Dec 01

Response October: Better Late Than Never

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Response October 2016Considering that Response’s November issue hit the web and mailboxes in the past two weeks, you’d be right in thinking, “Why’s he recapping the October issue now?” I’ll tell you this: it isn’t for lack of effort. Things have been crazy around the Response offices of late: our new DRMA Committees are in full swing, planning for Response Expo 2017 is underway in earnest, and preparation of our annual Preferred Partner Directory for its December debut was, as always, time-consuming. Today, though, I finally found some wiggle room to dig into an October issue that featured the winner of the eighth annual DRMA Marketer of the Year Award, the second part of our biannual media buying and planning guide, a look at the automotive marketing scene, and more. Read on to look back:

  • In one of the closer races in the eight-year history of the competition, Nutrisystem was announced as the winner of the 2016 DRMA Marketer of the Year Award on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Vistaprint finished second in the voting, with Adore Me, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and AIG finishing behind them in that order. Stacie Mullen, Nutrisystem’s vice president of celebrity management, was on hand to accept the award — and could not have been more personable and thankful. And she was outstanding to all involved while posing for the cover story photography with Vistaprint’s Peter Tardif and others while overlooking the Vegas Strip from Drai’s Rooftop Nightclub at The Cromwell. For more on the competition — and the victors — and if you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: A Big Victory — by the Slimmest of Margins
  • Freelancer Doug McPherson took on our annual look at the automotive market. And while high-tech, performance-based tools like augmented reality (AR) and interactive games are taking hold — which makes sense as an intriguing adjunct to the traditional test drive —a number of those in the space, from car manufacturers to car dealers and aftermarket goods marketers — are still finding success with more traditional media. Even print! Here’s that story link again: Fueling Sales
  • Expanding TV technology. Video content everywhere. Second-screen messaging. Expanding mobile response. In the second media buying and planning guide feature of 2016, long-time contributor Nicole Urso Reed queried leaders from the agency side of the business about key 2016 topics, such as the effects of political and Olympic advertising, and what’s coming in 2017 and beyond. Technological shifts that impact the empowered consumer’s journey to purchase lead both the challenge and the opportunity lines. Just in case you skipped the link above: Rolling With the Changes
  • In the third of our series of features on the back-end vendor services space (in August, we touched on payment processing, with teleservices covered in September), our Doug McPherson spoke with a trio of leaders in the fulfillment space. Talk about a business that’s changed — especially thanks to consumers’ Amazon-driven expectations for immediate delivery, constant communication, and easy returns. Read more about the current state of fulfillment here: Providing Product
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the long-form DRTV space for second-quarter 2016 results. For the first time in a year, long-form suffered a (minor) setback, dropping $11.4 million from 2Q 2015 results. However, much of that decrease can be attributed to a continuing decline in cable outlet pricing — and who, on the agency side, is complaining about that? In fact, total time slots purchased were up 8.4 percent, while spending in the top-30 DMAs also jumped. For a full look at 2Q 2016 long-form DRTV media billings, click here: Long-Form DRTV Billings Send Mixed Messages in 2Q 2016
  • Other key items in this month’s issue include:
    • A DRMA Spotlight story on Z Living, and its expanded slate of new programming designed to reach key demos across an array of platforms.
    • The But Wait, There’s More page features a bevy of photos from the packed DRMA Marketer of the Year event in Las Vegas.
  • Finally, the topic for my Editor’s Note column was a no-brainer: the October issue is the first of Response‘s 25th year in business. And while I was a junior in college when that first issue published in 1992, it almost feels like I’ve been here the whole damned time. Mostly, though, it felt like a time to reflect on that history, my role in it, and my goals each day. If you missed the link above, here it is: Happy Anniversary to Us!

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Oct 05

Response September: Supplements and Subscription Boxes Shed Light on Shifting Marketing Philosophies

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Response September 2016Two weeks ago, Response’s September issue hit the web — after initially debuting, in print, at our DRMA Marketer of the Year event in Las Vegas on Sept. 14. Today seems like a good time to look back on the issue and dig into the particulars surrounding some of the key stories. The issue is led by a cover feature on health-and-wellness supplement marketer NutraClick and its Harvard-educated CMO, Patrick Carroll. The issue also features our annual look at the consumer packaged goods market, our 21st Annual State of the Industry report — featuring insight from members of the Response Advisory Board, and a feature touching on the latest trends affecting teleservices providers. Read on for more:

  • The name Patrick Carroll first popped into my consciousness in late 2015, on a call with Rus Sarnoff of Integrated Marketing. Rus has been a huge help for the Response team in planning and prepping our educational sessions at Response Expo for most of the past decade — in fact, along with Greg Sarnow, he’s the co-chair of our new DRMA Education Committee. Rus mentioned NutraClick and Patrick during a planning call for this past April’s Expo, and he was very passionate about Patrick’s capabilities both as CMO of NutraClick and as a possible speaker. I spoke with Patrick and Shannon Costello, the PR contact at NutraClick in early 2016, and though we didn’t have a fit for him on our main educational stage, we were able to place him on our sponsored Pre-Show Intensive panel. And, I must say, Rus was right — Patrick is as knowledgeable and thoughtful as they come. Once the Expo was over, it was just a matter of time before we slated NutraClick for a cover feature on its outstanding omnichannel marketing efforts for its successful products like Force Factor and ProbioSlim. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Tipping the Scales
  • Another annual staple, our feature what’s new in the consumer packaged goods space jumps full speed ahead into the burgeoning “subscription box” space. From cosmetics to razors to baby supplies — and more — delivered-monthly subscription boxes are changing the game in the CPG space more than just about any other vertical. Our Nicole Urso Reed focuses on three key marketers having success in these new models. Here’s that story link again: Delivering a Brand New Package
  • In our 21st Annual State of the Industry Report, 10 members of our Advisory Board took part in answering more than 15 questions about the present and future of performance-based marketing. The new realities of an omnichannel marketing world, expanding consumer control of the marketing funnel, how marketers can attribute sales to a specific marketing outreach, and the future of TV/video content — and advertising’s place in it — are just a few of the topics tackled. Bonus: the online version includes the full and unabridged answers from all of our board members who took part — an impossibility in our limited print pages. Just in case you skipped the link above: Response Magazine’s 21st Annual State of the Industry Report
  • In the second of our series of features on the back-end vendor services space (last month, we touched on payment processing, with a fulfillment feature slated for October), our Doug McPherson spoke with a trio of leaders on the teleservices side of the business. With how consumers can respond to marketing messages shifting heavily toward the web, teleservices providers are getting more specialized when it comes to serving as order centers, while — at the same time — expanding their customer service capabilities to respond to the growing “click-to-call” mobile response universe. Read more about the current state of teleservices here: Getting the Call
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the DR radio space for first-quarter 2016 results. For the sixth time in the past seven quarters, radio dialed in for success. In fact, the total DR radio spend in 1Q 2016 — $18,344,000 — represents the best first-quarter result in the medium in 12 years. Why is radio continuing to grow at such an incredible pace? For a full look at 1Q 2016 DR radio media billings, click here: DR Radio Rocks Out in 1Q 2016
  • Other key items in this month’s issue include:
  • Finally, I use my side gig as an in-season online college football columnist for an angle to kick off this month’s Editor’s Note column. Right before I sat down to write this month’s column, I’d just wrapped up my wide-ranging preview of the Pac-12 football season (side note: through five weeks, I’ve picked 39 of 45 results correctly) and it got me thinking: what if marketers had to wait weeks — or even months — to find out the results of their hard work? Far-fetched? Take a look and let me know: Measuring Success? There’s Not a Second to Lose

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Oct 04

Guest Post: Bob Haire’s Letter to Vin Scully

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As noted in my piece about Vin Scully on Oct. 2, with my dad’s permission, I wanted to post his letter to Vin Scully here as a guest post. Well, I received that approval. So, without further ado, here’s the outstanding note that he penned on Sept. 22:

September 22, 2016

Dear Vin,

In 1958, I was 10 years old. That year, the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and I fell in love with a baseball team by listening to a magical voice on the radio. It was to play a huge role in saving my life. My sister and I grew up in a rough situation. My mother had a severe mental illness and my father was an alcoholic. My childhood consisted of isolating myself from my parents and taking care of my sister, who is four years younger than me. I include this information for context and not as a sob story. At 68, I have lived a life filled with joy, family, and great friends.

However, in 1958, playing baseball and listening to the Dodgers were the activities that helped give my life balance, normalcy, and contentment. The Dodgers became my escape and my passion – and that magical voice my passport to so many things more important than baseball. For the past 58 years, I have eagerly listened to my entertainer, my mentor, my storyteller, my philosopher, my inspiration, and my friend Vin Scully. The games were always entertaining but the education about life that elevated each broadcast to a higher level made every broadcast compelling.

I have so many fond memories of the greatest games. I can hear the “big bouncer over the mound” in the playoff game against the Braves that propelled the Dodgers into the 1959 World Series. I remember playing pool in my garage the night the Dodgers handed Elroy Face his only loss (18-1) in 1959. I can still visualize Sandy Koufax, in Yankee Stadium, striking out the side in the first inning of the 1963 World Series. His curve ball that day is still the best I’ve ever seen. In 1965, I was a junior in high school when Koufax pitched a complete game on two days rest to win the World Series. I was in Spanish class that day, with a transistor radio in my pocket and an earphone running up inside my shirt, because my parents wouldn’t let me stay home that day. I was at Dodger Stadium the night Don Drysdale broke the scoreless inning record. Last but not least, there’s the greatest moment in the history of Los Angeles sports: Kirk Gibson’s home run in the first game of the 1988 World Series. I mark your broadcasts of these moments as milestones in my life because they have brought so much pure joy.

When I go to Dodger Stadium now, I always cry tears of happiness during the National Anthem because it is my cathedral and one place where I feel a true sense of belonging and contentment. From my son’s season seats, I have always been able to look up into the press box and see the man that made this all real for me as a child – and every year since.

Vin, I know from reading so much about you and seeing you interviewed, that you are a kind, humble man who feels blessed to have been able to do the job to which you aspired. I can tell all the adulation makes you uncomfortable. When people say that you are the greatest sports announcer of all time (which you are) they are being complimentary and kind. However, some of them miss the reasons why you are so beloved by millions of people in Southern California and around the country. It is not just your technical ability to announce a game. Rather, it is your humility, your humanity, and your incredible ability to tell a story (your D-Day commentary from this year being a prime example). It’s also your ability to be funny and profound, to know when not to speak, and how you weave all of these elements into a single broadcast.

To me the pantheon of sports in Southern California consists of only four men: Sandy Koufax, Magic Johnson, John Wooden, and Vin Scully. I’ve only met one of them. I had the honor of meeting Magic Johnson when he was the keynote speaker at an event produced by my son. I was able to speak to him personally and found that he was an even better person than he was a Hall of Fame basketball player. I truly believe the other three men on my list fall in to the same category. The massive outpouring of love being directed your way is because we all know that Vin Scully, the great announcer, is dwarfed by Vin Scully, the man.

Vin, I want to wish you and your lovely wife Sandra the very best in retirement. You have been my friend for 58 years. You have lifted me up, calmed me down, thrilled me, taught me the meaning of grace and humility, and eternally entertained me. Even though we have never met, I feel both a need and an obligation to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you have done to make my life richer and happier. For my son Tom, my daughter Jenny, my sister Susan, we send you all our love and best wishes for a blessed retirement. This time the roar of the crowd is all for you!

Sincerely,

Robert Haire