When we finished posting the June issue of Response online yesterday, it was a rude awakening to realize I’d yet to recap our May issue here on the blog. With a cover story about e-commerce start-up Touch of Modern, the issue also includes a look at the business solutions space, the spring edition of our semi-annual media buying & planning guide, and our annual Cable Network Directory. Here’s some more on these and a few other items which you should note:

• The cover story on Touch of Modern has its roots in a meeting during the eTail West trade show in Palm Desert, Calif., in late February. There, I connected with the company’s PR lead, Ashley Cummings, and one of its four founders, Jonathan Wu. Immediately intrigued by the 4-year old company’s focus on the online male shopping market and the back story of its four co-founders, I worked with Cummings to bring the company’s VP of marketing, Matt Gehring, to April’s Response Expo as a speaker. At the same time, Cummings was quick to jump on the opportunity when my original May cover story fell through, getting me on the phone quickly with not only Gehring, but two of the other co-founders, Jerry Hum and Dennis Liu. The resulting story touches on some of the most cutting-edge performance-based marketing tactics — and powerful results — that we’ve discussed in Response. If you missed it above, here’s the link: A Modern Flash
• During the past 18 months, our coverage of the business solutions space has mirrored its ascent as a key group utilizing performance-based marketing — recall our cover features on such leaders as Vistaprint, Wix, Boingo Wireless, and Square. This month, freelancer Doug McPherson takes a look at the wider space and how it is reaching and servicing small businesses and consumers alike. Using online and offline media — and relying heavily on the data those interactions drive — business solutions marketers like Weebly and Pagemodo are carving out big time success. If you missed the link above but want to check out the story, click here: A Wiz at Biz
• The spring edition of our ongoing media buying & planning guide feature usually includes thoughts from leaders on the network and MVPD side of the business. And it also includes our annual Cable Network Directory, which shares demographic and contact information from major national TV media outlets with our readers. This issue’s edition is no different. The feature story focuses heavily on changing how changing TV technology, as well as the ongoing presidential campaign, is affecting the media landscape. Meanwhile, this year’s Directory is our biggest ever — nearly 140 outlets are included. If you missed them above, here are links to the feature and to the directory:
  • Seeking Every Advantage
  • Cable Network Directory
• This month’s Field Reports section is notable for its look back at April’s Response Expo. From the opening keynote by famed World Trade Center wire walker Philippe Petit to the closing night soiree at SeaWorld San Diego, we were thrilled to host more than 3,000 performance-based marketers once again for networking, education, and a lot of fun. (Also, don’t miss a chance to look back in the Expo in photos: a 2-page spread on the event makes up this month’s “But Wait, There’s More” section). While I do love holding that printed issue of Response in my hand at the end of each month, when it comes to job satisfaction, there’s nothing like the rush of receiving the personal thanks and congratulations we’ve been lucky to earn through these first 10 Expos. We look forward to returning to San Diego with everyone next April. If you missed the link to the news wrap above, here it is once again: Field Reports May 2016
• Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the short-form DRTV space for fourth-quarter 2015 results. And — like many of you, I presume, when it comes to this market — I’m ready to kiss 2015 goodbye. Kantar Media‘s shift in measuring the Hispanic media space — and the major reduction in estimated Hispanic media spending it engendered — was the overwhelming reason that the year’s results for the short-form space showed a 26.3-percent decrease. In fact, more than $3 of every $4 lost in 2015 was attributed to a major rollback in Hispanic media spending. For a full look at 4Q 2015 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: Kantar Measurement Shifts Push 2015 Short-Form DR Billings Off a Cliff
• Finally, when I wrote my Editor’s Note piece for this issue, I was in a rather bad mood. Fortunately, aside from a single line referring cryptically to the reason for that mood in the story’s next-to-last paragraph, I was able to turn that negative feeling into a positive look at how partnerships can be a wonderful driving force in both our business and personal lives. If you’ve read this piece before reading this post, let me know if you had any idea that I actually was incredibly angry right before writing this column. I’d love to hear about it. If you missed the link above, click here to check it out: The Power of Partnership

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!