Jan 12

Response December: A Fitting Close to 2017

Response‘s December Issue dropped online and began hitting mailboxes the week before Christmas. While many of you have had a chance to flip through the pages or peruse the stories online, the holiday season (and catching up after it) got in the way of my monthly recap — until today. The issue is led by a cover feature on Colorado-based healthcare provider UCHealth. Features on the consumer electronics market and what’s new in the radio media space follow behind. We also take a look at 2Q 2017 DR radio media billings, and five contributed columns also give notable information from leaders in the performance-based marketing world. How did it come together? Let’s dive in.

  • The December cover interview with Manny Rodriguez, CMO of UCHealth, was a long time coming. The story of the story begins in March 2017, when Sallie Sangiorgio, a PR executive in Ogilvy‘s Denver office, sent a note asking if I’d like to connect with Manny during a visit to Southern California late that month. Though timing didn’t work out, I made clear our interest in a possible cover feature on what UCHealth — a nonprofit network of nine acute care hospitals and more than 100 clinics throughout Colorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska — was doing to market its services. After an informational interview with Manny in April, it was clear this was a story we wanted to tell in Response. But at that point, we were locked in for covers through 3Q 2017. Sallie and I continued to stay in touch through the summer and finally settled on the December issue as the best timing for us and for UCHealth. My interview with Manny was one of my favorites of 2017. He’s forthcoming, funny, and focused — a rare combination. If you missed the link above, click here: ‘Extraordinary’ Marketing
  • Also in December, freelancer Bridget McCrea dug into the consumer electronics market just ahead of the annual CES event that took place in Las Vegas this week. What did she find? Perhaps the only thing growing and changing faster than the technology behind your favorite tech gadgets is the technology supporting the marketing programs that are placing those gadgets at the front of your mind. Check out the story for more: The Future Is Now
  • Speaking of marketing technology, our annual look at the radio media marketplace has a distinct focus on the use of artificial intelligence as a facet of the programmatic buying process — not to mention back-end analytics programs that are measuring creative effectiveness and audience response. If you missed the link above, freelancer Doug McPherson‘s story is a good one: Robotic Radio
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings research focuses on second-quarter 2017 DR radio research provided by our partner Kantar Media. After riding high through much of 2015 and 2016, DR radio suffered a second-consecutive quarterly decrease, dipping 18.1 percent compared to 2Q 2016 numbers. Still, it’s not all bad news: the total spend of $13.9 million is the third-best second-quarter total in the past decade. For a full look at 2Q 2017 DR radio media billings, click here: Radio Dials It Down Another Notch in 2Q 2017
  • The December issue also features five excellent column submissions:
  • Finally, my December Editor’s Note column touches on the changes we made in 2017 — not only in Response, but also with the DRMA and MTC Expo. But our work is far from done, though the calendar has flipped. What’s to come? Plenty: A Year Ends and an Evolution Continues

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Jun 06

Response May: Foundations, Revelations, and Exhortations

On the road again … heading to Chicago this afternoon for the IRCE event this week, and had some time to put together a quick recap of Response‘s May issue. With a full look back at Response Expo included, the issue delivered a touch later than normal — but the editorial content is worth the wait. The May magazine is headed by a cover story on one of our most well-received speakers at the Expo, Andrew Lermsider. Other features touch on the business solutions market and the current status of the media buying and planning space. That second story leads into our annual Cable Network Directory, which is our biggest one yet! There’s plenty for our readers to chew on this month, and here’s some background on how the pieces fit:

  • My first contact with Lermsider came via a LinkedIn introduction from Rus Sarnoff, who has long served as a close advisor on our Expo content and now co-chairs (with Greg Sarnow) our DRMA Education Committee. Shortly after the introduction, I learned that Sarnow had worked with Lermsider on a project several years back, and Greg had only glowing things to say. After one call with Lermsider, not only was I sure I wanted him to take part in our “Social Media as a Media Outlet” panel that was planned for the Expo (and, coincidentally, moderated by Sarnow), but that his background and vision for the future of performance-based marketing tactics would make a great cover story. He’s currently CMO and partner in Q Link Wireless, a mobile service provider, while also consulting a number of mid- and large-sized businesses on their marketing efforts. At 6.5 print pages, this is one of the longer cover stories in Response in recent years — but with Lermsider’s openness about the world of marketing and how he sees it unfolding, it probably could have been two to three pages longer. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Funnels and Foundations
  • Our most recent look at the burgeoning business solutions market kicks off with one of our top sources — and one of the top marketers in the space — for the past couple years: Wix.com. Vivian Hernandez, a speaker at the past two Response Expos, gives an update on the build-your-own-website service’s latest marketing moves and how driving customer experience on a local level is helping the brand grow globally. Beyond that, freelance writer Doug McPherson, touched base with leaders from service providers BigCommerce and SmartPrint to hear what’s working — and what’s not — on today’s marketing landscape. In case you skipped the link above: Stay Local, Get Global
  • Our semiannual look at the media buying and planning world queries leaders from the TV network world on how TV and digital continue to mix and merge, especially with the growth of over-the-top (OTT) and TV Everywhere services. Freelancer Nicole Urso Reed once again gets to the heart of what marketers need to know about where the best media opportunities are available. Here’s that story link again: Power Play
  • Once again, Response brings readers its annual Cable Network Directory. With contact and demographic information for more than 140 networks and other TV outlets, this is our biggest directory yet — and we actually send out requests for information to nearly 200 networks/groups. This year’s directory, if you missed it above, is here: 2017 Cable Network Directory
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the short-form DRTV sector for fourth-quarter 2016 results. A huge quarterly increase — nearly 40 percent compared to 4Q 2015 results — helped the short-form space finish 2016 down just 2.6 percent from total-year 2015 results. Back-to-back positive quarters seem to be a sign that the space is finally stabilizing after a long string of losses. For a full look at 4Q 2016 short-form DRTV media billings, click here: Short-Form DRTV Billings Close 2016 on the Rise
  • Other key items in this month’s issue include:
  • Finally, my Editor’s Note column picks up where our publisher, John Yarrington, left off in his welcome remarks to Expo attendees just before Sugar Ray Leonard’s keynote address on April 25. It’s also of a piece with Wilkins’ column linked above. While we’re thrilled to have created a true signpost event for our industry — Response Expo — that event is only as good as our readers, attendees, advertisers, sponsors, and exhibitors make it. And while it’s a great feeling to know we’ve filled a half-dozen hotels in San Diego with leaders from the business, if too many folks set up shop in those alternate locations, Response Expo cannot be at its best. As a matter of fact, if too many come to San Diego without feeling the need to take part in the actual Expo itself, the Expo could eventually go away — taking its signpost and everything that draws 4,000 people to San Diego with it. Being the change starts with being a part of what makes our business great. If you missed the link above, here it is: Why Fear Change? Instead, ‘Be the Change’

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!