Catalog Marketing Retains Retail Clout

Consumer retail catalogs, far from fading away with the growth of e-commerce, have continued to deliver for our omnichannel retailers. A Multichannel Merchant blog post earlier this year cites a number of reasons why retailers should consider expanding, reviving or initiating a catalog marketing effort, especially with an eye to upcoming holiday spending. Catalogs are not, as some assumed, favored only by older buyers, while younger buyers focus on digital channels. In fact, research has shown that 65% of millennial target buyers have made a purchase influenced by a catalog. Today's lower mail volumes combine with the unique visual and tactile qualities of print to make catalogs stand out in terms of engaging interaction for younger generations, boosting response over online display and even e-mail. Retailers who integrate catalogs with stores, websites and mobile in omnichannel acquisition campaigns boost response and conversion overall. For example, researchers have found that 20% of first-time customers make a purchase on a retailer’s website after receiving a catalog. Today's more sophisticated data analytics and marketing technologies let marketers track spending habits and response across channels to better leverage catalogs as part of omnichannel marketing campaigns. Retailers can not only use use variable data printing to personalize catalogs based on demographics and purchase behavior but can then use intelligent fulfillment technology to integrate targeted catalogs and samples into the existing fulfillment operation to expand brand marketing opportunities. To capitalize on online response to print catalogs, retailers can use innovations such as quick codes applied to printed catalog products for easier online purchasing. And they can use nimbler, on-demand printing to offer repeat customers a catalog built to their unique interests. With holiday marketing campaigns in mind, the Multichannel Merchant post suggests that retailers with order packing software in place can simply assign an SKU to a catalog or a pending holiday Buyer’s Guide, include the SKU in order packing software rules, and pack a catalog in each shipment as part of a holiday campaign, boosting brand recognition and repeat customers. To learn more, see a listing of AccuList's consumer catalog clients at acculist.com/consumer-catalogs/(opens in a new tab)

Why Use Modeled Cooperative Databases for Mail?

Today's modeled cooperative databases offer big advantages for B2C and B2B direct marketers, which is why AccuList now represents 18 private modeled cooperative databases that clients can use to optimize direct mail results. These databases include millions of merged, deduped, and "modeled and scored" hotline names from thousands of commercial and nonprofit participants. At no charge, each can match the client's database, model client postal addresses, and deliver optimized “look-alike” names. The database will prioritize those modeled names by decile or quintile to help clients further identify targets most likely to respond to an offer or fundraising appeal. Marketers sometimes hesitate to participate because of unfounded fears of sharing exclusive/unique customers, catalog buyers, subscribers or donors with membership-based database participants. Note that these databases generally match a marketer's names against the cooperative database files and share transactional data. If there are matches, only transactional information is added to the cooperative database records; and if there are no matches, the unique names are not added to the pool. Why do cooperative databases opt to incorporate only multi-occurring or duplicate records? Because that is data that tends to be far more predictive, with proven response. Plus, the reality is that very few names are unique to a firm, publication or fundraiser. About 80% to 90% of consumer prospects are multi-buyers, and 90% of nonprofit donors give to two or more organizations, so these names are already included in cooperative data. On the other hand, by participating to access a huge pool of names rich with demographic and transactional information, marketers reap many gains. Acquisition campaigns clearly can benefit from netting look-alike prospects from the large cooperative database pool, a real boon for regional or niche mailers who struggle to find acquisition volume. The large universe also allows for more segmentation to target not only higher response groups but more valuable response segments. In the case of nonprofits, that could be high-dollar donors, for example. Profiling and modeling can create better results from house names, too. Instead of mailing the whole house file, current customers, subscribers or donors can be flagged for likelihood of response and upsell, for channel and messaging preference, for risk of lapse/attrition, and more. Plus, modeled databases offer cost efficiency via an attractive list CPM; recent, clean, deduped records that lower mailing costs; and optimization selects (or deselects) that also boost mailing efficiency and ROI. For more, see https://www.acculist.com/why-participate-in-modeled-cooperative-databases/

2018 Direct Mail Surges in Usage, Response, ROI

Direct mail marketers received lots of encouraging news in the 2018 “ANA-DMA Response Rate Report.” Direct mail improved its usage ranking to tie with social media as the second most-used medium (57%), for example, and continued to deliver the best response rates of any medium. In fact, “snail mail” even improved on its response success by doubling median response rates over last year to 9% for house lists and 4.9% for prospect lists in 2018. Mail’s Return on Investment (ROI) also leaped by 12 percentage points to beat out online display this year. The only negative in the report is that those surveyed continue to doubt the future of direct mail, with 19% saying they plan to decrease usage in the coming 12 months. But if the report participants follow their behavior after previous surveys, which similarly predicted mail declines, direct mail usage will remain buoyant, which allowed it to rise in 2018 despite planned cuts. One drag on direct mail continues to be its Cost Per Action/Acquisition, which is the highest CPA of any medium and puts budget pressure on mail volume, which did decline for both house and prospect lists compared with the 2017 study. However, high response rates, competitive ROI, online tracking and print-tech advances are keeping marketers loyal to “traditional” mail in a digital world. In fact, direct mail usage for marketing campaigns equals or exceeds 50% for most of the 11 industry segments cited in the study. In usage, direct mail leaders were travel or hospitality (80%), nonprofits (75%), publishing or media (71%), and financial services/banks/credit (67%). Only Technology (44%), Retail (44%), and B2B Services (34%) came in below the 50% usage mark. But when it comes to tracking those response rates, marketers have definitely gone digital, with over half of surveyed marketers (53%) saying they use online tracking capabilities, such as PURLs, followed in popularity by the use of codes or coupons (45%) and call center or telephone inquiries (41%). For data comparing response rates by type of format and B2B vs. B2B campaigns, see our website blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/despite-doubters-2018-direct-mail-ups-response-roi-usage/

Targeting, Value Win for Performing Arts Marketing

Performing arts marketers face many challenges in competing for attention and share of wallet in a noisy multi-channel marketplace. AccuList USA recently found some good basic advice on winning audience response in a blog post by Dave Wakeman of the Wakeman Consulting Group. Wakeman noted that creating a sense of scarcity is key to performing arts marketing--even lacking a hot-demand show like the current musical "Hamilton." Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd! Offering all tickets prior to marketing-generated demand undermines that desired sense of urgency, but marketers can still use the secondary ticket market, such as StubHub or TicketsNow, to produce a feeling of scarcity, he advises. Performing arts marketers also need to define the audience target of a show/event and then tailor a value message that appeals specifically to that audience. Targeting and creative messaging will be very different for a family show, a political commentary, a well-known classic, or a one-off by a famous author. New attendees will need a different approach than members and donors. Certainly, many shows don't have the time for the sort of traditional agency advertising that waits for reviews to come out and then creates ads around positive lines from those reviews. Plus, that kind of reactive, critic-centered promotion can miss a more persuasive value message to win over the target audience. Finally, Wakeman notes that in today’s market, people often aren’t just going to "see a show." They are likely looking to make a night of it and are attracted to events with multiple value offers. He lauds the successful audience-building efforts of the Chattanooga Symphony & Orchestra, which promotes multiple ways to engage even for those without a dedication to the symphony. Pairing a wine tasting, art show or discussion group/lecture with a performing arts event may be just what it takes to attract a new audience or convince an existing audience to try a new entertainment option. See our on-site blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/scarcity-targeting-value-woo-performing-arts-audiences/

Zoo Marketing Increases Conservation, Digital Stress

Significant changes are occurring in zoo marketing, per several recent reports. Consumers' rising concerns about conservation and ethical treatment of animals have been a driving force. As the public loses its appetite for viewing animals in cages, zoos are initiating a new stress on realistic exhibits and conservation--and their marketing is reflecting that shift. A Platform Magazine article on the new wave in zoo marketing, noted to its PR-pro readers that the winning zoo marketing strategy seems to lie in finding the middle ground between promoting conservation and creating entertainment. Many zoos do this by creating exhibits that mimic animals’ natural habitats. For example, the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington, promotes exhibits for jaguars, penguins and grizzly bears, which have won exhibit design awards. Meanwhile, the Houston Zoo not only advertises the fact that it shares part of the money from each ticket with conservation programs but plans to build a new exhibit to showcase the Texas Wetlands, which have a large variety of animal and plant life. The Platform article also cites Zoo Atlanta's strategy for merging consumer experiences and conservation by promoting its contributions to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) with new animals’ births that help "maintain healthy, genetically diverse and self-sustaining animal populations within North American zoos." However, one marketing challenge for nonprofit zoos like Zoo Atlanta is stretching "our limited advertising budget," Vice President of Marketing and Membership Tracy Lott acknowledges. And digital media investments are one way her zoo stretches marketing resources. For zoos following Zoo Atlanta's lead, Search Influence, a digital marketing agency, suggests key steps to digital success. Efforts need to begin with planning, with an emphasis on defining member/donor/visitor profiles and segments for targeting. Then local prospects, loyal members and tourists can be sent the different messaging that will resonate and drive response. Next comes a polished website to showcase attention-getting content and provide a platform for sales and donations, supported by a traffic-building investment in search optimization and paid search. Third, zoos need a curated content-marketing strategy for website, social media and paid digital advertising to promote unique draws, from exhibits and events to conservation and education. Leveraging that great content requires a targeted digital advertising strategy. Since 90% of time online is spent outside of search, mainly on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms, one focus should be social media ads with enticing video, graphics and messaging. These ads can be targeted by interests, location, family status, buying behavior and more to boost response. Finally, to maximize ROI, marketers need analytics with defined KPIs per platform, including use of Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. For the full post, see http://www.acculistusa.com/todays-zoo-marketing-embraces-conservation-digital/

Mail Joins Digital to Bolster Promotional Products

AccuList USA recently completed a proprietary analysis of the top-performing direct mail and e-mail lists for promotional products companies to help buttress the continued success of this evergreen marketing tool. Promotional product providers already have some powerful arguments in wooing business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketers. For example, per industry surveys, eight in 10 consumers have one to 10 promotional products, 53% use the giveaways at least once a week, and 60% retain the products for up to two years. Before receiving a promotional product, 55% surveyed had done business with the advertiser, but after receiving a promotional product, 85% did business with the advertiser. With promotional products delivering such regular, repeated brand exposure and enhanced outreach, it’s no wonder the U.S. promotional products industry is forecast to generate $24 billion in 2018, growing at 2.5 % annually. Plus, while not every industry is a good target for a promotional product pitch, prospective buyers abound. A recent post by Designhill, a graphic design platform, cited some top promotional users they have supported. Real estate promotions lead in distributing branded notepads, keychains, calendars, magnets, door hangers and more, for example. The education sector often offers writing instruments, apparel, water bottles, folders, and frisbees at college fairs, seminars, expos and open houses. In today’s competitive healthcare market, clinics, hospitals, outpatient clinics and surgery centers go beyond branded tote bags to first-aid kits and custom ice packs. Nonprofits are big consumers of tumblers, tote bags, wristbands and lanyards, while banks, credit unions and insurance firms opt to reward both employees and new accounts with everything from travel bags and mugs to fidget spinners. With the midterm elections ahead, don’t forget that political candidates are a big market for flags, stickers, decals, apparel and hats (following in MAGA footsteps). The key to success is targeted data. Promotional products are visual sales, which is why direct mail and catalogs using targeted mailing lists have such a role in the industry. Now social media options such as Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and LinkedIn also allow for visual, targeted promotions, including video. And tools like AccuList USA’s Digital2Direct can link highly targeted direct mail with social media advertising on Facebook, or send direct mail with timely opt-in e-mail to the same recipients. For more ways that AccuList USA supports promotional products companies, see http://www.acculistusa.com/promotional-product-marketers-can-hone-proven-tools/

How Data Silos Spoil Marketing Harvests

Silos can be great for agricultural storage, but they spell trouble when we're talking about customer data trapped in company departmental and systems silos. Research shows the magnitude of the problem. For example, a recent blog post by Veriday, a digital marketing company, noted that more than 80% of marketers say data silos within marketing obscure a seamless view of campaigns and customers. And that doesn't even consider data trapped outside marketing in IT, sales, etc. In larger, older companies, many data silos result when outdated processes and separate information systems hamper linkages. Yet silos are not just a big-business issue given the average small business today is using 14.3 different systems, as the Veriday post points out. Yes, information can be transferred between silos via import/export or manual efforts, but this risks duplication, errors, delays, inconsistent hygiene and inaccurate updating--meaning poor immediate ROI and wasted future opportunities from an incomplete and inaccurate picture of customers, campaigns and channel results. In business-to-consumer marketing, data silo risks are growing more acute, stresses a Forbes magazine article by Denise Persson, CMO at Snowflake, a data warehouse firm. She cites Accenture survey results showing that, while the promise of a deal or discount was the top driver of customer loyalty last year, in 2017, 58% of customers find marketing programs that are highly tailored to their needs much more enticing. Marketers can embrace targeted, contextual approaches, but, Persson warns, if each marketing channel--website, social media, e-mail, online ads, direct mail--uses a different set of data to develop a different channel strategy, marketers will end up with a fragmented customer picture delivering a fragmented brand experience! Smart marketers will invest in solutions, such as third-party support, software for content management and marketing automation, and data warehousing. Meanwhile, a blog post by Ajay Gupta, founder of Stirista, a digital marketing agency, points out the myopia of failing to link business and consumer data, especially now that digital media is blurring the line between professional and personal lives. Gupta gives the example of a company that wants to market a personal electronic device by targeting a proven business prospect list with only B2B e-mail addresses. If the company enhances the prospects' B2B info with B2C data, it could expand its reach by sending out e-mails to B2C addresses, direct mail to home addresses, online display ads via digital cookies, plus targeted social media ads! Linking B2B and B2C data is also a great tool for onboarding and creating social media custom audiences, per Gupta. For more detail, see http://www.acculistusa.com/how-b2b-and-b2c-data-silos-spoil-marketing-harvests/

Survey: Marketers Bank on Personalization Success

Senior marketing professionals are optimistic about the success of their personalization strategies, according to a survey of senior marketers from the CMO Council and Microsoft. As recently reported by MarketingProfs, 26% of the 179 marketers interviewed said they were totally confident in how their companies approached personalization. Another 49% were "hopefully optimistic" about personalization results. The marketers were primarily business-to-business focused (48%), with 18% in business-to-consumer marketing and 34% involved in hybrid B2B and B2C marketing. When asked what criteria they thought would be key to personalization success, 37% of respondents cited a unified view of the customer, 29% counted on an omnichannel approach, 22% stressed flexible tools to enable engagement, and 12% listed predictive analytics as essential. Download the white paper for more details at http://www.cmocouncil.org/current_program_details.php?pid=139

Mobile Trumps Language in Wooing Hispanics

Marketers are eager to cash in on growing U.S. Hispanic purchasing power, which is rising at more than two times the national rate, but a recent MarketingProfs article warns that success goes beyond how well the brand message is translated into Spanish to how well it is translated to mobile, video and social platforms. For example, Hispanic consumers are less likely to access the Internet via desktop and more likely to own a smart phone than non-Hispanics, the article points out. So focusing on the mobile user experience becomes vital, via use of responsive design, mobile e-mail, an easy toggle to Spanish, or native advertising in appropriate mobile-friendly sites. Video--whether pre-roll, in-banner or social--is another way to engage with an audience that spends nearly 30% of its online time watching videos, streaming twice as much video as non-Hispanics. And with 71% of adults Hispanics using social networking sites, a social brand and ad strategy is another must. For more advice, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/28109/the-biggest-hurdle-to-reaching-hispanics-isnt-language-its-mobile

E-mail CTA: Best, and Hardest, Way to Up CTR

The best way to boost your e-mail click-through rate (CTR) is a meaningful call to action (CTA). That's the verdict of 65% of the marketing, sales and business professionals surveyed worldwide by Ascend2, as reported recently by MarketingProfs. Second place went to list segmentation for targeting (47%), followed by message personalization (42%). Tactics garnering frequent online discussion gathered the fewest votes by the way: social sharing (6%) and video e-mail (10%). There isn't a big surprise in those findings from marketers, who were weighted more heavily toward B2B (68% of surveyed). But before you rush off to spruce up your call-to-action effort, note that those same marketers also rated list segmentation and call to action as the most difficult tactics to implement for improved CTR, by 41% and 35% respectively. Clearly, knowing what to do isn't the same as knowing how to do it well. Maybe that's why the surveyed marketing pros saw e-mail CTR trends as relatively stagnant, either not changing (34%) or increasing only modestly (33%). For more details of the survey, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/27811/the-best-tactics-for-improving-email-ctrs

Study: Consumers Prefer Priority Info Via SMS

SMS has become an essential communications tool for retailers as online and mobile shopping grow. In fact, 85% of consumers in a new survey said they would prioritize unopened text messages over e-mails and push notifications from apps. Direct Marketing News magazine recently reported on a survey of 1,000 UK consumers by eDigitalResearch, which showed texting as the most effective way to reach consumers in real time with time-sensitive information. The survey results are especially pertinent for retailers, suggesting they need to implement a comprehensive communications strategy that includes multiple channels to engage with consumers across the entire life cycle, said Steve Brockway, director of research (UK) at eDigitalResearch, in a news release about the study. The research not only showed that SMS is preferred (by 85%) for the delivery of priority information, such as order status alerts, but that 53% of respondents cited SMS as the preferred method of communication when on the go, and half said they'd choose SMS for day-of notifications. It's not an entirely text-happy world for marketers: 59% of respondents prefer to receive promotional information via e-mail, and 54% said they always or mostly always open offers received via e-mail. E-mail also had the highest open rate for marketing information, although closely followed by text messages. However, trust remains an obstacle for retailers when it comes to mobile technology. Only 43% of respondents said they were willing to share their mobile phone numbers with retailers out of fear they would be bombarded with irrelevant communications. For more detailed survey results, read http://www.dmnews.com/marketing-strategy/dont-text-and-drive-do-text-and-market/article/416397/

Study Reveals the 7 Habits of Successful Marketers

If you want to lead the market, you'll need to market like the leaders. There's no arguing with the results: Companies with more advanced marketing and sales capabilities have 30% greater revenue growth than the average firm in their sector, according to a recent benchmarking study by McKinsey & Company. Per a report by The Economist Group, the McKinsey analysis looked at more than 140 leading B2B and B2B2C global businesses and identified the seven marketing and sales hallmarks of the top-tier firms. The seven ingredients of the market-leaders' secret sauce: 1) view marketing and sales as an investment, not an expense; 2) know what needs to be fixed based on detailed marketing comparisons against best-performing peers; 3) target the capabilities that matter most, so that while there may be 40 marketing and sales skills impacting growth and profitability, the best companies focus on improving only about six; 4) don't try to do too much at the same time; 5) tailor improvement in marketing capabilities to current stage of development, whether the performance challenge is growth, profitability or both; 6) think about institutional capabilities and priorities, not just individual skills; 7) have an operating model with specific, measurable goals, embedded in a culture of review, incentive and leadership. For more on the study's "seven habits" of successful marketing and sales, read http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/the-next-big-thing/mckinsey-study-revenue-growth-marketing-leadership/

It's Full Speed Ahead for Mobile Coupon Use

Coupons are forecast to be mobile marketing's rising stars this year and beyond. As pointed out in a recent Target Marketing Magazine blog post by mobile industry veteran Greg Hoy, mobile coupons are redeemed 10 times more often than print coupons and mobile coupon users, set to reach 53.2 million in 2014, are forecast to post double-digit growth rates annually through 2016 per Business Insider stats. In fact, eMarketer has predicted that by 2016, mobile coupon users will represent nearly 83% of all digital coupon users, notes Hoy. So it would be a smart business-to-consumer marketing strategy to either initiate a mobile coupon program, or beef up existing mobile coupon efforts. Make sure that tablets are front and center in any plan, urges Hoy, noting that, according to eMarketer 2014 estimates, 80.2% of mobile coupon users redeemed with a tablet, compared with 75.4% using a smartphone. Look for other digital channels allowing easy access to coupons via mobile, too, such as mobile apps, daily deal and group buying sites, e-mail and social networks. Where appropriate, test geo-targeting; retailers are reporting high redemption rates from geo-targeted SMS-delivered coupons sent to shoppers close to stores, Hoy notes. Finally, consider using mobile coupons to boost loyalty programs, suggests Hoy, citing findings of a 2014 Bond Brand Loyalty poll that a better loyalty program would lead 6 in 10 millennials to switch brands and two-thirds to change when and where they shop. Targeted mobile coupons may be just the reward to tip the loyalty scales for mobile-savvy millennials. Read the complete post at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/extending-your-mobile-marketing-strategy-through-coupons

Is Digital Age Changing Consumer Research Rules?

Be cautious about using traditional market research to guide a major consumer product change. That's the warning from the new book Absolute Value by Itamar Simonson and Emanuel Rosen. The authors take a Universal McCann study of consumer interest in the first iPhone as an object lesson in why research can miss the mark in predicting consumer behavior today: That study found that an iPhone-type product would be a hit in countries like India and Mexico but not in the United States, Germany and Japan. What went wrong? Why are consumers unreliable predictors of their own behavior? The problem, note the authors, is that traditional market research looks at prior preferences, beliefs and experiences, while future consumer buying decisions about a new product (one that involves more than tweaking an existing product) are affected by a mass of noisy, ever-changing inputs in today's digital age -- such as online user reviews, friend and expert opinions, price comparison tools, and emerging technologies or sources. If consumers are bad at predicting their own preferences, market "experts" are no better, the authors add, pointing out that many experts failed to predict the success of the telephone, television and Internet. Should marketers abandon market research? No, they should change focus, advise the authors. Instead of trying to predict long-term consumer preferences, researchers can go with the digital flow and track consumer trends and decisions on review sites, user forums and other social media -- so businesses can respond with better solutions. Simonson is a professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Rosen is author of The Anatomy of Buzz. For more on their book Absolute Value, see the news release: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/itamar-simonson-emanuel-rosen-how-digital-age-rewriting-rule-book-consumer-behavior

Increase Triggered E-mails to Upgrade ROI

Looking to improve e-mail marketing performance? Behaviorally triggered e-mail should be on the agenda. Research shows behaviorally targeted, triggered e-mail campaigns achieve 30% higher open and click-through rates and three times the conversion rates of broadcast e-mail, as a recent MarketingProfs article "Three E-mail Marketing Improvement Challenges for 2014" pointed out. Of course, the article included triggered e-mail as a top recommended improvement! The first step is to select programmed "triggers," meaning the customer action/inaction, time or event to trigger e-mail delivery. To boost response, e-mails can then be tailored for delivery timing, subject line and content, and target recipient or recipient group data. More sophisticated programs (such as lead nurturing) can involve sequenced messaging (a track), along with the timing, number and content of messages in each sequence/track. Perhaps you already use basic welcome e-mails and bounce-back purchase thank-yous, but what about adding triggered up-sell or cross-sell suggestions, a lead nurturing series, an educational series, renewal and re-order offers, birthday greetings or customer anniversary e-mails, and reactivation efforts? For more, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24909/three-email-marketing-improvement-challenges-for-2014?adref=nlt041514

When You Bore Customers, You Lose Customers

Here's a no-brainer: If your marketing message -- whether delivered via website, direct mail, event booth or in-person pitch -- bores customers, it fails. Recently, Brian Ladyman, a consumer engagement leader at Slalom, penned an article for iMedia Connection with tips on how to avoid slipping into the yawn zone of marketing. His advice was geared to B2B marketers, but it works for B2C content, too. See if you can pep up your marketing by doing some of the following: Make sure your core value proposition is the core of your message and avoid losing audience attention by piling on the meaningless buzzwords even if, especially if, your competition loves them. Make it real and show how your product or service delivers benefits with examples and success stories. Stand out by picking a competitive advantage to highlight with engaging content. Ladyman lauds Volvo's use of a martial arts star to focus attention on the precision steering of its large trucks as an example. Offer choices in what information customers get and how they want to get it. Have you adapted your message for video and mobile formats as well as basic print and online, for example? Chase away boredom by engaging in an interactive relationship with buyers through humor, entertaining visuals and dialog. Take a look at your social media and event efforts with that in mind. For all Brian's tips and examples, go to http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35982.asp#singleview.

Direct Mail Spurs More Instant Action Than E-mail

Direct mail retains potent marketing clout per new research from the Direct Marketing Association in Europe. Four-fifths (79%) of consumers will act on direct mail immediately, compared to only 45% who say they deal with e-mail right away, according to the DMA's first attitudinal print tracking report, produced in conjunction with fast.MAP and sponsored by HP. The study also discovered that direct mail is the preferred channel for receiving marketing from local shops (51%) and banks (48%), although email is preferred for events and competitions (50% each). Some content strategies help boost direct mail impact: Personalization was mentioned as important by 74% of those surveyed; 31% said acknowledgement of previous dealings with the company is important; and 23% like communications to be tailored to their gender. A quote from Rachel Aldighieri, director of communications and insight at the European DMA, summed up: "Many people today easily could choose to conduct their lives entirely online, but they don’t. For brands to market effectively in a truly connected world, they must fully recognize the role that print comms play and will continue to play for many years to come.” For an infographic with more research data, go to http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/23/infographic-consumers-more-likely-deal-direct-mail-immediately-compared-email

B2C Content Marketers Give Top Marks to Events

B2C content marketing tactics of all kinds are on the rise, but B2C marketers rate in-person events as the most effective in growing numbers, per the recent "B2C Content Marketing: 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends" study from CMI and MarketingProfs. A range of content marketing tactics A-to-Z, from blogging to infographics to videos, have been adopted by 90% of B2C marketers today, with 60% of those surveyed saying they plan to increase their content marketing budgets in the next 12 months. Not only are use and spending up from the prior year, more B2C marketers consider themselves effective at content marketing: 34% this year compared with 32% last year. But they also rate some tactics as more effective than others. In terms of usage alone, social media (other than blogs) is the most popular (88% use social platforms), but B2C confidence in tactical effectiveness puts in-person events at the top, with 74% believing events are effective, followed closely by e-newsletters (73%). This is the second year in a row that in-person events have received top effectiveness marks from B2C marketers, plus confidence in events has grown significantly; the 74% effectiveness vote is up from 62% last year. For more on the study, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/11873/2014-b2c-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends

New Mobile Captcha Ad Network Delivers for Unilever

An 87% lift in purchase intent was Unilever's result from testing a newly expanded "type-in" mobile ad network for its Wish-Bone Italian salad dressing, reported the company, citing a total of 757 consumers surveyed by comScore. Wish-Bone's marketing team was the first to test Solve Media's expanded "type-in" mobile ad network that not only includes mobile Web publishers but also mobile apps. The type-in system works like a traditional captcha but replaces the randomly generated letters and numbers typically seen on digital devices with paid brand advertising. Wish-Bone ran full-screen interstitial ads involving a simple captcha call-to-action, such as "please enter: Sassy." After the mobile consumers typed in the message, they could see the publisher's content, and Unilever was charged a fee. The promos were placed with mostly female-focused news/content providers, including AOL properties, Bauer titles, Meredith sites, Internet Brands' online publications,Vertical Scope networks, and music service Songza. With Songza, Unilever offered 24 hours of ad-free music for engaging with the ad. For more detail, see the Adweek story: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/unilever-mobile-effort-garners-87-purchase-intent-lift-150514

Mobile App Targets by Social Media Data, Location

Summer is when advertisers must catch folks on the move, so it's no surprise to see a surge in mobile app debuts. UberMedia , for one, unveiled its UberAds product that targets app users based on their social media data and location. “So if you follow Tom Cruise on Twitter and are near a theater, you could see an ad for movie tickets,” explained Bill Gross, UberMedia CEO, in an Adweek article. NBCUniversal tested the UberAds' mobile apps network to promote Tom Cruise's sci-fi movie Oblivion and earned a 4% click-through rate that was significantly higher than the industry average of 1%. Doug Neil, senior vice president of digital marketing at NBCUniversal, told Adweek that the Oblivion ads created 2 million mobile impressions while homing in on Cruise’s 3.9 million Twitter followers and other mobile app users. For more on summer mobile initiatives, see the story at http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/summer-could-be-breakthrough-mobile-advertising-149632