Is "Direct Marketing" Dead?

Jul 14

You would think that marketers and advertisers would understand the breadth and depth of the direct marketing strategy after about 50 years of steady progress. Sadly, they do not.

In one of DMNews' best issues published June 7, 2010, the "Gloves Off" section includes interesting comments on this very point in a contender battle between two marketers entitled "Is the Term 'Direct Marketing' antiquated?"

Jen Mundah, VP of resourcing and creative services for Carlson Marketing with 13 years of direct and interactive services says "yes."

"Historically, the terms 'direct marketing' and 'direct mail' have been interchangeable, both meaning a method of communicating directly with consumers through acquired lists... Direct mail still plays a role in the mix... while marketing directly to consumers is at the highest level ever... 'direct marketing' hasn't benefited."

Ms Mundah prefers the expression "direct strategy."

Gene Silverman, VP of Marketing Services and Account Management for Hawthorne Direct with over 20 years of DM experience takes the opposite position.

"... the term 'direct marketing' still sits well with me... some direct agencies adopt 'smoke screen' terminology such as 'brand response,' 'direct to consumer' or 'b-to-c' marketing... In fact, direct marketing has never been more au courant, useful and powerful."

His position in the article is that direct marketing uses media in all of it's forms including TV, online, mobile, outdoor -- and yes, even print and direct mail.

Further in the same publication, Carol Krol, the Editor-in-Chief proposes that traditional lead generation methods continue to dominate profitable lead generation and customer upsell.

Who has this right? Have we strayed so far from the direct marketing strategy into media tactics that we no longer understand what the direct marketing strategy does?

You may recall that Rogers and Peppers reinvented the term "direct marketing" (and most other terms associated with it) by calling the strategy "One-To-One" marketing.

So what do you think we should call this combination of science and art to persuade individuals to buy our products? Is the term "direct marketing" dead?

Ted Grigg

Ted Grigg is a direct response strategist who helps growth-focused companies reduce risk by identifying weak assumptions before they become costly mistakes.

Over the course of his career, Ted has evaluated several hundred million dollars in direct response testing across direct mail, digital, print, television, telephone, and other channels. His work combines direct response strategy, acquisition economics, customer analysis, creative evaluation, offer development, and disciplined testing.

Ted has worked on both the client and agency sides of the business. That experience gives him a practical understanding of the pressures facing executives, marketing teams, agencies, and service providers—and of the problems that arise when activity, media volume, or creative preference replaces a clear economic objective.

His consulting work helps organizations examine such questions as:

Are acquisition goals economically realistic?
Is the allowable Cost Per Sale supported by customer value?
Are targeting, offers, creative, media, and response paths working together?
Are tests structured to produce reliable business decisions?
Are unproven assumptions being treated as facts?
Is the organization measuring sales outcomes rather than convenient proxies?

Ted’s experience includes the development of direct mail and multichannel acquisition programs for insurance, healthcare, financial services, technology, nonprofit, manufacturing, retail, transportation, communications, government, and business-to-business organizations.

For a national direct-to-consumer insurance company, he developed a direct mail format that defeated established controls and helped expand the productive use of compiled prospect lists from less than 10 percent to more than 30 percent of total direct mail circulation within one year. He also planned Medicare lead-generation programs for more than 60 regional and national HMO and PPO organizations, with some programs exceeding sales projections by as much as 60 percent.

Ted founded Wyse Direct, a direct marketing division of Wyse Advertising in Cleveland, where he developed acquisition programs and helped launch a new technology product for Seiko Instruments by generating a predictable flow of qualified sales leads for its national sales organization. As vice president of new business development for the Grizzard Agency, he helped broaden the agency’s strategic capabilities and pursue new commercial and fundraising opportunities.

He is the author of The HMO/PPO Marketing Plan—A Step-by-Step Guide, published by Executive Enterprises, and has written numerous articles and conducted webinars on direct response strategy, testing, creative development, and marketing economics.

Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University and completed two years of graduate study at Texas Tech University. He is the founder of DMCG, LLC.

http://www.dmcgresults.com

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