The February issue of Response is now available online. From an intriguing look at an old-school direct marketer that’s transitioned with the digital times to the announcement of the inaugural class of the DR Hall of Fame, let’s take a look at some of the key pieces to the issue!

• Our cover feature on one of direct marketing’s longest running success stories — Publishers Clearing House — saw its genesis from a meeting request at last October’s DMA show in Las Vegas. Let this be a lesson, vendors and agencies (or PR reps of vendors and agencies): if your clients are willing to powerful success stories, Response is interested in helping tell them! Of course, most everyone knows PCH today from their legendary “Prize Patrol” TV spots, where a giant check and some crazy balloons are presented to an unsuspecting sweepstakes winner at his or her front door. What you may not know is that PCH has ridden its history in direct mail and DRTV to massive heights in the digital direct response space, thanks to the work of Josh Glantz and his team. Here’s the link again, if you missed it above: PCH Wins All Day Long
• There are two items of note in our Field Reports (aka, news) section this month. One is an exclusive Q&A with Mercury Media CEO John Barnes about his company’s recent addition of iMarketing, a full-service digital agency, under the Mercury umbrella. The other is the announcement of our annual DRMA Chicago Reception, during next month’s International Home + Housewares show. The event is slated for Monday, March 4, at the Vertigo Sky Lounge, and, yes, contrary to the printed information, there’s still time to RSVP. Check out these stories and more DR news here: Field Reports February
• In other DRMA news, Los Angeles-based Dial800 is the subject of this month’s DRMA Spotlight feature. We’ve been working with Scott Richards and James Diorio, the powerful duo behind this DR technology leader, for a few years now. They combine wisdom, work ethic and passionate belief in the services they’re providing professionals in the DR industry. To watch the video Dial800 has provided to go along with the Spotlight story, click this link: DRMA Spotlight Video on Dial800 or check out the print story here: Cracking the Code
• Our latest analysis of the DR industry’s quarterly media billings results circles back to short-form DRTV billings’ 3Q results. Mirroring its long-form counterpart, while third-quarter was by far the weakest quarter of 2012 so far, the real story is that results stayed even with the same quarter of 2011, helping the overall outlook for 2012 remain solid. Since DRTV media in 3Q faced a huge Summer Olympics, as well as a building presidential campaign, there was some fear of a big drop. With a decent fourth-quarter performance, 2012 should end up as a second consecutive year of growth for direct response television media. For a full look at all the categorical and outlet results, here’s the link: Short-Form DRTV Billings Battle to Break Even
• Finally, my Editor’s Note breaks the story of our newest addition to the Response family: the Direct Response Hall of Fame. With nine inductees in the initial class selected by the Response Advisory Board, myself and our publisher, John Yarrington, the group represents the best of the past, present and future of direct response marketing. You will have the chance to salute these industry greats on the afternoon of Thursday, April 4, at the Induction Ceremony on the Expo Hall Floor at Response Expo. Don’t miss it! And, if you missed the link to my the column above, here it is once again: Welcome to the Inaugural Inductees of the DR Hall of Fame

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!