August 23, 2010
Location-based mobile app Shopkick launched August 17 with retail partners Best Buy, Macy's American Eagle Outfitters, Sports Authority and Simon Malls.
August 23, 2010
Several sponsors of this year's US Open tennis tournament are using direct marketing tactics to engage, reward and attract consumers.
August 09, 2010
Microsoft and Google began selling third-party business-to-business CRM applications this year, challenging Salesforce.com's lead in the space.
August 09, 2010
Brands are increasingly using interactive barcodes to bolster consumer interaction and improve existing campaign elements.
Direct and digital marketers will face a mixed job market in coming months, according to agency executives and a direct marketing employment survey.
July 26, 2010
Major holding companies are creating dedicated social media units to cater to growing demand for the services from marketers.
July 26, 2010
The US Postal Service (USPS) is targeting e-commerce merchants with an integrated marketing campaign emphasizing the potential of print catalogs.
July 12, 2010
Clothing retail chain Banana Republic and cable network AMC have teamed up for the second year on an integrated marketing campaign promoting the fourth season of 'Mad Men.'
American Business Media, a business-to-business media association, named Clark Pettit its president and CEO, July 8. He replaced Gordon Hughes, who announced last winter he would leave the position.
Marketers are keeping an open mind about using Twitter's just launched Early Bird Exclusive Offers e-commerce service, but none made a concrete committed to using the deal-promotion platform.
July 12, 2010
Marketers and catalogers that rely on mail to reach consumers decried the USPS's proposed "exigent price increases," saying the hikes would have drastic negative financial repercussions for 2011.
IBM's planned acquisition of Coremetrics, announced June 15, is further evidence that technology companies will continue to add analytics capabilities to their products and services, industry experts told DMNews.
International fragrance and beauty company Coty selected Rapp as global digital agency of record for several of its brands. Rapp, an Omnicom direct marketing agency, will handle digital initiatives for Coty's Sally Hansen brand, and its licensed Guess, Halle Berry, Beckham and Playboy brands.
June 18, 2010
Marketers are tying campaigns to films they believe will be summer blockbusters, including Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender. The list includes Cisco, Aflac and the USPS.
PepsiCo has launched an open-call competition for technology, media and communications startups to submit mobile, social media, location-based retail, and video and gaming ideas.
June 07, 2010
The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) launched a campaign May 30 promoting the city as a summer travel destination.
The US Postal Service saw a net loss of $382 million in April, bringing its seven-month total net loss for its 2010 fiscal year to $2.26 billion.
May 17, 2010
Multichannel retailers are expanding their tactics for selling directly to consumers on Facebook, adding e-commerce functionality to both company fan pages and members' news feeds.
May 17, 2010
Tourism boards are running direct and digital campaigns to attract consumers to their beaches, lakes and attractions for summer vacations, despite slashed state budgets.
Direct agencies and service providers are hiring high-ranking employees and creating specialized practices for their healthcare work at an unprecedented rate.
April 30, 2010
E-commerce merchants and direct marketers are partnering to fight a Colorado law that requires online retailers to notify the state of all purchases made by residents.
April 19, 2010
First quarter earnings for the majority of advertising holding companies showed significant gains over last year's numbers, a clear sign that the advertising market has stabilized after the recent recession.
Sears Holding's SVP of marketing, Richard Gerstein, resigned from his post last week to become SVP of strategy and worldwide marketing for the personal systems group at HP.
April 19, 2010
Twitter launched its Promoted Tweets service, which allows advertisers to buy sponsored links on the social networking site, on April 13.
CMOs are stepping up their use of traditional direct marketing tactics, including customer data integration and analytics, lead qualification and harvesting and performance measurement, according to the Chief Marketing Officer Council's latest State of Marketing report, released April 19.
Marketing list prices were stable or showed growth this year vs. spring 2009 in most sectors, according to Worldata's Spring 2010 List Index. The only significant decline was in consumer e-mail lists, which dropped $13/M year-over-year
April 16, 2010
Members of the House of Representatives committees that oversee the USPS argued on April 15 that five home-delivery days per week would further erode mail volumes and harm the agency.
April 02, 2010
Many direct marketing firms have bolstered their creative practices by hiring or promoting staffers to top executive-level creative positions.
After enduring a difficult recession, marketers are expecting improved ad revenues and increased digital spending this year, according to a survey by digital firm Datran Media.
CCMP Capital Advisors, which bought Infogroup for $635 million on March 8, plans to continue Omaha, NE-based Infogroup's transition from database company to full-service direct marketing firm. The acquisition, expected to close this summer, will result in Infogroup becoming a private company.
Staples launched a business-to-business e-commerce Web site, staplesadvantage.com, on March 11. The company's goal is to meet corporate demands for supplier consolidation and reduced procurement costs. Managed by the company's business-to-business division, Staples Advantage, the site also features the offerings of its five recently announced business-to-business segments.
March 12, 2010
Intel, CBS Sports and H&R Block are taking advantage of the NCAA tournament to interact with consumers through a mix of channels, including more mobile marketing than previous years.
March 12, 2010
Direct marketers are beginning to see green shoots of economic recovery, but the media mix continues to shift and experts predict direct mail will never regain its dominance.
March 01, 2010
Some travel brands are expanding their retail and e-commerce partnerships to sell consumers perks and products, and creating additional revenue in the process.
March 01, 2010
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will take advantage of the March 7 Academy Awards ceremony with consumer engagement, database building and mobile marketing efforts.
Sara Lee's EarthGrains brand is conducting a campaign to promote its use of environmentally friendly Eco-Grain wheat provided by Horizon Milling in its whole wheat bread products. The "Plot to save the Earth, one field at a time" effort, created by Ogilvy & Mather, incorporates social media and an interactive Web site, as well as digital advertising, in-store promotions and TV ads. EarthGrains is also collecting e-mail addresses on site to build its database.
February 15, 2010
Crest and Visa aim to score points with consumers' Olympic spirit by using direct tactics such as CRM and e-mail marketing during this month's Winter Games.
February 15, 2010
President Barack Obama's budget for fiscal year 2011 includes language that shows his administration supports requiring the US Postal Service to deliver mail six days per week.
February 15, 2010
Verizon has teamed up with mobile couponing firm Cellfire to offer a free digital coupon service that its mobile and Fios TV customers can use in grocery stores. The program, called "Spend Smart," lets Verizon customers use mobile coupons in more than 20 grocery chains across the country. Participating stores include Safeway, ShopRite and Kroger.
February 01, 2010
Quad/Graphics plans to acquire rival print and digital services firm Worldcolor this summer, the two companies announced last week.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment launched a "couples translator" iPhone app on February 1, to promote the DVD release of the film Couples Retreat. The app includes imagery from the film and branded DVD artwork, as well as banners urging the consumer to "buy the DVD."
February 01, 2010
Once the domain of splashy branding campaigns, this year's Super Bowl broadcast will feature ads built around social media and loyalty marketing.
February 01, 2010
Retail sales will increase by 2.5% this year compared with 2009 due to positive signs in the housing and employment sectors, according to the National Retail Federation in its forecast released last week.
MasterCard Worldwide has launched a data analytics and marketing service for its clients, a sign that validates marketers' trust in transactional data. Direct Media Millard, an Infogroup-owned firm, also announced an analytics consultancy. These launches follow American Express' decision late last year to launch an analytics and consulting division.
January 15, 2010
The direct and digital marketing space has seen a torrent of mergers and acquisitions recently, including buys by marketing software company Unica, e-mail firm Experian and digital agency Rosetta.
January 04, 2010
The holiday shopping season is over, but many retailers are still celebrating based on the positive performance of e-commerce. From November 1 to December 24, online sales rose 15.5% year-over-year.
The Center for Digital Democracy and Consumer Watchdog have asked the Federal Trade Commission to block Google's proposed $750 million acquisition of AdMob, asserting that the deal raises substantial privacy concerns. The consumer advocacy groups also claim that the acquisition would give Google too much dominance of the mobile advertising market.
The US Postal Service has decided not to raise first-class rates for 2010. Four direct mail experts divulge their top recommendations for taking advantage of the break in rate increases.
January 04, 2010
Nationwide Insurance has introduced an iPhone application called Cartopia, which is designed to help consumers shop for both new and used cars. The goal of the app, which launched December 16, is to acquire new customers by building the insurance brand into the car-buying experience.
December 11, 2009
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is conducting its first consumer-focused campaign to educate consumers about online privacy. The initiative, called "Privacy Matters," will run throughout 2010.
Company of the week R2C GroupR2C creates, produces, distributes and measures messages that inspire and compel consumers to do something with a brand to drive commercial advantage. The full-service advertising agency specializes in creative, production, media, analytics and performance. |
What's in our mailbox this month: fitness postcards from Retro Fitness, American Woman Fitness Centers, Union's United Taekwondo Academy, and Bally Total Fitness. (We're totally pumped.)
Social data can improve a brand's bottom line and customer relationships. Just ask brands Infiniti and Diamond Nexus.
Here are three must-have data sets that every marketer should include in his or her email strategy.
