Agencies finished last year with improved revenues and are racing to scoop up new business as marketers begin to shop again. This year, as Direct Marketing News interviewed executives at dozens of the leading firms, the message we heard over and over again was "revenues are back."
Marketing budgets were slashed in the recession, which led to reduced agency headcount and a strong focus on ROI. Agency leaders look to innovation and recovery for growth.
In DMNews' first annual Agency Business Report, we found that DM agencies continue to evolve in order to stay relevant in a complex age of cross-channel marketing.
Marketers no longer see data collection, quality, accuracy and storage as background functions, due to the need to squeeze value from every campaign. However, there are plenty of obstacles to overcome, as we found in the first DMNews/CognitiveDATA Data Management Survey
As we finally wind down after an eventful year in the world of direct marketing - though some may say that's putting it mildly — we can look back and see that 2008 was clearly not a year for marketers to rest on their laurels.
DMNews gathered the best and brightest 'whiz-kids' in the industry to present its first-ever "30 under 30" list
"Is direct mail deader than disco?" That was the question recently posed by a marketer on a business networking Web site. Judging from the wiggle room now available in mailboxes across America, it might appear that the sentiment is one shared by many companies, especially with today's unprecedented economic trials.
Haymarket Media, the parent company of DMNews, was commissioned by Merkle to dig deep into the company's culture, community and capabilities to articulate what makes the firm unique and successful. We were able to move beyond what we already know about the company, and learn from its leaders at every level and discipline about the solutions that are reaping client results.
The first DMNews/Pitney Bowes survey on direct mail and the environment suggests that consumers greatly overestimate the environmental impact of direct mail, a fact that likely colors attitudes toward the medium.
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.
