Aug 12

Response July: Zumba’s Success, Processors Profess, Billings Recess

Response JulyMuch to the dismay of our error-prone printers, the July issue of Response has been available online for more than two weeks now, though I know it just started hitting many of your mailboxes last week. Let’s take a look at the issue, including the cover feature on the geniuses behind fitness behemoth Zumba, our annual look at the entertainment market and more.

  • When Alberto Perlman teamed with legendary trainer Beto Perez and fellow entrepreneur Alberto Aghion in 2001 to bring Perez’s workouts from their birthplaces of Colombia and South Florida to the world, there was no way they could have known that Zumba Fitness would become the world’s largest fitness brand. But, it has — with customers in 180 countries, more than 25 million DVDs sold and more than 200,000 fitness locations worldwide offering Zumba workouts. It’s also been a story I’ve been digging to tell in the pages of Response for some time now. Finally, thanks to Brian Comstock, the company’s DR marketing guru, and Aly Robins, its PR leader, we were finally able to track down the fast-moving Perlman for this exclusive feature. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: The Zumba Revolution
  • As the average consumer’s options for entertainment expand — all the way to watching (and perhaps buying from) an online video on the smartphone in the palm of your hand — the options that same expansion have given marketers have served only to add to the fragmentation of the consumer base? What to do? Well, no one has all the answers, but Pat Cauley put together a strong piece for us that touches on multi-screen engagement, content distribution and data management. If you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance: Entertainment Epiphanies
  • Our DRMA Spotlight feature returned in July — after a brief hiatus — as payment processing leader Vantiv opted to tell its story to fellow DRMA members and Response readers. Elizabeth Rector, Vantiv’s senior vice president and general manager, spoke about the 40-year-old business, perhaps best known to our readers as the company that bought long-time direct response processing leader Litle & Co. about two years ago. For more on Vantiv and its focus on customer service and technological solutions, click here: The Vantiv Advantage
  • Hopes for a flying start in 2014 media billings results didn’t last long. Unfortunately, first-quarter 2014 direct response TV and radio media billings got off to another slow start — after a generally dismal 2013 — in the long-form DRTV market. First-quarter billings eerily mirrored results in 1Q 2013, as the long-form space lost $24.2 million (9.2 percent). This drop caused 1Q long-form billings to slip below the quarter-billion dollar mark for the first time in 10 years. Positives were limited — time slots purchased only fell by 1.1 percent, as the cable market rebounded from some of its 2013 issues — but we won’t know what direction the long-form space is truly headed until 2Q results come in. For now, to take a deeper look at 1Q 2014 long-form DRTV billings, click here: The Struggle Continues for Long-Form in 1Q 2014
  • Finally, this issue includes various takes on the role of payment processors in the direct, digital and data-driven marketing space (beyond the DRMA Spotlight on Vantiv, there was also a short feature on the space, as well as a column about fast-paced changes in processing). Therefore, it should be no surprise that my Editor’s Note touches on the truth that “if consumers know about your payment processor … something’s likely gone wrong.” To read my full take, here’s the link once again: Wherever the Order Comes From, It’s Still About Getting Paid

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Aug 23

Response August: Annuity.com, the ‘Super Feature’ and Short-Form Struggles

Response August 2013The August issue of Response has been available online for a couple of weeks now. Hopefully, if you’re one of our readers, you’ve taken a look at it, but — if not — here’s some back story on the cover feature on Annuity.com and Bill Broich, as well as a number of the other key pieces in the issue:

  • August’s cover feature on Annuity.com returns the magazine to one of the evergreen spaces in the new world of direct, digital and data-driven marketing: the financial services sector. Thanks to the team at Karlin+Pimsler — the creative agency that built Annuity.com’s short-form TV campaign — and its PR agent, Lauren de la Fuente, I was able to connect with Annuity.com’s co-founder Bill Broich. The company’s story of educating consumers about annuities and driving responses to the right agents is an intriguing one for any marketer interested in using direct response. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: A Safe Boom
  • Every August, we include a feature that, way back when, we used to refer to in-house as the “Support Services Super Feature.” Today, this compendium of information about the goings-on in the teleservices, fulfillment and payment processing corners of the marketing world is known as the “Annual Support Services Update.” I know, I think “Super Feature” sounds kind of awesome in retrospect, too! In any case, we canvassed some of the leaders in this space about what’s hot and new in 2013. As usual, for these oft-forgotten services, there is much to learn for marketers and front-end agencies alike. If you missed the link above, here it is: Powerful Triad Helps Create Successful Direct Campaigns
  • The bad news continued in our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results. Taking a look at short-form DRTV billings’ 1Q 2013 results, a $185 million loss (17.5 percent) from the same quarter a year previous is obviously not the way the market wanted to kick off the new year. Falling below $900 million in total billings, the short-form market finds itself in a spot it hasn’t since 2006. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: Short-Form DRTV Billings Crash in the First Quarter
  • My Editor’s Note circles back to the power financial services marketers are wielding in the direct, digital and data driven space. Beyond the Annuity.com cover story and the financial services market feature in this issue, Response has featured financial services marketers — like this one and this one and this one — on its cover time and again in recent years. What does it all mean? If you missed the link to my the column above, here it is once again: Financial Services Marketers Lead the Way Into New Era

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!