Summer was in full swing the week of Aug. 5-11. Between an annual ballgame with friends, an industry party that — at one point — devolved to playing DJ in a Hollywood hotel room, and the rest of the week’s activities, it was a fun one! Let’s take a look at the images.
Response January: ‘Steem’ Cleaned — With a Brand New Look
After some holiday and printing related delays, the January issue of Response is finally available online! And, if you’ve received your print edition, you’ve likely noticed our brand new masthead logo atop the issue’s cover, as well as throughout its pages. Read on here for some back story on the cover feature highlighting Stanley Steemer (and president Justin M. Bates), as well as how Response’s new logo and look came into being:
- Last summer, Publisher John Yarrington and I visited the Horizon Media offices in New York City to meet with Gene Turner — leader of the agency’s burgeoning direct division — and then-new PR leader Kaya Lobaczewski. It was, as usual, an interesting meeting and Lobaczewski understood the types of stories that our readers like: highlighting successful marketers and the role that direct, digital and data-driven marketing plays in their plans. During the following months, she zeroed in on Horizon client Stanley Steemer, the Ohio-based market leader in carpet and house cleaning services, as the target for a great DR case study. The story leads our January issue and features Justin M. Bates, the third member of his family to lead the company since its founding in 1947. Under his stewardship, Stanley Steemer faced a crisis brought on by the Great Recession. The solution: a multi-channel DR and digital campaign (shepherded by Horizon) that’s turned the company completely around. If you missed the link above, here it is once again: ‘Steeming’ the Competition
- We’re happy to again feature the thoughts and opinions of our powerful and knowledgeable Response Advisory Board in 2014. In the first of four planned Advisors’ Forum features, the group was posed with a series of questions about how digital has changed the game for direct response — and vice versa. Technologies like search, E-mail, digital display, online video, mobile and social are not only changing marketers’ game plans on a daily basis, but they are also evolving just as quickly. What does our Advisory Board think about the challenges and opportunities? Find out here in the Web Exclusive version of this story, featuring more questions and answers than the abridged version that appeared in the print version: Let’s Get Digital
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- This month, the DRMA Spotlight is turned on Middleton, Mass., digital tech company Mojo Research & Development. Founded in 2011 by software entrepreneur Gregory Silvano, Mojo is looking to make life easier for marketers operating sales websites — on both the back and the front end. Want to make an immediate change to the offer the consumer sees on your site? Silvano says Mojo’s technology makes that change as easy (and quick) as can be from a dashboard that allows user control — rather than waiting for Web developers to make requested changes. That same dashboard serves as a measurement and tracking tool so that marketers can track the success (or struggles) of their campaigns. If you missed the link above to this month’s Spotlight, click here: Finding the Right Mojo
- When working on the 3Q 2013 long-form DRTV media billings in late 2013, a major factor in the space’s overall spending decline in 2013 became crystal clear: long-form buyers have shifted more of their spend into lower-cost satellite buys and away from the impacted — and expensive — cable space. So, while overall spending was down — again — in the third quarter (this time by 5.2 percent), a rise in time slots purchased and a spike in the satellite outlet’s share of that market again point out that long-form buyers are working hard to find the best deals available in a tough market. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: Long-Form Media Billings Stumble Yet Again
- Finally, my first Editor’s Note of 2014 introduces Response‘s new masthead logo and — perhaps more importantly — new tagline: Direct. Digital. Data-Driven. While this tagline should be no shock to those of you who read the magazine, it’s a powerful re-statement of the goals I’ve been talking about in this space for much of the past year. You can read more about that in the column itself. But how did we come up with it? Much of the credit for our new look goes to our long-time graphics director, Monica Kollmann, with whom I discussed our redesign concept in late summer 2013. She took many of the thoughts I share in this column and turned them into an unmistakable visual template. Though Monica shared 3-5 options with us for a new look, this was her first and favorite version — and it’s the perfect fit. We’re thrilled about this new look that complements our continued direction. For more about the “why” of our new look, here’s the link once again: A Fresh Start
Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!
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
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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!