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October 2009 From Target Marketing
Pegg Nadler loves the unknown. Where others see challenges, she sees opportunities. Where others fear change, she fears boredom. These are some of the qualities that have driven her 30-year direct marketing career, the bulk of which she's spent advancing database marketing operations at commercial and nonprofit organizations and giving back to the direct marketing community. And they're why she's Target Marketing magazine's Direct Marketer of the Year.
Is Half Your Advertising Wasted?
February 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Is Half Your Advertising Wasted? It is imperative to make and offer and close the loop. Feb. 16, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 13 IN THE NEWS Retailers shift ad strategies in digital age CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers are experimenting with new advertising strategies as they try to reach customers who fast-forward through television spots, block Internet pop-up ads and do not subscribe to newspapers. Television advertising isn't going away any time soon, and newspapers will remain a primary means of letting customers know about special sales, but retail marketing executives are increasingly turning to glossy direct-mail catalogs, online coupons and even
February 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Is Half Your Advertising Wasted? It is imperative to make and offer and close the loop. Feb. 16, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 13 IN THE NEWS Retailers shift ad strategies in digital age CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. retailers are experimenting with new advertising strategies as they try to reach customers who fast-forward through television spots, block Internet pop-up ads and do not subscribe to newspapers. Television advertising isn't going away any time soon, and newspapers will remain a primary means of letting customers know about special sales, but retail marketing executives are increasingly turning to glossy direct-mail catalogs, online coupons and even
The Almighty Letter
January 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Spend Time on It, and You Can Change Your Life Jan. 19, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 5 IN THE NEWS More Jobs Being Found Online, but That Doesn't Mean It's Easy One of the first things Brooke Christiansen did as college graduation neared last spring was post her résumé on three of the largest Internet job boards: Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. For the most part, she said, it was an exercise in frustration. —Barbara Whitaker, The New York Times, Jan. 15, 2006 Cover Letters Get You In the Door, So Be Sure Not to Dash Them Off A great cover letter is
January 2006 From Denny Hatch's Business Common Sense
Spend Time on It, and You Can Change Your Life Jan. 19, 2006: Vol. 2, Issue No. 5 IN THE NEWS More Jobs Being Found Online, but That Doesn't Mean It's Easy One of the first things Brooke Christiansen did as college graduation neared last spring was post her résumé on three of the largest Internet job boards: Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. For the most part, she said, it was an exercise in frustration. —Barbara Whitaker, The New York Times, Jan. 15, 2006 Cover Letters Get You In the Door, So Be Sure Not to Dash Them Off A great cover letter is
Your Signature is Your Handshake
February 2005 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Many years ago, freelancer Malcolm Decker wrote a major analysis of the direct mail package for my newsletter, Who's Mailing What! (now Inside Direct Mail). Decker likened direct mail to a sales team, with the envelope knocking on the door, the letter being the main salesman and the brochure acting as the demonstrator—a third member of the team who sits nearby and points to photos, graphs, charts, and illustrations and says, in effect, "See, everything the main salesmen (the letter) says is true." Decker wrote, "Be sure the right person signs the letters." Some time ago, two investors' newsletters—Advance Planning Letter
February 2005 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Many years ago, freelancer Malcolm Decker wrote a major analysis of the direct mail package for my newsletter, Who's Mailing What! (now Inside Direct Mail). Decker likened direct mail to a sales team, with the envelope knocking on the door, the letter being the main salesman and the brochure acting as the demonstrator—a third member of the team who sits nearby and points to photos, graphs, charts, and illustrations and says, in effect, "See, everything the main salesmen (the letter) says is true." Decker wrote, "Be sure the right person signs the letters." Some time ago, two investors' newsletters—Advance Planning Letter
TM0803_Market Focus, Pet Owners
August 2003 From Target Marketing
By Alicia Orr Suman Ask a dog lover to name his family members and he'll likely include Fido along with his wife and kids. "That's the nature of the pet owner," says Geoff Walker, CEO of PetFoodDirect.com, an Internet seller of pet food and other pet products. Particularly when it comes to dogs and cats, pets are seen as part of the family, and as such, people want the best for their pets—from toys and treats to food and healthcare. Last year, the Pet Food Institute reported there were more than 75 million pet
August 2003 From Target Marketing
By Alicia Orr Suman Ask a dog lover to name his family members and he'll likely include Fido along with his wife and kids. "That's the nature of the pet owner," says Geoff Walker, CEO of PetFoodDirect.com, an Internet seller of pet food and other pet products. Particularly when it comes to dogs and cats, pets are seen as part of the family, and as such, people want the best for their pets—from toys and treats to food and healthcare. Last year, the Pet Food Institute reported there were more than 75 million pet
Turnaround Toms
June 2003 From Target Marketing
By Hallie Mummert After more than 40 years of perfecting the direct mail sweepstakes, Reader's Digest has closed its prize money vault. In 1998 newly appointed Reader's Digest Association CEO Tom Ryder saw the writing on the wall for the publishing giant, and announced a plan to revitalize the brand—starting with product improvements and a gradual weaning of sweepstakes promotions. Not surprisingly, this plan came at a time when Congress was pushing for sweepstakes reform, and the state attorneys general were punishing direct marketers they felt were the poster children of sweepstakes. Only a few years after strict legislation regulating sweepstakes promotions was passed
June 2003 From Target Marketing
By Hallie Mummert After more than 40 years of perfecting the direct mail sweepstakes, Reader's Digest has closed its prize money vault. In 1998 newly appointed Reader's Digest Association CEO Tom Ryder saw the writing on the wall for the publishing giant, and announced a plan to revitalize the brand—starting with product improvements and a gradual weaning of sweepstakes promotions. Not surprisingly, this plan came at a time when Congress was pushing for sweepstakes reform, and the state attorneys general were punishing direct marketers they felt were the poster children of sweepstakes. Only a few years after strict legislation regulating sweepstakes promotions was passed
List leaders discuss today's Challenging market (2,023 words)
November 2001 From Target Marketing
By Kate Mason If mailers look to the list industry as a barometer of direct marketing's overall health, they need not pull on their rainhats just yet! Even as uncertainty grips most markets—from catalogs to publishing—list companies are still expressing optimism about the future. John Papalia, president and CEO of Statlistics, poses a common attitude: "We may head into a long and difficult period of time and direct marketing has never known such a period or experienced a prolonged war time economy. I'm optimistic that America will flourish, but I'm hesitant to make any predictions right now." Despite the effects of a staggering
November 2001 From Target Marketing
By Kate Mason If mailers look to the list industry as a barometer of direct marketing's overall health, they need not pull on their rainhats just yet! Even as uncertainty grips most markets—from catalogs to publishing—list companies are still expressing optimism about the future. John Papalia, president and CEO of Statlistics, poses a common attitude: "We may head into a long and difficult period of time and direct marketing has never known such a period or experienced a prolonged war time economy. I'm optimistic that America will flourish, but I'm hesitant to make any predictions right now." Despite the effects of a staggering
2001 Direct Marketer of the Year
October 2001 From Target Marketing
AOL & The Genius of Jan Brandt By Denny Hatch In 1993, Internet access was essentially a three-horse race. The text-heavy CompuServe was owned by the tax accounting people H&R Block and had about a million members. So did the cartoon-oriented Prodigy, a joint venture among CBS, Sears and IBM. The longshot was America Online (AOL), with its elegant Graphical User Interface (GUI), chat rooms and exclusive community-building techniques, that had been taken public the prior year by founder Steve Case; he had just under 250,000 members and was doing about $40 million a year in revenue. One advantage Case had over the
October 2001 From Target Marketing
AOL & The Genius of Jan Brandt By Denny Hatch In 1993, Internet access was essentially a three-horse race. The text-heavy CompuServe was owned by the tax accounting people H&R Block and had about a million members. So did the cartoon-oriented Prodigy, a joint venture among CBS, Sears and IBM. The longshot was America Online (AOL), with its elegant Graphical User Interface (GUI), chat rooms and exclusive community-building techniques, that had been taken public the prior year by founder Steve Case; he had just under 250,000 members and was doing about $40 million a year in revenue. One advantage Case had over the
Testing Hidden Markets (1,296 words)
August 2001 From Target Marketing
Hidden Markets By Malcom Decker When asked about what color choices would be available in his Model T, Henry Ford said, "You can have any color you want so long as it's black." Is there such a thing in the United States these days as a single market for any nationally-distributed product or service? Yet, many mailers treat their markets—that is, the universe of all the lists they think they can mail profitably—as if every person on those lists shared identical characteristics, wants and needs, by mailing the same package to all of them. Even Reader's Digest, one of the most sophisticated mailers
August 2001 From Target Marketing
Hidden Markets By Malcom Decker When asked about what color choices would be available in his Model T, Henry Ford said, "You can have any color you want so long as it's black." Is there such a thing in the United States these days as a single market for any nationally-distributed product or service? Yet, many mailers treat their markets—that is, the universe of all the lists they think they can mail profitably—as if every person on those lists shared identical characteristics, wants and needs, by mailing the same package to all of them. Even Reader's Digest, one of the most sophisticated mailers
The Rise and Fall of Time Life Books (2,310 words)
June 2001 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Oct. 4, 1957, is etched in my memory almost as clearly as the day Kennedy was shot. That October day, the Russians launched sputnik, leaving the U.S. space program at the starting gate. I stood on Columbia University's main campus talking with fellow students while this satellite whizzed over our heads, all of us fully expecting Armageddon. During a speech in Poland the previous year, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev said to the West, "We will be at your burial." During this period, American school children practiced regular air raid drills. Survivalists spent small fortunes outfitting backyard air raid shelters.
June 2001 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Oct. 4, 1957, is etched in my memory almost as clearly as the day Kennedy was shot. That October day, the Russians launched sputnik, leaving the U.S. space program at the starting gate. I stood on Columbia University's main campus talking with fellow students while this satellite whizzed over our heads, all of us fully expecting Armageddon. During a speech in Poland the previous year, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev said to the West, "We will be at your burial." During this period, American school children practiced regular air raid drills. Survivalists spent small fortunes outfitting backyard air raid shelters.
The Latino Renaissance
December 2000 From Target Marketing
Not since the days of the Spanish Empire—when armada galleons roamed the high seas and conquistadors traversed North America—has Spanish culture had such a pervasive influence on mainstream American culture. Consider some of the biggest names in entertainment today: former Menudo member Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Mark Anthony, Enrique Isglesias … the list goes on. Also, Santana has made a huge comeback, and this year saw the prime time broadcast of the first annual Latin Grammy Awards. Underlying this fascination with the Latino culture is the size and anticipated growth rate of the U.S. Hispanic community, coupled with a saturated and
December 2000 From Target Marketing
Not since the days of the Spanish Empire—when armada galleons roamed the high seas and conquistadors traversed North America—has Spanish culture had such a pervasive influence on mainstream American culture. Consider some of the biggest names in entertainment today: former Menudo member Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Mark Anthony, Enrique Isglesias … the list goes on. Also, Santana has made a huge comeback, and this year saw the prime time broadcast of the first annual Latin Grammy Awards. Underlying this fascination with the Latino culture is the size and anticipated growth rate of the U.S. Hispanic community, coupled with a saturated and
The Great Mentors (4,982 words)
October 1998 From Target Marketing
Back In the earlier part of this century, direct marketing didn't even have a name. Over the years, more and more disciples became devoted to this super-focused method of reaching and selling customers; eventually direct marketing drew enough of a following to earn its own professional association and a trade journal. However, only in the past five years has direct marketing fanned out to touch nearly every company across this country—and even the world. For those who started out in this "industry," there weren't any college classes, associations or experts to learn from. No companies ran workshops, seminars or full-blown conferences on creating effective
October 1998 From Target Marketing
Back In the earlier part of this century, direct marketing didn't even have a name. Over the years, more and more disciples became devoted to this super-focused method of reaching and selling customers; eventually direct marketing drew enough of a following to earn its own professional association and a trade journal. However, only in the past five years has direct marketing fanned out to touch nearly every company across this country—and even the world. For those who started out in this "industry," there weren't any college classes, associations or experts to learn from. No companies ran workshops, seminars or full-blown conferences on creating effective
Marketing Your List-In-house or Outside Management? (510 words)
March 1998 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Is In-house or outside Management Right for You? FOR OCCASIONAL marketers, list rental is the main source of income. After serving time for salacious advertising, Ralph Ginzberg, formerly of Eros, started a newsletter called MoneysWorth. A huge part of his business then became gathering the names of literate responders and marketing the list. Recently, Boardroom bought the MoneysWorth name, and it was reborn under Martin Edelston's aegis. Some marketers, including AARP and the American Bible Society, do not allow their lists into commerce at all. For most, however, list rental represents icing on the cake. After all, to generate income, a
March 1998 From Target Marketing
By Denny Hatch Is In-house or outside Management Right for You? FOR OCCASIONAL marketers, list rental is the main source of income. After serving time for salacious advertising, Ralph Ginzberg, formerly of Eros, started a newsletter called MoneysWorth. A huge part of his business then became gathering the names of literate responders and marketing the list. Recently, Boardroom bought the MoneysWorth name, and it was reborn under Martin Edelston's aegis. Some marketers, including AARP and the American Bible Society, do not allow their lists into commerce at all. For most, however, list rental represents icing on the cake. After all, to generate income, a
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