Guest Blogger Bob McCarthy Speaks with Denny Hatch
From time to time, this space will feature contributions from other members and friends of NEDMA, and this weeks’ guest blogger is Bob McCarthy of McCarthy & King Marketing, Inc.
Many of us know Bob as a past president of NEDMA (or as a teacher at Bentley College, where he taught a course on direct response copywriting for 10 years), but he is also an extremely talented and highly regarded direct response copywriter and consultant.
A 26-year veteran of our industry, Bob works with agencies and clients in providing freelance copywriting, full-service direct marketing programs and direct response consulting.
You can learn more about Bob by visiting his Web site at www.mccarthyandking.com, where you can sign up for a free subscription to his bi-weekly e-newsletter, “The Direct Response Coach.” Bob can also be reached at 508-473-8643 or at .
Take it away, Bob…
In the Brave New World of Direct Marketing, Old is Still Better
By Bob McCarthy of McCarthy & King Marketing, Inc.
I’ve only spoken to Denny Hatch a few times over the years. But I feel like I’ve known him forever.
Since I became part of the direct marketing community 26 years ago, I have been reading his columns, his magazine, his newsletter and, now, his e-newsletter, Business Common Sense.
Denny Hatch is truly one of the innovative leaders of direct marketing.
He’s the founder of the WHO’S MAILING WHAT! newsletter, former publisher of (and still a columnist for) Target Marketing magazine and the owner of the world’s premier archive of direct mail samples.
This unique archive is a massive collection of direct mail samples from all the major mailers - categorized by industry, application, format. Every month, through a network of correspondents, 4,000-5,000 pieces of mail are received and analyzed – for easy retrieval by users. Subscribers can then search for and obtain copies of selected samples.
This is the ultimate “swipe” file and I’m fascinated by the whole concept. As a copywriter, I have trouble organizing my own samples so it’s hard to imagine anyone being able to organize everybody else’s.
Today, Denny is a freelance direct mail writer, designer and consultant, and the editor and publisher of the aforementioned Business Common Sense, a FREE twice-a-week e-newsletter. In this new venture, Denny shares his no-holds-barred take on a range of current business and marketing issues. To subscribe, go to www.businesscommonsense.com.
Happily, Denny has agreed to serve up a portion of his DM knowledge as a keynote speaker at NEDMA’s Direct Marketer of the Year Awards Banquet on June 14 at Bentley College.
So what does he think of the Brave New World of Direct Marketing? Not surprisingly, Denny says, “Old World is better…”
“…the reason for the dot-com bust and a trillion dollars in capitalization going up in smoke is that the hot-shot twenty-somethings who ushered in that epoch did not know anything about marketing.”
If there is one thing you can bank on with Denny, he’s not shy about offering his opinion. He is a traditionalist, to be sure, but he also has a grasp of emerging technologies and how they can help – or not help – the sales effort.
In his presentation, Denny is planning to give us a quick (very quick) historical review of direct marketing beginning with what he describes as the official starting date of June 10, 1194. I’ll let Denny explain…
“Over the last 800 years, a formidable body of knowledge has developed, not only about the techniques of reaching people where they live and work, but also in human psychology, which is crucial to the business of persuading people to respond.”
“Before you can take on the Brave New World,” Denny says, “it’s imperative to go back to Old World basics.”
I’m sure Denny will go into more detail about this and a whole lot more when he takes the stage in the evening of June 14 at NEDMA ‘06, It’s a Brave New World, the New England Direct Marketing Association’s Conference and Exposition.
Add comment February 10th, 2006
