Jul 11

Response June: Magic Minerals, Home Shoppers and Mobile Solutions

Response JuneThe June issue of Response has been available online for just more than two weeks now — but if you haven’t taken a look yet, suffice it to say, there’s plenty of content you might want to take a glance at. Let’s take a look at the issue, including the cover feature on cosmetics industry legend Jerome Alexander, our annual look at the home shopping market and more.

  • With a 40-year run as a leader in the cosmetics world, Jerome Alexander’s history speaks for itself. Whether it’s his track record of placing products in high-end retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, or his recent two-decade run of success in home shopping both in the United States and abroad, Alexander’s seen just about every side of the product and marketing business. And now, after some time away from the U.S. retail space, Alexander has introduced his successful Magic Minerals line in some of the nation’s biggest retail outlets. But the most intriguing facet that I heard when Lindsey Carnett of Marketing Maven PR pitched the story was the reversal of a traditional DR/retail campaign — that is, Alexander gambled on the product’s success overseas and in home shopping to gain new retail acceptance in the U.S. He then began selling his product at retail prior to connecting with a group of industry vendors to create a new DRTV campaign expected to debut later this year. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Finding the ‘Magic’
  • A story that’s been on the editorial calendar each year since I joined Response in 2001, our look at the home shopping space has actually gotten a lot more interesting in recent years. Why? Most likely because the sector’s behemoths — QVC and HSN — are using some of the most creative combinations of TV, traditional online and mobile marketing in the entire world. Not only that, but even niche players like Jewelry Television are also making huge strides to become the “where you want, when you want it” type of online retailer that’s making so many waves today. Want to hear more about it? If you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance: Mobilizing the Home Shopping Space
  • Whether it was a tragic quarter of epic proportions or Kantar Media’s measurement efforts slipped, 2013’s final quarter of direct response TV and radio media billings results proves no better for the DR radio market. Fourth-quarter billings dipped more than 62 percent from the same quarter in 2012 — with almost penny attributable to a shocking loss in the local radio space. Yes, that’s the same sector that had been carrying Kantar Media’s DR radio results for much of the year, causing concern that there might be a blip with Kantar’s local radio reporting for the quarter. Radio’s fourth-quarter troubles were also almost wholly responsible for 2013’s decrease in total billings in the space. For more on 4Q DR radio billings from Kantar and Response, click here: DR Radio Billings Lose Frequency in 4Q 2013
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note begins with a personal story about using mobile technology to help close a sale before pivoting to talk about mobile’s growing importance to marketers, retailers, regulators and — most importantly — consumers. To read my full take, here’s the link once again: Consumers Drag Marketers Into Mobile Future

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Apr 09

Response March: Puck’s New Baby, Billick at Expo, and My Kind of Town

The March issue of Response has been available online for a couple of weeks now, but with Response Expo less than three weeks away, you can imagine how crazy things are around the office! The good news is that I finally found a few quiet moments today to give you an inside look at the issue, including the cover feature highlighting Wolfgang Puck’s new pressure oven, the announcement of Response Expo’s latest top-notch keynoter and more:

  • In late 2013, one of the best PR folks in the biz, Andrea Pass of Steinreich Communications, let drop that she may be able to finagle a cover story for us on Puck, the celebrity chef best known for his legendary Spago in Beverly Hills. Working with Tim Pearson at Direct Holdings Global (formerly Time-Life), the Puck team was about to debut a brand new item, never seen in the housewares world: a combination pressure cooker/oven. Skip ahead to the morning of February 4, and I found myself inside Spago, watching the photo shoot for our cover and waiting to interview Puck for one of the more interesting stories I’ve worked on in some time. Puck was thoughtful, personable and funny — and very well-informed about the business — during our 20-minute chat over an iced green tea (him) and a cappuccino (me). Between the chef (who is also one of HSN’s most decorated product purveyors), Pearson and brand new media U.S.’ Patrick Raymond, who produced the video assets for the DR campaign, this is one of the more well-rounded cover stories I’ve been able to put together in some time. Oh, and the turkey you see Puck pulling out of the oven when you click through to the story? Cooked perfectly — 14 lbs., in just 55 minutes! And quite tasty. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Puck’s Housewares Masterpiece
  • Once again, our Field Reports news section is a hearty one this month, led by a special Q&A with 2013 DRMA Member of the Year Kristy Pinand-Dumpert of Concepts TV Productions in Boonton, N.J. Additionally, the section includes the announcement of our Response Expo 2014 keynote speaker: former Super Bowl-winning football coach and current analyst and speaker Brian Billick. We’re so thrilled to have Billick, a spectactular speaker on teamwork, team building and turning your staff into something greater than the whole of its parts, kicking things off in San Diego on Tuesday, April 29. It’s just one more reason to attend the Expo! If you missed the link above to these two big stories (and more), click here to take a look: Field Reports March
  • Housewares fell on St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Chicago.

    There’s no doubt: 2013 was a down year for direct response TV and radio media billings results. Third-quarter DR radio results continued the trend, slipping a little more than 5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The key: a drop in spending on the top 10 campaigns. Only an increase in spending on lower-end campaigns helped keep the floor from falling out. For more on 3Q DR radio billings from Kantar Media, click here: 3Q 2013 DR Radio Media Billings Slip 5.4 Percent

  • Finally, my Editor’s Note leaned heavily on the industry’s long-term successful work in the housewares space. After all, March means two things to long-time readers of Response: a visit to Chicago’s International Home + Housewares Show, and a great time at our annual DRMA Chicago Reception. The housewares market, much like the healthcare market we covered in February, is clearly one of the verticals that has embraced the combination of direct, digital and data-driven marketing methods with great success. For more of my thoughts, here’s the link once again: Housewares Finds Plenty of Green Using Direct Concepts

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Jan 13

Response December: Christmas Trees, IMS’ Annual Rankings and a Little Bit of AP

Though the December issue of Response has been available online since prior to the holiday break, it’s time for a quick look back before we move along into 2014. Hopefully, if you’re one of our readers, you’ve taken a good look at the issue, but — if not — here’s some back story on the cover feature highlighting Balsam Brands entrepreneur Thomas Harman, as well as a number of the other key pieces in the issue:

  • THOR Associates’ Fern Lee, a member of our Response Advisory Board, can take great credit for the timeliness of our December cover story about Redwood City, Calif.-based Balsam Brands and its dip into the DRTV waters for its Balsam Hill line of high-end artificial Christmas trees. Harman, a business leader with a great entrepreneurial spirit and vision, founded Balsam Hill as an E-retailer in 2006 and saw the company grow exponentially in its early years. But after what might be called a slight misstep into DRTV in late 2012, the Balsam Brands team connected with THOR on a much more well prepared and researched campaign for the 2013 holiday season. If you missed the link above, here it is once again: ‘O, Christmas Tree …’
  • For the 12th consecutive year, IMS has provided its exclusive list of the top 50 long-form and top 50 short-form DRTV campaigns of the year to Response! Once again, health-and-fitness, housewares and beauty products are among the leaders in both categories. The IMS team also provides an intriguing look back at the top 5 long-form products for the past 10 years, and — for the first time — a look at the U.S. Hispanic market. Of course, you’re probably just asking yourself, “Who’s No. 1?” Well, if you missed the link above, click here to find out: The IMS Top 50 Infomercials and Spots of 2013
  • AP’s Bruce and Robin Stone.

    This month, the DRMA Spotlight is turned on Simi Valley, Calif., call center Applied Perceptions. Founded by husband-and-wife team Bruce and Robin Stone in 2001, AP — as they often call it — prides itself on being a profit center for clients, due to its powerfully specialized agent corps and ability to provide both sales and customer service capabilities for marketers of all shapes and sizes. If you missed the link above to this special update, click here: Built From the Ground Up. If you’d like to watch the video interview I conducted with Bruce Stone, click here: DRMA Spotlight Video — Applied Perceptions

  • The 2Q 2013 DR radio media billings results, provided by Kantar Media, finally provided a small ray of hope to what’s been a troubled media landscape throughout much of the year. The market was up an impressive 22.8 percent for the quarter, which made it DR radio’s best second quarter in six years. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: 2Q 2013 DR Radio Media Billings Rise 22.8 Percent
  • My final Editor’s Note of the year seeks to sound a call to marketers across the direct, digital and data-driven landscape to look ahead — not back — and use the power of their position to help drive the new marketing universe. It’s unimaginable to me how often I hear folks in our world yearn out loud for the simpler times of the past — the good old “As Seen On TV” days — rather than focusing on how they can best be positioned to not only take advantage of new technologies to improve their businesses, but actually take their experiences and become the leaders they should be in this new age of consumer-driven marketing. If you missed it above, here’s the link: DR Marketers Must Choose the Future

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!