Gain Intel From Your Insert Media Program

June 2006 By Hallie Mummert

multipage

It’s common practice for direct marketers to look for list test ideas by reviewing the group of companies who order continuations on their file. Logic dictates that if your list works for a company, the reverse probably is true.

This concept applies to insert media, but not just in the way you might think. Sure, if you notice specific companies consistently placing their inserts in your program, it’s likely the demographics of your audience are similar to their customers’, and so you might want to run inserts in any program they offer. Further, explains Al Stanton, president of Stanton Direct Marketing, an insert media brokerage and management firm in Elmira, N.Y., you might be able to divine which products/product categories in particular are of interest to your audience—providing you with insight into how you can grow your product line in the future. Analyze the inserts that frequently run in your programs to see if you can learn more about your customers and what appeals to them via the insert environment. You might be surprised at what you find out, says Stanton, noting that not many program owners tend to do this research. And that’s a shame, because this essentially is free information that doesn’t require your testing dollars to obtain.

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