My First Love: Direct Response
David Ogilvy, a principal in Ogilvy & Mather, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies, began his career by creating a successful direct response (DR) campaign for a client on a very small budget. Since then, DR has been an important part of his media strategy. He believes that DR is an underutilized medium and that everyone who works for an advertising agency should be trained in DR methods, including copywriting for long sales letters. As a result of his experience with DR, Ogilvy believes that an inexpensive offset letter can sometimes yield more results than an expensive computer letter and that a low-cost, 2-color mailing can garner inquiries at half the cost of a 4-color brochure. It pays to offer more than one item in a mailing and to coordinate television advertising with direct mail campaigns. A strong offer often works in both mail and press, and a winning headline can be effective for years. Premiums should always be tested. Two premiums work better than one, and low-cost premiums can pull responses better than more expensive ones.
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Ogilvy, David
Full text: [Marketing Times] Nov/Dec 1983
4 Experts Tell You: Who & Why & When of Direct Response
Direct response (DR) is an interactive marketing system that uses at least one advertising medium to get a measurable response. The distinguishing feature of DR is that it builds a database on prospects and customers and tracks their performance from initial contact throughout their business activity. The DR experience of 3 diverse firms is described. The Eddie Bauer Inc. division of General Mills uses DR in marketing its outdoor wear and sports equipment. Bauer uses DR to improve customer service and promote company credibility. United Airlines uses DR for various sales and promotions. It also uses DR for information mailings to travel agents, corporate accounts, frequent travelers, and good credit prospects. The Frequent Flyer Program is typical of United Airlines’ use of DR. International Business Machines (IBM) began using DR in 1977 for cost-efficient selling of its less expensive equipment. Judicious use of direct mail, followed by telephone calls, has enhanced the company’s image, increased market coverage, and improved sales performance.
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Heneberry, David
Rudd, David V.
Grosvald, Stevan
Coyne, J. J.
Full text: [Marketing Times] Nov/Dec 1983
Avoiding Disaster in Managing Direct Response
Five major factors influence response from direct mail: 1. copy, 2. package, 3. offer, 4. timing, and 5. mailing list. Of these, mailing list selection affects response more than the sum of all other components. Mailing lists are markets, and it is better to send a poorly constructed mailing to a good list than to send a top grade mailing to a poor list. Direct mail often requires the help of a consultant to prevent common pitfalls, such as unrealistic order margins, unattainable response rates, or faulty test methods. Thorough research and proper computerization of in-house lists is essential. Customers should be coded by status and other pertinent information, including standard industrial code (SIC), so that mailings can be tailored to each group. Responses should be tracked in the customer files according to: 1. recency, 2. frequency, 3. amount of order, 4. item purchased, 5. source, and 6. method of payment. Duplicate records should be identified and tagged.
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Burnett, Ed
Full text: [Marketing Times] Nov/Dec 1983
AMEX Girds the Globe with DR
American Express is one of the world’s largest users of direct response (DR) because it continuously markets various products to its own list of 13 million cardholders. To build up business in its travel office network, American Express tested 3 different direct mail packages in the US: 1. a walk-in invitation, 2. a mail-in incentive, and 3. a walk-in incentive. Surprisingly, the most successful package was the walk-in incentive – not the easier mail-in incentive – and it was subsequently used in mailings to 2.7 million US cardholders. The findings of the test mailings indicated that the interest of cardmembers to meet the people in their local travel offices outweighed the convenience factor of responding by mail. A careful test, therefore, should include a variation that may not seem very promising. Also, immediate response figures alone do not reflect the true value of direct mail. A positive impact on awareness and attitudes of prospects will have a residual value. Finally, it pays to keep an open mind and continue to test new methods. As a result of what was learned from the US mailings, the travel office promotion was extended successfully to worldwide mailings.
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Mannell, Len
Full text: [Marketing Times] Nov/Dec 1983
Using Sports as a Marketing Tool
Sports can be used as a marketing tool to generate name and product recognition among millions of potential consumers without the outlay of vast sums for advertising. A successful sports promotion offers a number of carryover benefits for the sponsoring corporations, from direct association through an event’s title or from the use of a sports celebrity representative, or indirectly, through the use of banners or scoreboards that endorse the company. Sweden’s Volvo automobile company has moved from sponsorship of a single $25,000 tennis tournament in 1973 to 1983′s overall sponsorship of the 80-event, multi-million dollar Grand Prix tour. The name Volvo is now synonymous with men’s tennis in many circles. The Stroh Brewery Co. co-promoted a series of all-star basketball games with ProSery this past summer in secondary cities such as Tampa, Florida; product identification was generated locally by different promotional tools, and national coverage came in the form of newspaper articles.
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Benton, Raymond S.
Full text: [Marketing Communications] Nov 1983
Evolution of a Sports Promotion
General Foods Corp.’s Post Cereals and Sanka Brand Decaffeinated Coffee took over sponsorship of the Golden Age Games in 1980. At the 1982 Games in Sanford, Florida, a field of 4,000 entrants between the ages of 55 and 95 competed in a variety of track and field events. General Foods’ Fun ‘n Fitness program began with a direct-mail promoted, youth-oriented effort in which free exercise and play equipment was offered to elementary schools for proofs-of-purchase from Post cereal packages. Golden Age Fun ‘n Fitness was formally launched at the First National Conference on Fitness & Aging in September 1981. The program was promoted at the grassroots level, in cities with substantial older populations, by offering free fitness rallies conducted by Jack LaLanne. General Foods had conducted studies and found that fitness and health were becoming major concerns of older Americans. Sanka brand’s primary strategy in participating is creating goodwill toward the brand, but Post Cereals expects to increase sales through the fitness promotion.
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Anonymous
Full text: [Marketing Communications] Nov 1983
Are You Pushing the Dream Enough in Your Direct Mail?
Direct mail advertising must spark the imagination of recipients and make them eagerly anticipate the product. Once it arrives and is used, the excitement tends to diminish. Direct mail should ”sell a dream” because it stimulates results. People do not buy products, but rather buy the dreams they believe those products will make come true. Pointers for making direct mail convey dreams include: 1. Use dialogue to construct these dreams. 2. Put the reader into a desirable scenario. 3. Use personalized electronically produced letters to interest the recipient. One should be believable when painting word pictures or recipients will be lost. These dreams should be backed with a money-back guarantee so that readers feel they have less to risk.
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Brock, Luther
Full text: [Direct Marketing] Nov 1983
The Business of Getting Elected
Today, electing a politician involves strategic planning, professionalmarketing of the candidate, and plenty of money. Key electioneering strategists are political consultants, pollsters, and political action committees, and modern campaigns borrow heavily from marketing and advertising techniques. For example, direct mail efforts are often a part of the campaign and use the most advanced computerized mailing techniques. To run successful campaigns, black hopefuls must recruit experienced personnel in such fields as media and polling, but there are still only a few black members of the American Association of Political Consultants. Unfortunately, racism is still a part of campaigns, a trend fostered by the media itself. Campaign staffers make use of hard statistical research data purchased from pollsters or research firms, and adequate money remains the key to a successful effort. Fund raising is difficult in low-income black communities, and money dictates whether the campaign will use costly media or be geared to grass-roots efforts.
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Hilliard, S. Lee
Full text: [Black Enterprise] Nov 1983
New 401(k) savings plan targets mid-size employers
Mercantile Trust Company of St. Louis intends a fall campaign to promote its New Directions savings plan to medium-sized companies. The plan, founded on Section 401(k) of the Tax Reform Act of 1978, offers tax savings to employees plus early withdrawal and employee-matched contribution options not available from IRAs. Marketing includes: 1) a direct mail campaign; 2) a sales presenter kit; and 3) an employee brochure.
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Anonymous
Full text: [Bank Marketing] Nov 1983
Current bank advertising: 1983 best of print winners
Among the BMA’s “Best of Print” advertising award winners for 1983 were: 1) First Security National Bank and Bank of Boston (full- page, black and white, consumer magazine); 2) First of America and Crocker (full-page, color); 3) Harris Bank and Old Kent Bank and Trust (campaign, black and white); 4) Mastercard International and Bank of America (campaign, color); 5) Equibank and Sun Banks (trade publications); 6) Fidelity Bank and Colonial Bank (direct mail); and 7) Omaha National Bank (outdoor).
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Anonymous
Full text: [Bank Marketing] Nov 1983
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October 18, 2010 12:00 am | 
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