A client vendor negotiations video that’s LOL funny (see if you’re guilty of any of these)

This is a good one. A hysterical video on client vendor relationships and payments. I don’t know about you but I may be guilty of some of these tactics. Thanks to the videographers for calling us out.

A Case Study in Brand Differentiation (in multichannel direct marketing)

Two of these happen to be Rochester Big and Tall and Casual Male XL. While owned by the same company, both have positioned themselves to different segments of the big and tall market. This week I received e-mails from both companies, and to my amazement — and a bit of horror — they were essentially the same message and offer. So doesn’t this work directly against their branding? Am I hypersensitive to this because I’m in the business? Does this matter to the average consumer? Take a look at the e-mails for yourself (click on the images below), and let me know your thoughts.

FDMA Annual Summit a Success!

We had over 90 attendees at the FDMA annual summit. Here is a sample of what we saw, Jeff Yaniga’s powerpoint presentation on Using Twitter For Business. Great stuff! Enjoy and have a great weekend.

9 Ways to Use Twitter as a Marketing Tool

It seems that Twitter is all the rage these days. The topic seems to polarize people: Some find it a useful and productive marketing tool, while others find it a waste of time and “much ado about nothing.” The following are nine quick tips on how to use Twitter to your benefit:

1. Call out and provide

Update on the US Post Office Summer Direct Mail Sale

Recently the USPS was onsidering a postal sale to stimulate more mail traffic. It looks like we in the direct marketing industry are gettting closer to seeing this sale become a reality. I applaud the Post Office for beginning to think like businesspeople and marketers and taking the initiative. Your help is needed to pass the sale. See the below letters to use in order to make this sale go into effect.

Here is the latest info

4 Tips Any CEO or C-Level Exec Can Take to the Bank

Being a C-level executive these days has to be the ultimate challenge. These execs face a ton of pressure to keep their companies above water during these turbulent times. Truly, I feel for them.

But, in many cases, my empathy for them goes only so far. Especially when C-levels exemplify what I call “ivory tower thinking.” With this in mind, I’d like to offer four pointers for any and every CEO and C-level exec:

Want to know what’s

Marketing and Finance: the Peanut Butter and Jelly of Direct Marketing

Over the years, I’ve written many times about the importance of financial acumen as a core competency for direct marketing success.

Many people seem to think direct marketing is about killer creative, or campaign management, or even great customer service. But to me, it always starts with the finances…. Now with social media all the rage, and multi channel marketing being the norm for mail order, catalog and electronic retailers, the need for financial measurement and knowledge is greater then ever.

Another Year, Another Catalog Conference, Another Dog-and-Pony Show, Another Thank You!

It’s that time of year again, readers. Catalog conference time — or to be more precise, Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) time. This year it’s in New Orleans., and despite that love New Orleans and the music especially, once again I’m not going.

I had planned to go this year. I even set up some meetings. But then some other meetings took precedence. Truth is, however, I have mixed feelings every year about going. Oddly enough, the people I’ll miss the most are the vendors I’ve worked with over the years. These are the people who’ve allowed me to do my job to the best of my abilities. I truly believe that the job of a direct marketer is just as much externally focused, if not more, as it is internally.

NewPage To Help Catalogers Reach More Consumers (passing it on)

MIAMISBURG, Ohio – May 1, 2009 – NewPage Corporation, a leading producer of publication papers in North America, has launched the “Free Paper to Reach More” campaign that aims to help retail catalog companies reach more consumers. The campaign will award five catalog companies with a grand-prize of 100 tons of paper to reach approximately 500,000 new prospects for a typical cataloger.

Florida Direct Marketing Association Breakfast Networker May 6 in Ft Lauderdale…

Breakfast Networker

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

100% Networking. Join us for a FULL breakfast buffet and a chance to make new friends and business partners.

Seating is limited.