DRTV Marketers Find Little Interest at DMA Show
SAN FRANCISCO - DRTV marketers who attended the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference last week found little interest in TV marketing, as interactive media took center stage."It was really a waste of time to go," said one DRTV media buyer who spoke on conditions of anonymity. "They should rename it the 'Direct Mail Association'."
The increased in interested in interactive media was exemplified in a highly publicized announcement by Robert Wientzen, president and CEO of the DMA, that the association had acquired the Association for Interactive Media (AIM), a Washington group with about 250 members.
Another DRTV marketer said she attended the show because many DRTV marketers are integrating television campaigns with other media, including direct mail, catalogs and DR print advertising.
"I came here to meet with some clients and also because I do catalog consulting," said Mary Di Maggio, director of business development for Frederiksen Television, a DRTV agency in Falls Church, VA, "but it's not a major show for us."
Meanwhile, a marketing director of inbound telemarketing services said that he had given up on DRTV clients.
"We've shifted focus away from the DRTV industry," said Mike Kadish, vice president of marketing for Corporate Express Inc., headquartered in Broomfield, CO. "We had too many headaches with DRTV companies." He said his company exhibited at the conference to meet more stable companies in the direct marketing industry.
