer Doug McPherson connected with all seven members of the 2018 DR Hall of Fame induction class for a special roundtable discussion. The stellar group includes Hal Altman, Fern Lee, Keith Mirchandani, Cathy Mitchell, Steve Netzley, Colleen Szot, and Dick Wechsler. The event on April 26 in San Diego featured an hour-long roundtable similar in vein to this story, as well as the sun-dappled induction event — the first time all living members of an induction class actually made it to the induction ceremony! Want to hear from these legends, but missed the link above? Here you go: A Scintillating Septet

  • Not only is Cannella Media‘s Tony Besasie a veteran Response Advisory Board member, but he’s also one of the more thoughtful media executives out there. In his company’s latest DRMA Spotlight story, Besasie riffs on “video everywhere,” attribution, data science, and the expansion of opportunity to sell products and services directly to consumers. Want more? Here you go: Leading the Evolution
  • Fourth-quarter 2017 long-form DRTV media billings are highlighted in our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research. The quarter’s $6.6 million decrease left total-year 2017 results $67 million (or 7.9 percent) short of 2016’s long-form spend. That percentage decrease is the worst since a 9.5-percent drop in 2014 — and the loss means that long-form DRTV’s market has decreased in 10 of the past 11 years. For a full look at 4Q 2017 long-form DRTV media billings, click here: Long-Form Billings Wrap Another Tough Year
  • The April issue also includes three contributed columns:
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note column was written for the folks who joined us in San Diego, and leads with last summer’s conception of “MTC Expo.” Nine months in the making, the event ended up being as seamless from our perspective as any we’ve run during the past dozen years. And, by and large, the attendee feedback has been outstanding. If you were on hand and we haven’t chatted since the show, don’t hesitate to drop a line with your thoughts — good, bad, or otherwise. We always love hearing from our attendees. It’s the only way we can keep improving. Here’s that link to the column one more time: See You in San Diego … at the Intersection of Media, Technology, and Commerce

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Dec 31

Response December: Subaru’s ‘Love,’ Programmatic Pragmatism, and TV Media Highlights

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Response December Issue On the last day of 2014, I have some free time to pull together one last Response issue recap post. Our December issue went live online the weekend before Christmas and features a cover story on a major automotive marketer using direct, digital and data-driven tactics, as well as our new 2015 Media Timeline. While most of you are rightfully celebrating the holiday season (as I’ve been for most of the past week) and haven’t had the chance — or even the inkling — to check out the issue, here’s some of the back story on what’s inside!

  • Late in the summer I received an outreach from Diane Anton, corporate communications manager for New Jersey-based Subaru of America. The note was about the debut of the new Outback and the marketing campaign surrounding it, including a pair of new TV ads. Anytime a marketer as big as Subaru directs outreach to Response I know two things: 1) our message really is getting out to the right marketers; and 2) I will respond to that note ASAP. After a couple of calls with Diane — who was just a great pleasure to work with throughout the process — we were set for a cover feature with the automaker’s vice president of marketing Alan Bethke. With an interview and cover photo shoot that came together during the fall, the Subaru team was on top of everything we needed and was rather open about how crucial the digital and data-driven aspects have become in their successful “Love” campaign. If you missed the link above, here it is again: The Greatest ‘Love’ of All
  • Programmatic. If you work in marketing and advertising, 2014 was the year that you suddenly could not escape that word. And while it’s become a huge factor in digital media, there is still a lot of speculation on how programmatic media buying will affect the television industry. Heck, there is still a lot of speculation about what the word (and the concept) “programmatic means. We pulled together four experts from various sides of the television media world to give their insight on what to expect in 2015 and beyond. If you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance: Programmatic Proliferation
  • During a breakfast in New York City in June, Dick Wechsler, leader of DR industry media buying agency Lockard & Wechsler Direct, first planted the seeds of a possible 2015 Media Timeline in the pages of Response. His thoughts — and those of Eddie Wilders, the LWD vice president who eventually worked on the piece with us — about the annual TV events that affect the average media buyer’s day-to-day efforts eventually evolved into the 4-page spread you see in this month’s issue. We’d love feedback on this piece, as we are considering making some version of it an annual occurrence in our pages. If you missed the link (to the opening spread in our digital edition — the best way to display the feature online), click here: 2015 Media Timeline: Following the TV Trends
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings update focuses on second-quarter 2014 DR radio results. After an outstanding second-quarter one year ago, DR radio’s 2Q 2014 results took a step back, more closely mirroring results in other recent April-June stretches. The network radio outlet faltered heavily during the quarter, leaving it almost wholly responsible for the $2 million total loss during the measured timeframe. To take a deeper look at 2Q 2014 DR radio media billings, click here: 2Q 2014 DR Radio Media Billings Slip $2 Million
  • Using January’s huge CES show (and our annual December feature on the consumer electronics space) as a jumping-off point, my Editor’s Note column talks about the divide between supporters of traditional — and even older forms of digital — media and the true believers in mobile media outreach. As usual, in any black-and-white debate, the truth about what will work best for marketers lies between. To read the column, here’s the link once again: Finding the Grey Areas Where Successful Campaigns Reside

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response! Happy New Year and all the best in 2015!

Apr 24

Response April: The Energy of Qunol, Legendary Wisdom and Laurels for Long-Form

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Response April 2013The April issue of Response has been available online since early this month, but with the wear and tear of Response Expo, followed closely by last weekend’s run to the Coachella music festival in the desert, time’s been tight for updates! However, the April issue did feature an up-close look at a supplement marketer that’s gone from invention to top-5 in-category at Wal-Mart in just five years, as well as personal thoughts from six of the nine inductees in the inaugural class in the Direct Response Hall of Fame – among other stories. Let’s take a look at those and some of the other key pieces in the issue:

  • Our cover feature on top-selling supplement Qunol and its parent company’s leader, Peter Boutros, was part of a true package deal for attendees at Response Expo earlier this month. While working on a special panel on using DR to create retail success with Lockard & Wechsler Direct‘s Dick Wechsler, he mentioned Boutros as a possible speaker. Peter graciously accepted and, after learning more on the background of Quten Research Institute and its use of DR to drive retail – and retail only – for Qunol, it was clear that this was the perfect combination of product and person to highlight in this new era of direct response. In the coming days, when the audio from each Expo session becomes available at ResponseExpo.com, I’d urge you to seek out his session. Until then, here’s the link again, if you missed it above: Energizing Qunol
  • We were extremely proud to induct our inaugural class into the brand new DR Hall of Fame on April 4 in San Diego. As part of the coverage, we were able to catch up with six of the nine legendary members of the class in a very special Q&A about their histories in the business, what makes direct response marketing special and their thoughts on where DR goes from here. This story is a “can’t miss” for anyone who fashions him or herself a DR expert. If you missed the link above, click here: Pearls of Wisdom
  • In DRMA news, the newly rebranded Monarch Direct Response is in the Spotlight this month. Since leaving Mercury Media to form Media Stream Direct a few years back, industry stalwart Eitan Cohen had built his company into one of the most competitive DR media agencies in the biz. To reflect that growth – and the level of service his clients have come to expect – Cohen and his team decided to rename and rebrand the company last month. If you missed the link above to the Spotlight feature, click here: A New Reign
  • Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results circles back to long-form DRTV billings’ 4Q 2012 results, which were cause for excitement, as the quarter’s negligible loss helped the final overall total reach $1.05 billion, marking the first year-on-year rise in the long-form space since 2006. Healthy competition for half-hour space, and the continued rise in 30-minute pricing – especially in the cable world – were the main drivers for 2012’s long-awaited results. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 4Q 2012 Results Clinch First Annual Jump Since ’06
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note welcomed our 3,000 attendees to San Diego for Response Expo 2013, which was in full swing just three weeks ago (it already seems so long ago). We’re so thankful to all of our, advertisers, readers, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees for making the magazine and the Expo the consistent successes they’ve been over the years. From our operational perspective, the 2013 Expo was the smoothest ride yet in the seven years we’ve hosted the event – and much of the credit for that goes to our small but committed staff. We hope that your experience – if you joined us – was not only glitch-free, but fun and fruitful. And we’re looking forward to doing it all over again next April 29-May 1! If you missed the link to my the column above, here it is once again: Who’s In? At Response Expo 2013, Anyone and Everyone

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!