May 12

Response April: Monsters, Makeup, and Memories

Just days before Response Expo late last month, the April issue of Response hit the web and mailboxes. Before it’s time for the May edition to drop, I finally found a window in the schedule to take a look back at the issue, which features a cover story on long-time job seeking/recruiting leader Monster Worldwide. Additionally, there’s the last installment of our four-part series on the consumer journey, our annual look at the beauty and personal care market, and an exclusive Q&A feature with the seven legends who were inducted to the Direct Response Hall of Fame on April 27 at the Expo. Suffice it to say, it’s a power-packed issue. Here’s more on how it came together:

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Mar 02

Response February: Marketing Adored, an e-Commerce Reward, and Politics Deplored

Response February 2016Response‘s February issue has been live online for about two weeks. With the March issue coming soon— due to some tight deadlines in order for it to reach next week’s Housewares show and DRMA reception in Chicago — now’s the time for a deeper look. With a cover feature on online lingerie challenger brand Adore Me, and additional features diving into e-commerce success, the focus in February clearly was digital marketing. Here are some of the key pieces you should consider taking a look at:

  • My cover story on Adore Me, featuring impressive young COO Romain Liot, grew its roots during some e-mail back and forth with Adrienne Scordato, CEO and founder of Atrium PR, about one of her agency clients. That agency, R2C Group, had been crucial in bringing the online lingerie retailer into offline direct response television. The short-form DR campaign played a great role in Adore Me reaching No. 14 on the 2015 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing companies in America. Adore Me has its sights set on market leader Victoria’s Secret — even hiring one of VS’ top designers to lead its own design department. How did this e-retailer explode on the scene in less than five years? If you missed the link above, click here: Adore Me’s Rapid Rise
  • Following up on our initial foray into the Digital Goods marketplace — those services sold, bought, and used online — last summer, Nicole Urso Reed took an intriguing angle in this update: looking at health and happiness services and apps. From meditation and therapy services to emotional support apps, there is a surprising and burgeoning marketplace of online services available to consumers. If you missed the link above but want to check it out, click here: Health, Wealth & Happiness
  • Global e-Commerce sales are expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2019 — one of many interesting tidbits that can be found in Bridget McCrea‘s look at the latest in e-Commerce. As consumers become more savvy and more comfortable transacting online — most especially in today’s environment, via mobile — marketers and e-retailers are faced with this fact: if you don’t meet your consumer where they want to meet you, you’re not selling them anything. If you missed the link above, here you go: Global Reach, Local Feel
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the short-form DRTV space for third-quarter 2015 results. As the numbers continue to reset and rebound from Kantar Media’s early 2015 methodology change in the U.S. Hispanic market, those results were predictably off — a 24.3-percent overall decrease. But, when you remove the Hispanic space from the mix, the dip among the other four outlets (network, spot, cable, and syndication) was a much more palatable 8.1 percent. For a full look at 3Q 2015 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: 3Q 2015 Short-Form DR Billings Continue Reset After Kantar Shift
  • Finally, in my Editor’s Note, I take a first glance at the 2016 political races and their effects on the media marketplace. With a campaign that already seems interminable — with more than eight months to go until election day on Nov. 9 — it’s hard to imagine that the bulk of what could be anywhere from $6 billion to $11 billion in political advertising is yet to come. If you missed the link above, here’s my take on the topic: Enjoy the Silence? Not Until November 9

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Feb 25

Response February: A Beauty Mask, E-Commerce Vision and Exciting New Research

Response February 2015The February issue of Response went live online early last week and started hitting mailboxes later in the week. Aside from an intriguing cover story on a new beauty product that’s running the DR-to-retail race in reverse, there are a number of other notable pieces in the latest issue. Let’s take a look!

  • My cover feature on illuMask and its founder Jay Tapper came to us from one of the most reliable sources on our Advisory Board — someone who has actually been a part of that group longer than the nearly 14 years I’ve been editor of the publication. R2C Group’s David Savage always seems to come through for us when we’re in an editorial pinch, but this time he actually pitched me the illuMask story well in advance — and it’s a good one. Tapper’s brainchild, the product gained big-time retail traction when it debuted about a year ago with a Facebook-driven campaign in conjunction with major retailers as its only real marketing effort. To expand on that success Tapper’s team at La Lumiere decided to create a short-form DRTV campaign around the product. It’s initial success and the DRTV concept drew a $20 million investment from the VC arm of Johnson & Johnson. It’s one heck of a story, and one that will continue to be told as part of a panel at Response Expo in April. If you missed the link above, here it is again: Behind the Mask
  • As the omnichannel universe continues to make marketing a near-constant effort, our coverage continues to expand and encompass more and more facets of the direct and digital world. This month, that means a feature story that looks at some recent e-commerce campaigns that have used old-school direct marketing tenets mixed with newfangled technology to maximize reach and ROI. These are marketers who are becoming more familiar to those who’ve grown up in the direct response space — Squarespace, MailChimp, Warby Parker and Bonobos — as well as one, Weight Watchers, that’s been a staple but has made some recent tweaks. Old ideas are new again — and new ideas find a home more easily in today’s marketing environment. If you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance to read the story: The Art of E-Commerce
  • DRMetrix LogoThe February issue is also the debut issue for our new exclusive research page provided via a partnership with DRMetrix. Based in Southern California, DRMetrix is attempting not only to fill a void in direct response television research but also to bring TV media research more closely in line with the digital research available in the market. Conversations about what the DRMetrix team was trying to accomplish and how Response could team with it began early last year, and we were intrigued by the possibilities of its technologies. With this introductory piece and DRMetrix’s first snapshot of its research, this month’s debut promises great things to come. Once again, if you missed the link above, click here: Introducing DRMetrix: The Next Generation in Direct Response Research
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings update focuses on third-quarter 2014 short-form DRTV results. While third-quarter’s 4-percent increase was a bit of a disappointment after the year’s first half — and with how dismal 3Q 2013 results were — it does mean that total 2014 results are up more than 8 percent over the first nine months of the previous year.. This is the second consecutive year of losses for the long-form space — unless fourth-quarter results are shockingly good. Additionally, marketers seemed more willing to expand spending on mid-level hits during 3Q 2014 than they have recently, a positive sign for confidence in the industry and the economy. To take a deeper look at 3Q 2014 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: Short-Form DRTV Billings Rise 4 Percent in 3Q 2014
  • As part of my other role in the Response Group — content director of Response Expo — I take notes every time I travel to other trade shows and/or networking events. There are times where events are so disappointingly and poorly conceived in comparison to the needs and desires of their targeted audiences that it truly boggles the mind. That’s the genesis of my Editor’s Note column this month. In it, I ask for reader/attendee feedback on what you’ve seen at Response Expo and other trade shows that works — and that doesn’t work. I’ll also ask the same here: let me know what you want out of an event. If we’re not listening to our customers, we’re not doing our job. In case you missed the link to the piece, here it is once again: Building Better Events Starts With Keeping Attendees Top of Mind

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!