White Papers
Throughout the year, DMA posts papers on specific topics, relevant to the direct marketing industry. Find out how to submit a white paper.
Targeting an Under-Marketed Opportunity in B2B - May 2009 -- John HoodMCH,Inc.
How to find the end users and true decision makers hidden by the institutional purchasing process.
Primer on DemandROMI ABMS - May 2009 -- Guy PowellDemandROMI
This document describes the methodology underlying DemandROMI ABMS (Agent-Based Modeling & Simulation) used to model consumer categories. It is based on a robust choice engine combined with a media information processing element to connect upper and mid funnel marketing to conversion. It describes how purchase intent is developed as a result of the brand's advertising activities and how these lead to an understanding of how consumers in segments make choices and purchase products. It shows how a consumer's past history with the brand is also incorporated into the model. This document also describes the process the model uses by which consumer segments develop value (utilities) based on their preferences for functional, emotional and price attributes. These preference weights and differences by segment deliver valuable information to support the brand in improving their messaging and targeting. It describes the underlying purchase funnel and how existing customers and new customers respond to marketing activities to drive conversion.
How Smart Brands are Beating The Recession with DRTV - April 2009 -- By Hawthorne Direct Hawthornedirect
The objective for this brief guide is to illuminate a fresh perspective of seeing opportunity within these trying times and provide you and your company with a tactical vision for thriving in the midst of a recession.
Beat Practices For Webinars - March 2009 -- By Real MagnetReal Magnet LLC
Even before the recession, webinars had emerged as a leading marketing tool. According to a 2008 study by Wainhouse Research, 94% of marketers plan to use webinars in some capacity in 2009. Gartner Research reports that U.S. businesses will more than double their spending on web conferencing in just 4 years, increasing to $1.6 billion by 2011. Very simply, webinars are proving to be an effective, less costly way to get visibility for your products and services at a time when spending on travel, trade shows, and traditional marketing programs is on the decline.
2008 New Media M&A Round-Up - January 2009 -- By Peachtree Meida AdvisorsPeachtree Media Advisors
In 2008, there were 707 merger, acquisition and capital raise transactions in the online sector of media (92 more transactions than the 615 in 2007). The 707 deals were comprised of 348 capital raises, which are substantially more than the 273 capital raises in 2007, and 359 digital media acquisitions that involved a change of control. In addition, there were significantly fewer large scale transactions in 2008 and substantially more small niche‐oriented acquisitions than in 2007.
Strategic Assessment - January 2009 -- Marketing Transformation ServicesMarketing Transformation Services
Success in MRM requires an assessment of where you are today and where you are going. The strategic assessment identifies where the company is today, where they need to go to help drive the initiative, and it makes clear what work streams need to be done, in what order, and what the work stream timelines are.
Strategies for Marketing Successfully in a Freakonomy - January 2009 -- By Richard BergerASTRALCOM
While agressive companies are continuing to cultivate opportunities in this economy, most businesses are adopting a very conservative approach to the market. Some companies do have legitimate reasons to pull back their marketing efforts, but other firms are merely reacting to the market uncertainty and pulling back out of fear. If you're doing the latter, then you may be missing fortuitous opportunities to dominate the competition and gain significant marketshare.
Recession Resistant Marketing - January 2009 -- By MCHMCH Inc.
Over the past several months, we’ve all spent time discussing the election, the economy, and the general business climate. This document provides B2B marketers with an overview of the major effects of the economic crisis; the areas of the business market that are most likely to hold their own, or even thrive during the coming year; changes on the horizon; and actionable steps that can be taken to adapt in this fluid environment.
Creating Great Subscriber Experiences: Are Marketers Relationship Worthy? - December 2008 -- By Return PathReturn Path
Email marketing is a lot like dating. The marketer tries hard to be seen as an enticing match by the potential subscriber. He offers attractive benefits (best selection! free shipping! fascinating articles!) which the subscriber examines, assessing the possibilities. The subscriber enters into a budding relationship with the expectation that each conversation with the marketer should be interesting and relevant enough to be worth their precious time. The marketer may not be given much time to prove their value. And if the subscriber thinks the marketer’s not delivering, they’ll cut off the relationship. As we said, a lot like dating.
Your Reputation Holds the Key to Deliverability - December 2008 -- By Return PathReturn Path
Twenty percent of legitimate email never reaches the inbox. Blame the ISPs’ ongoing fight against spam—and then, look in the mirror. Today, your sending practices play the major role in determining whether or not your email makes it to the inbox.
Online Marketing Making the Invisible Visible - November 2008 -- By ReachForcereachforce
Combining a Deliberate Marketing approach with Online Marketing programs, means business-to-business Marketers can have the best of both worlds-fast, low-cost demand generation combined with proactive, targeted nurture marketing to the right buyers in the right companies. By following the 4 steps outlined in this paper, you can begin to leverage early purchase indicators from search engine activity and Web site visitor logs to convert virtually 100% of your web leads and almost 1/3 of your Web site visitors into real leads.
Is Dirty Data Sabotaging Your Marketing Results? - November 2008 -- By ReachForcereachforce.com
Online Marketing activities such as search engine marketing advertising and web analytics data generate a wealth of hidden opportunities waiting to be uncovered. But using the contacts and company names generated by these programs to identify the right buyers is not always straightforward. This white paper presents a four-step process for applying Deliberate Marketing techniques to Online Marketing activities to turn passive programs into proactive, profitable action.
Laser-Targeted Lead Generation - November 2008 -- By Reachforcereachforce
Do you know your best customers? Can you easily identify your target market sweet spot? In which markets do you sell the most or the fastest? Are there other business buyers in your sweet spot that you should be targeting?
Emerging '09 DM Trends - November 2008 -- By Daniel StepanicC.Trac
With the number of innovative ideas and strategies shared at DMA:08, remaining true to the old adage "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" would be a direct marketing crime. Held in Sin City this past October, the week long, National Database Marketing Conference and Exhibition, was a-buzz with direct marketing hot words like data-strategy, relevancy, opt-in and integration. As the electro-glow of the Vegas slots fades, these emerging DM-trends remain at the forefront of my mind.
American Business in Transition: - November 2008 -- Scott GordonMid-Atlantic Freelance
American consumers are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the year-long credit and economic crisis. Increasing job cuts, rising unemployment rates, and diminishing household net worth have affected everyone to varying degrees. As a result, many consumers are reducing discretionary spending and taking tougher approaches to their consumption priorities. Unfortunately, the American business community is not immune from many of these pressures. The result is that many companies are searching for ways to sustain their businesses while reaching their consumers in a more cost-effective way
DMA Quarterly Business Review - Q3 2008 - October 2008 -- Direct Marketing Association
Quarter 3's Revenue vs. SQLY (Same Quarter Last Year) Index of 47 is the third consecutive quarter that this index has been in negative territory. Q3 2008 findings point to growth in Profitability, with each of the three segments (Marketers, Agencies, and Suppliers) registering an index that is in the high 50s or better. Projected Revenue for Q4 2008 points to modest growth, with an index of 51. In the QBR index, a score of 50 represents no change in performance. Scores above 50 represent growth, and those below 50 represent a decline. DMA Members can download the complete results at no cost, while Non-Members can order a PDF file by visiting the DMA bookstore.
Successful E-Mail Marketing Methods - September 2008 -- Medical Marketing ServicesMedical Marketing Service, Inc.
E-mail marketing is an increasingly demanding art and science. Competition within the recipient’s in-box is fierce, and recipients are merciless in deleting e-mails that are illegible or irrelevant. Your message has just seconds to capture the attention and interest of the recipient and to be opened, all of which are prerequisite to achieving your objectives; average reading time for a promotional e-mail is 15 seconds or less. Therefore, successful direct marketing requires employing best practices to beat the odds. Based on actual e-mail broadcast results and industry standards, we recommend nine Successful E-mail Marketing Methods to maximize your direct marketing results
Driving ROI Once Your Email is Delivered - September 2008 -- ClickMail MarketingClickMail Marketing
Even with a superior deliverability rate, are your email marketing results everything they could be? Getting your email delivered is only the first step in marketing via email. Your emails must arrive in a manner that encourages action on the part of the recipient. This white paper addresses several components of email marketing that matter after you're in the inbox, as well as aspects you can control to encourage more opens, more click-throughs and more conversions.
Latinos Online - September 2008 -- Susannah FoxPew Hispanic
Latinos comprise 14% of the U.S. adult population and about half of this growing group (56%) goes online. By comparison, 71% of non-Hispanic whites and 60% of non-Hispanic blacks use the internet. Several socio-economic characteristics that are often intertwined, such as low levels of education and limited English ability, largely explain the gap in internet use between Hispanics and non-Hispanics.(c) 2007 Pew Hispanic Center, a Pew Research Center project. All rights reserved.
DMA Quarterly Business Review - Q2 2008 - August 2008 -- Direct Marketing Association
Quarter 1's Revenue vs. SQLY (Same Quarter Last Year) Index of 47 is the second time since Q2 2003 that this index has been in the negative territory. Q2 2008 findings point to growth in Profitability, with each of the three segments (Marketers, Agencies, and Suppliers) registering an index that is in the low 60s or higher. In the QBR index, a score of 50 represents no change in performance. Scores above 50 represent growth, and those below 50 represent a decline. DMA Members can download the complete results at no cost, while Non-Members can order a PDF file by visiting the DMA bookstore.
Six 2008 Holiday Email Tips: Exposed - August 2008 -- By Fred TabsharaniVidiemi
This holiday season, ISP's will be policing marginal databases like never before. Old subscriber data and/or bad email addresses will have sobriety checkpoints. If you think you have old data we suggest you omit this data from your holiday mailing list. We recommend that you create a separate database and remarket to this group after the busy holiday season. You don't want to risk getting your messages blocked or have them diverted to the junk folder during the season's rush. In addition, with a less than stellar list your metrics will diminish, causing skewed reporting, thus costing you more money to deploy while not getting a clear picture of who your most profitable subscribers are. Pay special attention to subscribers that haven't opened in the past 6-12 months. Reputation scores have been known to decrease for senders who do not purge customers without any opens or clicks in a 12-month period. By not sending to customers who haven't opened or clicked in the past year, senders can lower ISP complaints and gain higher reputation scores-which leads to better deliverability.
Vision Based On Resources - August 2008 -- By Nelise ZymbergZymberg Marketing Direto
The way companies used to think about strategy until the end of 80s, was related to an external analysis of organizations, where the result of the company was stipulated by its position in the market.
Small Business Guide To Web-Based Video Marketing - July 2008 -- By Paul BuraniClicksharp Marketing
Major corporations awoke to the potential of web-based video a long time ago. Among the most popular channels on YouTube, one can find heavyweights of the entertainment and media verticals, such as Universal Music Group, CBS, Nintendo Wii, and National Geographic. Other industries, however, are also well represented by such global brands as Chrysler, Absolut, Philips, Nike and E*Trade. Each has visibly made online video, whether professionally produced or user-generated content, an important part of their brand marketing agenda.
Ad Networks And How To Choose Them - July 2008 -- By Robert TasSportgenic
The purpose of this white paper is to provide the digital media professional with a comprehensive introduction to digital ad networks.
Bring Unknown Prospects To Life And Make Them Your Customers - July 2008 -- By Paul McConvilleTARGUSinfo
This four-part series white paper explores knowledge as it applies to interactions between customer-facing organizations and the consumers who buy from them. The focus is on the few seconds or, at most, few minutes between a consumer's decision to contact a business and the conclusion of that business, whether over the phone, through a Web site or at the point of sale.
How to Master Customer Acquisition: On-Demand Lead Scoring - July 2008 -- By Kim GarnerTARGUSinfo
This paper introduces a breakthrough solution to these challenges called on-demand lead scoring. It directly and powerfully addresses this new merchant imperative, giving selling organizations deep insight into consumers previously unknown to them (as well as existing customers). Many companies have begun to score leads in recent years but most of them haven't realized the advantages created by scoring leads on demand. The key is having this information at the instant that companies need it most: at the moment of impact for converting a sale.
HTML Design and Rendering Tactis for Improved Email Deliverability and Increased Response - July 2008 -- By Megan OuelletListrak
The following white paper discussing HTML design and rendering best practices, including design tips for different email clients, guidelines for rich media and forms, and testing HTML content via seed lists and third-party rendering services. This white paper will also address many of the myths surrounding images in email so you have the knowledge you need to create strategic, successful email campaigns.
The Loyalty Marketing Mix - July 2008 -- By Rick FergusonColloquy
The COLLOQUY Retail Loyalty Index is built from a survey of 3,000 U.S. consumers across six key demographic segments. It offers a revealing look at the retail brands to which consumers are most loyal, the fundamental factors that drive store loyalty, and the subtle differences in consumer definitions of loyalty related to store brands, retail categories and consumer segments. The survey results demonstrate that, while EDLP tactics successfully build sales through frequency, this success comes at a cost. With the traditional marketing mix taking a back seat to a relentless focus on price, a marketing strategy focused solely on sale prices and promotions not only faces diminishing returns, but can also actually breed disloyal customers.
The Difference Engine - July 2008 -- By Rick FergusonColloquy
A comparison of loyalty marketing perceptions among specific U.S consumer segments.
Economic Impact Analysis 2008: The Direct Marketing Industry Report (Executive Summary) - July 2008 -- By Direct Marketing Association UKDMA UK
In this the third Economic Impact Analysis of the Direct Marketing Industry, the strength of direct marketing is apparent. Showing sustained and healthy growth in 2007, the industry represents an extensive contribution to UK employment, and thus the economy as a whole. Adaptable and resilient, direct marketing continues to provide marketers with the tools needed in the overall marketing mix to react to ever changing market conditions and consumer demands. And it remains a significant element of all marketing activities to businesses of all sizes in the UK today.
2008 EMail Marketing Strategies - June 2008 -- By Fred TabsharaniVidi Emi
Email marketing is more powerful than ever, with retailers reporting record online sales and using email to drive significant traffic.
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