November
2004

In this Issue:

The State of the Industry
The Profitable Hispanic Market
Guaranteed Indeed
Direct Marketing and Interactive Marketing
2005 Awards for Creative Excellence
NEDMA Membership News
Getting "Ink" in NEDMA News

This issue of NEDMA News is sponsored by:
Mail Computer Service, Inc. and Williams & Partners

Mail Computer Service, Inc., is a full-service direct mail production facility that offers such services as data processing, laser personalization, lettershop, database maintenance, fulfillment, and print-on-demand. MCS is pleased to announce a few new offerings: the recent purchase of a new Xerox DocuColor 6060 color laser will allow MCS to offer print-on-demand services and a new OCE Twin Lasering System will allow MCS to offer duplex continuous lasering services. Contact: Dan Menconi,

Williams & Partners
Technology and the artistic touch -- a picture of contrasts? Not at Williams & Partners, where our creative retouchers create images that appear nation-wide in publications, on billboards and buses. Our services include digital asset management, image archiving, fulfillment, display graphics, and print management. www.williamsonline.com See ad at the end of this newsletter

The State of the Industry

Those of us who might have been afraid the recent increase in direct marketing business was only a blip had reason to relax during NEDMA's October membership meeting. The meeting began with a NEDMA Forum on New England's State of the Industry. Three of our region's leading direct marketers spoke on the topic "Direct Marketing Meets CSI in the Twilight Zone." Kelly Mahoney, President, Newport Creative Communications; Christina Erna, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Fulfillment Plus Mailing Solutions; and Beverly Smith, Mailing Requirements Department, U. S. Postal Service described five key trends in the current market:
*more spending
*more deals, mergers, and acquisitions
*technological advancements
*an increased number of partnerships
*shifting demographics.

They presented a great deal of evidence of these trends, but one of the most interesting items was that despite the spectacular growth of Internet-based marketing, direct mail spending will probably be up this year as well -- by six percent.

The upbeat Forum Message was then confirmed by the featured after-dinner speaker, Beth Negus Viveiros, Executive Editor of DIRECT Magazine. Although the industry faces significant challenges (such as CAN-SPAM, the Do Not Call Registry, an uncertain economy, and the distractions of a war), there is, she said, "a lot of positive energy." Direct marketing layoffs and hiring freezes are at their lowest level in four years. And by most measures, spending on DM is increasing. DIRECT's own research showed that respondents are currently earmarking 45% of their budgets for DM, which a considerable increase from last year's 25%.

She concluded her remarks with an assessment of the industry's mood: "With the exception of 2000, I've attended every DMA Annual Conference in the past decade," she said. "Having just come back from New Orleans, I'm happy to report that I sensed more optimism and energy at the show than in any other recent conference in memory."

The Profitable Hispanic Market

NEDMA is a joint sponsor, with The DMA Directo: Council for Hispanic Marketing, of the half-day seminar, "What You Need to Know to Be Effective in the Profitable Hispanic Market." The seminar will be held November 30 at Microsoft in Waltham, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Industry leaders will discuss the key demographic and psychographic characteristics of the Hispanic market and how the Hispanic population has reached critical mass. It will feature The DMA Directo Council-sponsored research, and offer groundbreaking information on Hispanics and their attitudes and behaviors regarding direct response media.

The event features three speakers. Michael Saray is President of Michael Saray Hispanic Marketing, a strategic and creative agency. He has spent the past eleven years focused on all aspects of direct marketing to U.S. and Latin American Hispanics. His roster of experience includes Capital One, U.S. Army, IMP, AOL Latino, Golden Rule Insurance, Allstate, GTL, A & E, and Suarez Corporation. He was one of the first direct marketers to enter the Hispanic market. Eduardo Crespo is CEO of Hispanic Market Solutions. He is considered un pionero (a pioneer) in Spanish-language broadcast media, Hispanic marketing, and ethnic communications. His agency's clients include Comcast, Verizon Wireless, Greater Boston Real Estate Board, Squeem Corp. (Orlando, FL), U.S. Healthcare/Evercare, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Northern Essex Community College, Northeast Center for Healthy Communities, Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce/Boston, among others. He has worked in the Hispanic market for 20 years. César M. Melgoza is President of Geoscape International, which focuses specifically on the application of marketing intelligence services, data, and technology towards the Multi-cultural and Multi-national markets. He has successfully led strong growth at Geoscape by developing products and services that provide innovative geo-demographic data, highly predictive database modeling, and robust information enhancement systems. Most recently, he has launched the Geoscape Intelligence System (GIS) and the DirecTarget® system for database enrichment. He is the Vice-Chairman of The DMA Directo: Council for Hispanic Marketing.

The registration fee for this event is $79 for members (NEDMA, DMA Directo Council, or DMA) and $99 for nonmembers until November 25. After November 25, the fee increases $20. For more information, check the NEDMA website (nedma.com) or call 781.237.1366.

Guaranteed Indeed
By Bob Cargill
Senior Creative Director, Yellowfin Direct Marketing

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an extraordinary philosopher, renowned to this day for his words of wisdom, but if what he said about life's uncertainties were to still hold true, 21st century consumers might even be more reluctant to part with their money.

"In this world," he once opined, "nothing is guaranteed except death and taxes."

Of course, Ben wasn't around when L.L. Bean guaranteed the first pair of boots its founder sold in 1912.

But seriously, the world in which Ben lived was obviously far, far removed from ours today, a world in which almost everything is guaranteed -- and rightly so -- by those in sales.

As Dean Rieck, President of Direct Creative, writes in a recent (October 18, 2004) issue of DM News, "If you really have a good product or service, stand behind it. A guarantee proves that you're reputable, and it helps lower the perceived risk your prospects feel."

I couldn't agree with Dean more. In fact, when I had my own small creative services agency in the mid-1990s, I once went so far as to guarantee our work in order to land a piece of new, potentially lucrative business. In a letter I mailed to a number of hot prospects, I proudly proclaimed, "The chances are very slim that you're not going to like what you see from Cargill Creative, but you might never see a thing unless we make such a bold offer."

Truth is, as any experienced direct marketer or advertiser knows, a good, strong guarantee invariably increases your response rate and is rarely, if ever, triggered by the customer. Back in the day, a guarantee worked wonders for my fledgling agency. For a prospect that may have been on the fence about the services we had to offer, such precious words of reassurance virtually sealed the deal.

"A guarantee is one of your most important marketing tools," says Katharine Barr, independent creative consultant and copywriter -- and a past president of the NEDMA. "A guarantee articulates that you stand by your product or service, and that there is absolutely no risk in doing business with you."

"But the guarantee must be as strong as possible, or it is useless," adds Katharine. "A simple, strongly-worded statement will increase response. Guaranteed."

Guaranteed indeed.

"The risk is ours, sure, but we honestly don't look at it as a risk," I wrote with confidence in that simple, albeit successful lead-generation letter for Cargill Creative back on February 9, 1996. "We look at it as an excellent opportunity to introduce not just ourselves, but our copywriting and design, to a number of new clients (including you), and to do some of our best work ever."

Yes, contrary to what Benjamin Franklin said more than two centuries ago, it seems everything is guaranteed by us marketers nowadays -- everything, that is, except death and taxes.

Editor's Note: "Guaranteed Indeed" was first published on October 28, 2004, in Bob Cargill's blog, A Fine Kettle of Fish, which you can read in its entirety -- and subscribe to -- at http://www.afinekettleoffish.blogspot.com. Subscriptions are free.

Direct Marketing and Interactive Marketing

If you've been wondering whether to emphasize direct marketing or interactive marketing, stop worrying about it. According to Grant Johnson, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Johnson Direct, it isn't "either/or" anymore. Direct marketing and interactive marketing, he says, can work together to dramatically increase your bottom line. Nanosites, search engine marketing, and email blasts, he says, can make even your most effective direct mail programs work harder.

A 16-year veteran of the industry, Grant Johnson has brought his agency to an outstanding track record in client stability and retention in just five years and boasts clients including Microsoft Business Solutions, AAA Life, Omaha Steaks and Swiss Colony, Nightingale-Conant, Humana, WW Grainger, and GE Financial. His sense of fun and command of direct marketing strategy make him a sought-after speaker, and on November 18, he will be the featured speaker at NEDMA's membership meeting. His topic, "Emerging Online Technologies that Make Your Direct Mail Marketing Work Even Harder," will doubtless give him the opportunity to explain what a nanosite is. Don't miss this dinner meeting at the Sheraton Lexington Hotel.

This month's Forum, "How Online Marketing Can Help the DM Industry," features Anthony Estes, President of New Direct. It is a practical, how-to session on using online marketing, where to find resources for it, and how to build it into your budget. One of NEDMA's most popular speakers, he started in direct marketing in 1993 by building the first website for Harvard Business School Publishing. Since then, he has helped start Strategic Interactive Group and co-founded e-Dialog, a leader in managed email marketing.

The Direct Marketing Forum on November 18 runs 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. There is a networking/reception hour 5:30 to 6:30, then dinner and the program are 6:30 to 9:00. The fee is $40 for NEDMA members and $50 for nonmembers, but only until the end of today. After November 15, the fees go up to $50 and $60, respectively. For more information, or to register, go to the NEDMA website (nedma.com) or call 781.237.1366.

PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF LOCATION: THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE SHERATON LEXINGTON HOTEL IN LEXINGTON, MA. DIRECTIONS AT nedma.com
The Sheraton Four Points Hotel has closed.

2005 Awards for Creative Excellence

Once again, New England direct marketers have the opportunity to submit their best work for judging by a panel of experts from all over the U.S. Awards will be made next April, and every entry will be displayed in the Awards Gallery at NEDMA's annual Awards Show and Banquet at the Roxy.

Award categories include Print Ads, Direct Mail, Broadcast, Interactive, Integrated Multimedia Campaigns, DM on a Shoestring, Technique,"Great Concept But Maybe Next Time..." and more -- there are lots of chances to win.

The final deadline for entries is January 17, 2005, but there is a savings on the entry fee for those who apply by December 20, 2004. For the first time this year, the competition entry process has been broken into two stages to make it more convenient for entrants. In the first stage, you submit the "as-is" samples and judging forms before the December and January judging deadlines, not the "boards." Mounted display pieces (boards) for the Awards Gallery will only be accepted between March 21 and April 1.

For a downloadable entry form (and information about entry fees), visit the NEDMA website: nedma.com. If you have questions not answered at the website, email Beth Drysdale at or call 781.237.1366.

NEDMA Membership News

Alan Rosenspan & Associates was the only agency in New England to win a 2004 Gold Echo Award at the Direct Marketing Association's 75th annual international award show in New Orleans. Only 14 Gold Echoes -- recognizing creativity and results -- were awarded in a field of 1,077 entries from all over the world. The Gold Echo was won on behalf of the Rosenspan client, Scotts LawnService®, a $100 million company that provides lawn care and service primarily to homeowners. It is a division of Scotts. According to Alan Rosenspan, the agency's president and creative director, the campaign increased response 51% over Scotts' previous best -- and generated an extra $26 million in sales. Alan Rosenspan, a veteran of Digitas and Ogilvy & Mather, is a past president of NEDMA.

W.A. Wilde, New England's largest direct marketing and fulfillment solutions provider, announced the launch of Wilde Direct -- a full-service creative agency that will deliver strategic communications in all direct response media. The agency will be run as an independent unit, and will also provide support for W.A. Wilde's existing client base. Wilde has tapped Tammy Casserly to act as president for the newly-formed agency. Her management team will include Sally Moren, director of strategy and creative planning, and Bruce Wagoner, managing director. Casserly was with W.A. Wilde for 13 years, most recently as vice president of sales. She is a past president of NEDMA.

Tom Hurley, president of the not-for-profit division of DMW, a national direct marketing agency, reports the division has recently brought in nine new clients. They include the Salvation Army of Greater New York, based in New York City; Northeast Florida Community Hospice Foundation, based in Jacksonville, Florida; The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) in St. Louis; the Alaska Conservation Foundation (ACF) in Anchorage; the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail, Colorado; AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, New York City; United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham (UCP/B) of Alabama; Luci sull'Est, based in Milan, Italy with offices in other European countries; and the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation (CRPF), Alexandria, VA.

Sullivan Creative recently served on the marketing committee and provided marketing services for a major fundraising event for New England Water For People. Water For People is a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) to provide clean water, proper sanitation, and health education for people in developing countries. This was the New England section's first major fundraising event, and it raised over $20,000 for Water For People projects throughout the world.

ExactTarget, a developer of on-demand email marketing software solutions, added more than 70 new organizations to its growing customer list in September, bringing its customer base to nearly 2,800 organizations worldwide. Among the new customers are MarketWorks, the largest Certified Solutions Provider for eBay; Cheryl & Co., a cookie manufacturer with national distribution and retail, corporate, foodservice, and catalogue divisions; Zynx Health, an information service for health providers; and ePrairie.com, an online newsletter delivering business and technology news in the midwest. ExactTarget was also recognized on October 27 as one of Indiana's leading high-potential, high-growth companies at the 11th annual Growth 100 Dinner and Awards Banquet sponsored by the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation of the Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

Getting "Ink" in NEDMA News
If you've gotten a promotion, signed a new client, written a book, had a baby, introduced a new product, or otherwise distinguished yourself, tell your colleagues! "NEDMA Membership News" is a free service for and on behalf of NEDMA members so we can all keep up with each others' professional (and sometimes extracurricular) lives. Members can also use this space to advertise items of particular interest to NEDMA members, such as office space or used equipment.

We must reserve the right to edit any submissions. And the free advertising feature is not intended to promote your business (you can buy an ad for that). It's limited to the kind of things you might ordinarily find in a classified section. Send your information via email to . Be sure to provide as much information as you can, including the URL for your company's website. If you want to send your information as an attachment, please use Microsoft Word or any text editor and save the editor the trouble of retyping PDFs, since he doesn't have any software for extracting text from such files.

Submit your information by the 15th of the month for publication sometime in the first week of the following month. We are striving for more precision in the publication schedule.

There will be no NEDMA News in December, but please send your news items in by December 15th for the January issue. See you then!