InfoUSA Inc.’s Mokrynskidirect list services division has introduced a program that lets direct marketing mailers advertise in national consumer magazines and newspapers at discounts off the rate card.
Space Adsdirect lets ads in targeted publications drive traffic online, tracking print media’s effectiveness in generating leads via the Internet. Wendy McLaughlin, Long Lake, MN-based vice president at Mokrynskidirect, stressed that it is not a remnant ad program.
“We begin with an extensive competitive analysis that helps us identify which publications are the right ones for our client, then combine that with the knowledge of which pubs are more responsive to direct marketing offers,” she said. “Then we go in with a targeted plan and negotiate 60 percent to 80 percent off the open rates of these publications to make the program affordable for our clients.”
Peruvian Connection uses the program, placing image-based ads in national print titles. The goal is to drive consumers to its site to shop its women’s clothing and textiles. A New York Times newspaper ad points to www.peruvianconnection.com/nytimes while one in Martha Stewart Living directs readers to www.peruvianconnection.com/martha.
Advertisers can participate in two ways. One is a catalog trends program, with a select group of gifts/home and apparel magazines with low CPMs. Each program offers 5.2 million impressions for the campaign’s duration. The other is the customized space program designed to the advertiser’s specifications.
The Space Adsdirect software measures response, conversion and sales generated from the ad campaign.
Space ads have long driven traffic to catalogs. The focus of programs like Space Adsdirect is now to send consumers to the advertiser’s site and follow the call to action.
Mokrynskidirect cites recent research that claims traffic to a site from search engines delivers an average 2.3 percent conversion rate. This jumps to 4.23 percent when a visitor types a Web address directly on a browser. Research for the print-to-online conversion is hard to come by.
“The Internet has expanded our world so that today, catalogers must compete with online retailers and retailers much more directly,” Ms. McLaughlin said. “Online retailers and retailers spend a significant chunk of their marketing dollars in consumer magazines and other mass-market vehicles, driving readers or viewers to their Web address to purchase, gather information or direct them to the nearest retail store.”
