Jul 11

Response June: Highmark, Direct Tech, and the Retail Revolution

Here’s hoping everyone had a great 4th of July holiday! After returning from a week in Massachusetts, visiting my wife’s family and friends, I pushed through my inbox and some other pressing matter to give myself a few moments to put together a quick recap of Response‘s June issue. While we’re still getting back on track with timing following late April’s Response Expo, the issue has been online and hitting mailboxes for more than 2 weeks now. Led by a cover story on one of Blue Cross Blue Shield‘s largest affiliates, Highmark, the issue also includes features on the wider healthcare and pharmaceuticals market and a pair of loosely connected stories: a roundtable on the vast effects of Amazon on marketers and retailers of all stripes; and our second quarterly Advisors Forum of 2017, which tackles the rapidly changing retail space. Looking for background on how these items — and more — came together? You’ve come to the right place.

  • The cover feature on Pittsburgh-based Highmark — featuring an interview with Chris Zdanowski, director, strategic marketing, senior markets, commercial markets, and retail — had its beginnings in an email pitch from Highmark’s agency, Partners + Napier, in February. Shortly thereafter, I connected with Becca Bellush, the agency’s associate director of PR and social media, who served as an outstanding liaison between the Highmark team and me. Not only was this story a pleasure to work on from start to finish, due to the accessibility of Bellush, Zdanowski, and all others involved, but it also bore out many of the concepts we’ve been talking about recently in Response. The highlighted campaign features a mix of online and offline media, has a clear and measurable goal, and maximizes back-end technology to track results. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Marketing With High Marks
  • Beyond Highmark’s success using performance-based marketing tactics, our freelancer Bridget McCrea tackled a wider look at what’s new in marketing across the healthcare and pharmaceutical markets. She found marketers, both large and small, utilizing new technology to take their messages — and more importantly, their services — directly to consumers, at the time and place they wish. From using secure, online video chat to apps that allow patients to make more informed decisions about their care, health and pharma marketers are ahead of the technological game. In case you skipped the link above: The Future of Healthcare Has Arrived — and It’s D-to-C
  • Riffing from one of our most popular sessions at Response Expo, a third feature — penned by freelancer Doug McPherson — takes a look at the many ways Amazon is changing business, from the top of the sales funnel to the bottom. We enlisted three of the speakers from that “Amazon Effect” Expo session — Jaffer Ali of PulseTV.com, Matt Fiedler of Vinyl Me, Please, and Rus Sarnoff of Integrated Marketing — to give us an overview of a few of those issues. Here’s that story link again: It’s a Jungle Out There
  • The second of our quarterly roundtables featuring members of the Response Advisory Board takes a look at the changing face of retail. Early in May, I sent a series of questions to our advisors and five leaders stepped up to share their thoughts on how brick-and-mortar and e-commerce can not only coexist but flourish as consumer desires — and their attendant habits — change. If you missed the link, it’s right here: The Changing Face of Retail
  • Our monthly direct response TV and radio media billings return to the DR radio sector for fourth-quarter 2016 results. The radio market notched a fifth consecutive quarterly increase — this time, 6.7 percent. However, the big news is that 2016’s total of $69.9 million marked the radio market’s best year since 2004. How did it happen? For a full look at 4Q 2016 DR radio media billings, click here: DR Radio Billings Continue Winning Streak to Close 2016
  • Other key items in this month’s issue include:
  • My Editor’s Note column riffs off of an idea I’ve formulated recently while attending industry events and thumbing through other publications. And it closes with a concept you’re going to see an awful lot of in the coming months — more pointedly than ever before. If you’ve been inattentive to the direction Response has taken and if you missed the link above, here it is: The Third Leg — Media Drives Technology and Commerce

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

Jun 24

Response May: Pressure Washers, Media Sellers and Fond Remembrances

The May issue of Response has been available online since right around Memorial Day — but with a busy schedule and a RES0514_CV1week out of the office, I’m only just now getting to my regular glance inside the issue. Now, with the June issue on the verge of debuting online and in your mailboxes, I forced myself to take some time today to take a look at our May magazine, including the cover feature on hardware giant Briggs & Stratton, our recap of Response Expo and more.

  • With the National Hardware Show taking place annually in May, we often look to feature a hardware marketer on our cover. And when I look for a hardware marketer having success in direct, digital and data-driven marketing, I often drop a line to Doug Garnett, long-time Response Advisory Board member and leader of Portland, Ore.-based Atomic Direct. This time around, that call resulted in a link to Eric Loferski, director of marketing, portable power & cleaning systems, for Milwaukee-based Briggs & Stratton. Loferski has worked for a who’s-who of Wisconsin-based brands and it’s no surprise he’s turning to direct and digital marketing to create retail and brand buzz for the company’s new line of POWERflow+ pressure washers. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: High Pressure, High Flow
  • One of our most popular research efforts, the annual Cable Network Directory is a who’s who of those selling DR media time at the cable network — and now satellite provider and MSO — level. From behemoths like Viacom, Turner and Discovery to small independent networks, we strive to grow this list every year. And, with more than 135 networks listed in 2014, we’re proud to say that this version of the directory is the biggest and most complete yet! If you want to know who to call to buy time for your DRTV campaign and you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance: 2014 Cable Network Directory
  • Our Field Reports section provides a full recap of Response Expo in the May issue. From keynoter Brian Billick to all the education and networking opportunities, you can relive the best Response Expo yet! And a special bonus: our monthly But Wait, There’s More section offers a two-page spread of the event’s excitement! If you missed the links above, click here for the news recap: Field Reports May and here for the photo spread: But Wait, There’s More May
  • The final quarter of direct response TV and radio media billings results proves no better for the short-form DRTV market. Fourth-quarter billings dipped more than 10 percent from the same quarter in 2012 — sadly, the year’s best quarterly result in Kantar Media’s short-form DRTV research. As we begin to track 2014 billings, one hopes that Kantar’s contention that a change in measurement and calculation was responsible for about 50 percent of the year’s nearly $1 billion drop from 2012 is true. For more on 4Q short-form DRTV billings from Kantar and Response, click here: Short-Form DRTV Media Wraps Unsightly 2013
  • Moderating a session at Response Expo.

    Moderating a session at Response Expo.

    Finally, my Editor’s Note takes a fond look back at Response Expo. As the co-founder of this event, the eighth version of it that took place in late April and early May was perhaps the most fulfilling. With our smallest team ever and minimal support or notice from our parent company, I cannot tell you just how proud I am of all of my Response teammates, from our core crew in the Orange County office to our key supporting staff who join us each year from our Newton, Mass., office. With a team that’s, at best, half the size of teams that put on other events in our industry, the hard work that goes into creating Response Expo is rather tiring. So to see the event unfold with nary a hitch and to hear the wonderful feedback of our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and speakers is incredibly satisfying. To read my full take, here’s the link once again: Feeling the ‘Vibe’ at Response Expo

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!

May 19

Response April: Murad Meets Consumers, Hall of Famers Speak Out, and a Note About Trudeau

Response April 2014The April issue of Response has been available online since shortly before Response Expo, which took place about three weeks ago. But, with the craziness surrounding the Expo and some immediate deadlines for the upcoming May issue following closely on its heels, there hasn’t been much time for me to share an inside look at the issue. However, with the May issue now out the door (and on its way to our readers soon!), I had a moment today to catch up and take a deeper look at April’s book, including the cover feature highlighting Murad, our roundtable with the 2014 DR Hall of Fame inductees, two DRMA Spotlight stories and a rather pointed Editor’s Note column.

  • In early 2007, I interviewed Dr. Howard Murad about his line of skin care products and how the brand had used direct response marketing to build its consumer base and recognition. Seven years later, with the brand still flourishing and a pair of its marketing executives set to speak at Response Expo, we decided it was time to see how Murad’s marketing has changed with the times. Unsurprisingly, Marina Randolph — executive vice president of direct for the Southern California-based company — and the rest of the Murad team have expanded the company’s marketing arsenal to work in today’s consumer-controlled landscape. Quite simply, it’s an omnichannel world and — as a marketer — Murad is representative not only of those in the beauty and personal care space, but all marketers who are combining direct, digital and data-driven efforts to keep pace. If you missed the link to the story above, here it is once again: Getting Better Every Day
  • 74899Again tying in with Response Expo, we were able to catch up with the nine living members of the second class of the DR Hall of Fame. The group, which also included posthumous inductee Billy Mays, is truly a who’s-who of direct response history, and each of them was saluted wonderfully by more than 400 attendees at the induction ceremony in San Diego on May 1. Don’t miss these legends thoughts — if you didn’t click the link above, here’s another chance: The Pioneering Spirit!
  • The growing influence of retail sales — be it in store or online — is the subject of this month’s edition of the Response Advisors Forum. Not only do the members of our vaunted Advisory Board kick around the challenges and opportunities that keep growing in the omnichannel marketplace, but the online version of the story is a Web exclusive: the full, unabridged answers from each member of the Board. If you missed the link above, here it is once again: An Old Foe Becomes a Best Friend
  • The hits in this issue just keep coming as there are two DRMA Spotlight stories — a two-page feature on Maine-based Argo Marketing Group and a one-page Q&A with Phoenix-based Higher Power Marketing. The interview with Argo’s Jason Levesque actually took place in a cabana at the Loews South Beach Resort in Miami Beach in February. Argo’s growth during the past decade has been spectacular and Levesque has an understanding of where the market is headed. To read the story, click here: Growing Smiles on Customers’ Faces. To watch the video interview with Levesque, shot in Miami, click here: DRMA Spotlight Video — Argo Marketing Group. The genesis for the one-pager on Higher Power happened during a meeting for coffee in Scottsdale while the Response team was on a business trip in the Phoenix area. Peter Feinstein has a solid track record in the space and his thoughts about where his company and the business are going are intriguing. Take a look by clicking here: ‘Commerce With a Conscience’
  • Barry Jacobs: leader, mentor, friend.

    Barry Jacobs: leader, mentor, friend.

    As we closed in on the Expo, there was a big push for exposure in our monthly Field Reports news section. Along with some big industry news — Kevin Trudeau’s 10-year jail sentence; Twitter jumping into DR — three Q&As highlight the section. We were able to spend some time with Havas Edge‘s Jack Kirby about the consumer-centric marketing world (seeing a trend here, anyone?) and how marketers and agencies can best work together. We also had a chat with Top Dog Direct‘s Bill McAlister about the lifeblood of the business — product inventors. Finally, and most personally rewarding, I was able to sit down over a lunch with long-time media agency executive Barry Jacobs. Jacobs — a mentor and a friend — retired from full-time duty in the business (and from Mercury Media) following Response Expo. While he’s still taking on projects here and there, he’s doing so from the comforts of home after 55 years of helping shape the direct marketing world. Don’t miss these great Q&As and more — click here to take a look: Field Reports April

  • Mercifully, we’ve reached the last quarter of direct response TV and radio media billings results. Fourth-quarter long-form DRTV billings results mirrored the entire year for the 28:30 marketplace: 4Q results were off 5.3 percent, leaving the year down 5.7 percent. For the first time since 2004, long-form DRTV cumulative media billings failed to top $1 billion as more and more marketers seem to have raised spending in the lower-cost satellite space at the cost of the higher-priced cable market. For more on 4Q long-form DRTV billings from Response, click here: 4Q 2013 Long-Form DRTV Media Results Round Out Somber Year
  • Lastly, my Editor’s Note represents the difference between reporting and opinion journalism — a difference that the 24-hour news channels have sullied to the point of near invisibility. As noted above, we covered the facts of the sentencing of long-time DR industry burden Kevin Trudeau to 10 years in federal prison in the news section. But in this space (one designed specifically for opinion), I expressed the disdain of many in the business — based on many notes I received prior to this column’s publication and many more received after — for Trudeau’s continued negative influence on the good names of hundreds of marketers who have used direct response marketing in an ethical and successful way. Suffice it to say, I’m disappointed to see products using Trudeau the pitchman still on the air. And I’m not alone. To read my full take on the topic, here’s the link once again: Trudeau Story Points the Finger at ‘Self-Regulation’ … Again

Thanks again for reading and interacting with Response!