May 21

Response April: An Exercise in Synergy

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 SalesScott Berger, and Hulu‘s Michaela Giovengo. THOR AssociatesFern 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 15

Response November: Yellow Boots, the Travel Bug, and the Power of Experiences

Following closely on the heels of my (admittedly quite late) look back at our October issue, let’s take a gander at the November book, which is headlined by a cover feature on well-known shoe and apparel brand Timberland. Our second issue under our sleek new masthead and tagline also features our annual look at the travel marketing space and an update on the technological advances driving the expanding home shopping space. And, as usual, there’s the latest look at media billings statistics, as well as a trove of intriguing thoughts and opinions in our column well. Let’s take a look at the issue’s highlights and how the key stories came together.

  • In early June, I attended an educational session at the IRCE event in Chicago featuring Timberland’s Frank Hwang and representatives of Olapic, an agency specializing in maximizing the effects of user-generated content. Rightfully intrigued by the success of the company’s “We Built It, You Made It” campaign for its iconic Yellow Boot (yes, that’s Frank sporting a pair on the cover), I spoke with Frank and the Olapic team after the session. Upon returning home, I was connected with Nora Garrity, Timberland’s senior PR manager. With Nora’s tremendous assistance, we began to build what became this three-pronged cover feature, which includes interviews with Frank, Mike Isabella, the company’s consumer engagement director (also on the cover), and Jim Davey, Timberland’s vice president of marketing. If you missed the link above, click here for Timberland’s story of using performance-based marketing to promote such a strong brand in this consumer-centric era (and, yes, the headline indeed comes from the classic John Coltrane song/album): Giant Steps
  • One of our key freelancers, Nicole Urso Reed, says urges for one-stop shopping and personalized service are tweaking travel marketing in new and different ways. Yes, the power of the Expedias, Orbitzes, and other all-in-one discounters is here to stay. But discerning travelers are seeking more: more chances to check out reviews and book in the same place (think TripAdvisor); and more opportunities to create their own specialized itineraries with the help of local or demographic experts — think old-school travel agents, but better. Check out the story for more: All-Inclusive Adventures
  • As anyone who’s been around more than a few years knows, the home shopping TV networks are the (still living) ancestors of today’s e-commerce megasites. So, if you thought that QVC acquiring HSN and becoming the nation’s third-largest e-commerce player was the story of the year in home shopping, well … yea, you’re right. But, as usual, freelancer Bridget McCrea digs deeper to find that some of the smaller, more nimble players are driving advances in the home shopping space, particularly through the use of mobile apps and other digital technologies. Here’s that link again: Home Shopping’s Digital Evolution
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research focuses on second-quarter 2017 short-form DRTV research provided by our partner Kantar Media. After ending a bit of a losing streak during the second-half of 2016, the short-form space has continued gaining ground in the first half of this year. As a matter of fact, 2Q results left the short-form market up by more than $327 million during 2017’s first six months compared to the same period of the year earlier. For a full look at 2Q 2017 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: Short-Form DRTV Billings Reach a Year’s Worth of Hikes
  • The November issue also features a trio of solid submissions in our column section:
    • In a strong Media Zone piece, Koeppel Direct‘s Peter Koeppel delivers five suggestions on how to reach the coveted millennial market.
    • In a timely Support Services column, Moulton LogisticsPatrick Moulton says a marketer’s job is only half done when they make it to a home shopping network. With more home shopping outlets now preferring drop-shipping, what do marketers need to know about this particular back-end service?
    • Barbara Kerry‘s Production House column tackles the other end of the generational spectrum, as Script to Screen‘s leader says that TV remains a powerful tool to reach Boomers, who still hold much of the nation’s spending power.
  • Finally, the inspiration for my Editor’s Note column about valuing the power of experiences over the accumulation of things (and what that might mean for marketers) came partly from an October spent attending the National League playoffs and World Series at Dodger Stadium. Though my childhood team (yes, the Dodgers) eventually lost Game 7 of a great World Series to the Houston Astros, the experience of attending all eight of L.A.’s 2017 home playoff games is one that will live with me forever. Reaching consumers’ indelible memories to create an emotional attachment to a brand is a strategy as old as advertising itself (just see the “Mad Men” clip I reference in the column). But what’s different about consumers today? That’s where the column has some thoughts you might carry ahead: Consumers Can Power Campaigns With Powerful Experiences

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Dec 13

Response October: New Look, New Feel, Same Strong Content

Brand, refreshed! Our first issue under our sleek new masthead and tagline — the magazine for media, technology, and commerce — the October 2017 cover features Boll & Branch, the winner of our ninth annual DRMA Marketer of the Year Award. And not only did the magazine get a facelift, so did our website, responsemagazine.com. If you haven’t bounced around the site yet (let’s be honest, this recap’s a bit on the late side), I urge you to do so! The cover story itself includes interviews with the Boll & Branch team, as well as leaders from the other two finalists: Highmark Health and Monster Worldwide. The issue also features our annual look at the automotive marketing space, a dive into the domination of Google and Facebook in digital advertising, and the latest edition of our biannual media buying and planning guide. Want to get deeper into the first issue of Response 3.0 (our moniker for the rebrand project around the office)? Read on!

  • With each of our three nominees for the Marketer of the Year Award having been featured in a cover story during the preceding calendar year, the competition for the 2017 DRMA honor (and second cover feature in Response) was one of the fiercest in years. Of her company’s victory, Cally Everett, vice president of marketing for Boll & Branch, says, “We have always made decisions as a company based on what’s right for us, not what our competitors are doing, and it’s encouraging to see that our approach is resonating with consumers and other marketers alike.” If you missed the link above, read more from Everett, Monster’s Chris Owen, and Highmark Health’s Chris Zdanowski by clicking here: Blanketing the Competition
  • Freelancer Doug McPherson speeds directly into traffic — social media traffic — in his look at marketing in the automotive space. Manufacturers, dealers, and others involved in auto marketing are finding great success online — particularly using Facebook — to reach, groom, and eventually sell to new car buyers. Miss the link above? Here it is again: The Wheel Deal
  • Beyond the shocking stats — such as Facebook and Google owning 85-percent of digital advertising’s growth during the past year — just what is it about these two behemoths that’s drawing marketers to give them so much advertising budget? What can other digital ad outlets do to compete — as Amazon begins to flex its muscles, as well? And what can marketers expect from the digital advertising space in the coming year(s). Freelancer Bridget McCrea digs deep for a few answers that could help. Here’s that link again: The Gigantic Digital Ad Duopoly
  • Freelancer Nicole Urso Reed queries leaders of some of the industry’s key agencies in her latest edition of our ongoing media buying and planning guide. Expansion or consolidation? That is the question. The answer: Both? Neither? Check out the story to find out the latest: Consolidation Rules
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings enter second-quarter 2017 with Response’s own long-form DRTV research. To no one’s shock, the 28:30 space suffered yet another drop: a 4.5-percent decrease that represents the fifth consecutive losing period for the long-form market. Spending was up in the top 30 DMAs, while marketers also invested a bigger share of their pies in the lower-cost satellite and broadcast outlets. For a full look at 2Q 2017 long-form DRTV media billings, click here: Long-Form DRTV Suffers Fifth Consecutive Down Quarter
  • Don’t miss October’s power-packed column submissions, as well:
  • Finally, as you might expect, my Editor’s Note column riffs on the changes represented by this issue of Response. What are we thinking by undertaking this refresh of the magazine and the DRMA and — in the case of our annual event, MTC Expo — full rebrand? How are we hoping our readers, members, and attendees respond? If you missed the link above, here it is: Response Refreshed — Here’s to the New World of Marketing!

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!