Jun 11

Response May: Curiosity, Technology, Humility

Response‘s May issue was a little slow in developing, as we wanted to make sure we got full post-show coverage of MTC Expo included. However, it’s been online for about three weeks and likely landed in mailboxes right before the month’s end. The issue’s cover story centers on an interview with SurveyMonkey‘s Sun Lee. Our biannual media buying and planning guide takes a look at the ad opportunities being created by content providers and distributors in a dawning age of connected TV, and is backed by our annual Cable Network Directory, which features contact and demo info from more than 150 TV outlets. Due to space constraints, our quarterly technology spotlight piece became a Web Exclusive, and is worth a look. Let’s take a deeper dive into how the May issue was built!

  • Our team’s first contact with SurveyMonkey was by freelancer Pat Cauley, who spoke to the company’s Lakshmi Hari for our January issue feature on the digital goods market. When he turned in that story last December, Pat suggested I reach out to SurveyMonkey’s PR team to gauge its interest in a possible cover feature on the company’s recent brand refresh. Working first with Irina Efremova, who passed the baton to Teresa Brewer when she went on leave and eventually connecting with the company’s Jarmila Henn and PR agency Sutherland Gold’s Samantha Spielman, we landed on Lee, the company’s VP of brand experience, as the interview subject. Forthcoming, thoughtful, and circumspect, Lee spent more than an hour answering my questions during a March phone call. What SurveyMonkey is up to using performance marketing tactics to generate leads and build brand is worth a read. If you missed the link above, click here: Curating Curiosity
  • Freelancer Bridget McCrea connected with leaders from DISH, Hulu, MeTV, and Havas Edge for the spring edition of our media buying and planning guide. The usual buzzwords surrounding TV media are here — addressable, programmatic, etc. However, there’s also talk about the growing use of 5-minute blocks, as well as the burgeoning U.S. Hispanic space. Here’s the link, once again: Ahead of the Curve
  • As part of our spring media package, our annual Cable Network Directory — featuring contact and demo info not only from the major cable nets, but also broadcast, satellite, and other outlets — grew to its largest size yet with more than 150 outlets represented this year. It’s a treasure trove of info sure to come in handy for any performance marketer considering TV. Bookmark this link: 2018 Cable Network Directory
  • Artificial intelligence (AI). T-commerce. Voice search. Freelancer Doug McPherson dove into some of the newest technologies being used by marketers and media outlets to expand their reach among consumers. Due to space constraints, the story was held from the print edition, but given its topicality, it’s perfect as a Web Exclusive! The link, again: Tech on Deck
  • Fourth-quarter 2017 short-form DRTV media billings take center stage in our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research. Though the quarter saw a hefty $139.6 million dip,  total-year 2017 short-form results remained in the black, finishing more than $222 million ahead of 2016’s annual total. By finishing the year with $2.85B in spending, short-form DRTV posted its best results in three years. For a full look at 4Q 2017 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: A Fourth-Quarter Dip, but Short-Form Billings Finish Best Year Since 2014
  • John Yarrington and I congratulate Havas Edge CEO Steve Netzley on his induction to the DR Hall of Fame on April 26.

    Don’t miss the extensive MTC Expo recap: here, here, and here.

  • The May issue also includes a pair of contributed columns:
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note column riffs off of our publisher John Yarrington‘s opening remarks prior to the keynote event at April’s MTC Expo. Yarrington spoke about — and showed how leaders — overcome their fears with humility in order to drive change and advancement. The ideas deserve another reflection. Here’s that link to the column one more time: Overcoming Fear, Becoming Leaders

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Apr 06

Response March: Bubbles Only the Beginning of a Bevy of Bylines

Response March 2018Response‘s March Issue debuted in print at our DRMA Chicago Reception on March 12 and was online by that week’s end. After one planned cover story fell out in late January, we did far better than we could have expected while scrambling to backfill: the issue’s cover feature offers an interview with SodaStream‘s Matti Yahav, timely given March’s annual International Home + Housewares Show. Our inaugural commerce spotlight feature — as part of our new editorial calendar focus on quarterly updates on media, technology, and commerce — looks, of course, at Amazon. The issue also offers a story on the latest marketing shifts in the housewares and hardware markets, a Response Advisors’ Forum roundtable about the future of TV, and a DRMA Spotlight story on the changing of the guard at Lincoln Media Services. We also take a look at 3Q 2017 DR radio media billings, and four contributed columns share some solid opinions. Here’s how the issue came together.

  • After losing my scheduled March cover story in late January, I started scouring our research partners’ rankings and listings for recent campaigns having success in the housewares space. We always try to get a housewares marketer on the cover in March due to the Housewares show and our long-term tradition of hosting a networking event during the show. SodaStream was one name that popped up a number of times that afternoon, and after searching for the company’s press releases, I came across a PR contact with a familiar name — Stephanie Goldman of The Pollack Group. Turns out, as Stephanie noted in her quick response to my email query, that the name was familiar because we’d done some work together during her time at Steinreich Communications, another New York-area agency. The good fortune that strikes when you network, eh? Stephanie and the SodaStream team were excited about the possibility and the story is one that ended up focused on the marketer’s brand refresh as an environmentally conscious, healthy sparkling water brand. Before I go on any more, if you missed the link above, click here: A Sparkling Success
  • Freelancer Pat Cauley handled our first commerce spotlight feature, which looks at how different marketers are attacking the opportunity to drive brand and sales on the behemoth that is Amazon. From an independent start-up, to an established As Seen On TV marketer, to a broker that groupsindependent products under its own Amazon shop, the piece shares a bit of what marketers can expect when trying to sell on Amazon today. Want to hear more from these folks? You can, at MTC Expo on Wednesday, April 25 at 3:20 p.m., in a session entitled Making Amazon Work. For now, though, if you missed the link: Unpacking Amazon
  • Our freelancer Bridget McCrea takes a dive into the housewares and hardware spaces — long-time evergreens for direct-to-consumer success. What’s affecting them today? Well, Amazon (of course) plays a
    Raised Chicago March 2018

    The view from our DRMA Chicago Reception on March 12.

    major role, but so too does the country’s real estate and housing boom. What’s working and what’s not? Here’s that link again: ‘Wares in Demand … Everywhere

  • Seven members of our Response Advisory Board responded to a set of questions about the future of television in our first quarterly Advisors’ Forum of 2018. Addressability, shifting video consumption, industry consolidation, SVOD providers’ investments in content — all of these topics and more are discussed in the online version, which features our advisors complete and unabridged answers. Miss the link? Here you go: Far From Crystal Clear
  • With Amanda Jones taking the helm from founder (and father) Gary Jones, the time was right to catch up with the team at DRMA-member company Lincoln Media Services for a DRMA Spotlight story. Gary Jones, who founded the media business two decades ago, is ready to focus on his long-time interest in aviation, but he’s been working with Amanda to prepare her to take the company’s reins for a number of years. What does the transition mean? Find out: From Father to Daughter, 2 Decades of Success
  • Third-quarter 2017 DR radio media billings are highlighted in our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research. For the third consecutive quarter, our partner Kantar Media says the radio space slipped, this time by a surprising 42.6 percent, leaving DR radio with its lowest third-quarter spend in four years. Continuing losses in the local radio sector remain concerning. For a full look at 3Q 2017 DR radio media billings, click here: Third Quarter Is 2017’s Worst Yet for DR Radio Billings
  • The March issue also offers a quartet of contributed columns:
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note column jumps from a pair of divergent customer service experiences during my recent travels. The idea: how one good — or bad — experience can change a customer’s perspective, for a long time to come. Interested? Click here: A Single Experience Can Lose a Long-Time Customer, or Gain a New One

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Mar 07

Response January: Shiny and New for 2018

Response January 2018Yes, it’s March. And, yes, I’m just now getting to my recap of Response’s January Issue. My bad … there have been some crazy times as we close in on MTC Expo next month. However, with a moment to breathe this week, I’m hoping that I can get both this note and one about the February issue posted. January’s book features JamesAllen.com CMO Johanna Tzur on the cover. The story about the world’s fastest growing online diamond and bridal jewelry retailer is an intriguing look at the power of online video. January also finalized our shift to becoming “the magazine for media, technology, and commerce,” and with that, we offer the first of four quarterly features on the media space — this one about the expanding world of digital advertising. We also have a look at the digital goods market and a look back at one of 2017’s biggest editorial projects — one year later — the ever-evolving consumer journey. We also move into 3Q 2017 for our quarterly media billings research, as long-form DRTV takes the stage. I guess what I’m saying is that the January issue is a meaty one. Let’s take a bite out of it.

  • January’s cover interview with Tzur started with a conversation sitting on a pair of upholstered benches in Chicago’s McCormick Place at IRCE last June. Tzur was presenting at the event about JamesAllen.com’s (parent company: R2Net, until the business was bought by Signet Jewelers in September) digital efforts. Following up on that meeting, I worked with Diana Vicinanza of the company’s PR agency, Goldin Solutions, to keep the conversation going. By late summer, we’d agreed on this January spot for the cover feature. In the story, Tzur says, “Today, video is the format that projects greatest authenticity and allows high engagement with our viewers.” But that just scratches the surface of what JamesAllen.com is up to. If you missed the link above, click here: No Diamond in the Rough
  • Beginning with this issue, the No. 2 feature in the magazine will rotate among media, technology, and commerce topics each quarter. Leading off is this media spotlight on the power of digital advertising from long-time freelancer Bridget McCrea. Yes, the combined spend on all forms of digital marketing surpassed that of TV marketing spending for the first time in 2017 (or 2016, depending on who you listen to). But is there a single digital outlet that offers the scale of TV? The answer from our interviewees is a resounding “No!” But that’s not to say they’re not high on what digital opportunities — specifically mobile and social — are bringing to marketers. Once again, here’s the link to read more: The Expanse of Digital
  • As freelancer Pat Cauley notes in the second paragraph of his feature on the digital goods market, “From iTunes and Audible to Netflix and Tinder, digital goods represent one of the most diverse and thriving consumer segments.” Response just started giving the digital goods space an annual look three years ago, but it’s more than deserving of remaining on our editorial calendar in 2018 given both its overall growth and the innovative forms of marketing driving its success. In case you missed the link above, don’t miss it here: Service With a Smile
  • We kicked off 2017 with a four-month series of features on the Consumer Journey — a set of features written by former Response staffer and stellar freelancer Nicole Urso Reed that led directly into a six-session track on the topic at Response Expo last spring. With attention turning to the home stretch of planning this year’s rebranded MTC Expo, it seems only right that we get an update from Urso on what’s new for marketers trying to connect with consumers along that journey. The recurring answer: the growing importance of personalization. Here’s that link: The Personal Touch
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research reaches third-quarter 2017, which means we once again turn our attention to the flagging long-form DRTV space. Long-form’s total of $169.3 million represented the lowest third-quarter total in 21 years and marked the sector’s sixth consecutive losing quarter. However, with pricing continuing to fall — especially in the cable space — the number of time slots purchased jumped nearly 7 percent. For a full look at 3Q 2017 long-form DRTV media billings, click here: Long-Form Billings’ Misery Reaches 18 Months
  • The January issue also features a pair of solid column submissions:
  • Finally, my January Editor’s Note column allowed me the chance to neg on the idea of New Year’s Resolutions AND quote Yoda. Fun? You decide: Measurable Goals — Not Vague Resolutions — Create Success

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!