In this Issue:
Mailing Response: From 2% to 20%
The Brilliance to Which We Aspire
NEDMA Membership News
1. Member Promotions and Appointments
2. Members in Print and On Stage
3. Member Milestones
Factoid: Direct Mail Near Top in ROI
Getting "Ink" in NEDMA News

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

Mail Computer Service, Inc.
www.mailcompserv.com Contact: Dan Menconi
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.

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 end of this newsletter

Mailing Response: From 2% to 20%
We are often told that the worldwide web is revolutionary because it can do "one-to-one" marketing, i.e., individualize the marketing message for each and every customer.

But last February, NEDMA devoted its membership meeting to variable data print (VDP), which promises the same thing for printed marketing messages. The meeting was sold out. Small wonder. Independent studies show that a typical return rate of 2% on a mailing can be increased up to 20% by using a one-to-one approach, an increase in response rate of 1000%.

Our September 23 meeting will pick up where the February meeting left off.

The predinner forum (4:30-5:30pm) will look at "The Strategic and Creative Power of On Demand Communications." Don Kimball, who has managed dozens of high performance on-demand programs, will present actual case studies and real problems to show that one-to-one marketing is not simply a matter of throwing a switch. One-to-one direct marketing, he insists, must be built from the ground up, in the strategic and creative stages. He will show how clients have used these techniques to advantage. Don Kimball has served as Creative Director at Fidelity and Scudder and is currently Principal of On Demand Communications.

The dinner program (6:30-9:00pm) will feature Tom Marchesiani, One to One Communications Specialist at J. M. Perrone Company, who will talk about "Digital Printing: On Demand and One-to-One Communication in Print." Merging database and layout in variable data print (VDP) allows you to construct the text and graphics of each document individually so that a letter or brochure addresses each reader's unique interests and needs. Combined with print-on-demand (POD), this kind of customization promises to revolutionize printed marketing. And customized, full-color printing is now cost-competitive with traditional printing methods.

Tom Marchesiani is Account Executive at J. M. Perrone. He is one of New England's most recognized experts in digital print and an active member of PODI, the Print On Demand Initiative.

The meeting is at Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Waltham, MA. Be sure to reserve your spot, as we expect this meeting to be another sellout.  For more details and a registration form, go to nedma.com

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The Brilliance to Which We Aspire
By Bob Cargill
Senior Creative Director, Yellowfin Direct Marketing

Thumbing through the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine last week, an ad for eBay Motors -- smack, dab in between the "Correspondence" and "Rock & Roll" sections -- stopped me dead in my tracks.

An extraordinarily simple, no-frills composition, it uses a story about "Brothers John and Tom [who] want a great way to sell their cars" to illustrate the benefits of peddling wheels on eBay versus the old standby, the classifieds. After seven days, John, who uses eBay, "sells his car for a great price," while Tom, who went the old-school route, finds his "ad is used as litter box lining."

It's hip, funny and irreverent, sure, but it's also textbook in formula, drawing on a case study of two young men and employing fear tactics to drive (no pun intended) the point home -- not unlike a legendary Wall Street Journal direct mail package written by Martin Conroy three decades earlier.

But Conroy's story about another two young men would be nearly impossible to top. After all, his story was only recently dethroned as the newspaper's control after a 29-year reign, and has been heralded by many as the single most successful ad ever. Yes, ever.

In his story, the protagonists "graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable and both -- as young college graduates are -- were filled with ambitious dreams for the future. Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion. They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern service company after graduation and were still there. But there was a difference. One of the men was a manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president."

Of course, the implication -- and the author draws it masterfully -- is that the more successful of the two young men read The Wall Street Journal.

That is the brilliance of Martin Conroy. That is the brilliance that captured the emotions of countless would-be subscribers to the tune of an estimated $2 billion in sales. And that is the brilliance to which every direct marketer -- including the creative team behind the eBay Motors ad, I'm sure -- aspires.

Editor's Note: "The Brilliance to Which We Aspire" was first published on June 29, 2004, in Bob Cargill's blog, A Fine Kettle of Fish. You can find it at http://www.afinekettleoffish.blogspot.com. Subscriptions are free.

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NEDMA Membership News

1. Member Promotions and Appointments
Direct marketing and fulfillment solutions provider W.A. Wilde Company has named Susan McPherson Vice President of Customer Relations. In this newly created position, McPherson will lead the company's commitment to providing exceptional, innovative service to its growing customer base. Prior to joining Wilde, McPherson held a variety of positions with several nationally recognized companies, including Staples, Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing, Digitas and more recently, Castel, a contact center technology provider.

W.A. Wilde Company has also named Al Turcotte Chief Financial Officer. As chief financial officer and a member of the company's Executive Committee, Turcotte will lead several critical areas of Wilde's operations, including the management of all financial initiatives. Prior to joining Wilde, he held senior financial positions at a number of national companies, including consumer sales retailer Potpourri Holdings, Inc., Street Cars, Inc., an importer and national distributor of footwear, and Hasbro, Inc.

Newport Creative Communications, Inc. has selected Kelly A. Mahoney as President. Mahoney succeeds Mike Walsh, who has been elevated to the Chairman of the Board position. Mike will also continue to work in an executive capacity as Chief Financial Officer. Mahoney was most recently Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Relationship Marketing at Hill Holliday, a national advertising agency based in Boston. While there, she managed several business units, including Direct Marketing, Database Technology/Analytical Services and the Interactive division.

PCS Mailing List Company has appointed Kristin Vitukevich to the position of List Sales & Management. She will handle the acquisition of new managed lists while overseeing all aspects of list management including promotions, sales, and billing. She will also be taking calls from prospective mailers and brokers.

Amy Marks has been named senior manager of marketing programs for StreamServe, a global provider of intelligent Business Communication Management (BCM) solutions. She will be responsible for planning and executing integrated marketing programs to generate new business as part of StreamServe's expansion in the US. She has held marketing management positions at Inmagic, Inc., Digital Equipment Corporation and The Interface Group, Inc.

StreamServe has also named Michael Lewis senior manager of customer acquisition and development. He is responsible for managing prospects as they advance through the marketing process, expanding partner relations, and enhancing customer interaction. He has 10 years of experience selling and marketing complex ERP and CRM software solutions to the Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies in the technology and financial services industries. Previously, he was director of sales and marketing at interlinkONE and MASI, Management.

2. Members in Print and On Stage
Yellowfin Direct Marketing Inc., has released a new fiscal year calendar, 12 Ways You Can Be a Direct Marketing Hero. This calendar is designed both as a useful time management tool (for those on the receiving end) and as a timely, self-promotional vehicle (for Yellowfin). In the spirit of practicing what Yellowfin preaches to clients, this calendar is offer-laden, information-packed and just begging for a response all year long. It's also absolutely free to anyone for the asking. Each month of the calendar features a tip on how to "take your organization's direct marketing initiatives to the next highest level." The wall calendar comes with a dozen different coupons, each one good for one free half-hour consultation with any one of Yellowfin's staff and geared to the theme of the month.

Collette Vacations, a provider of escorted tour travel, showcases 10 exciting tours for 2005 in the company's recently released Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Asia brochure. The brochure features tours such as 20-day From the Outback to the Glaciers, which includes a breakfast with kangaroos and a dinner and performance at the Sydney Opera House, as well as a Dreamtime Tour showcasing the beliefs and customs of the Aboriginal people.

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3. Member Milestones
Sullivan Creative received four graphic design excellence awards from Graphic Design:usa magazine's annual Graphic Design award competition. This competition honors the year's outstanding graphic design, advertising art, and marketing communications. Sullivan Creative received awards for a four-color fulfillment piece for Boston University Explorations in Learning Program, a branding and marketing campaign for City of Nashua, NH Office of Economic Development, a brand identity (logo and tagline) for iParty's Teacher's Club Rewards Program, and a promotional piece known as the Hand Card Promotion for Sullivan Creative itself.

ExactTarget, a provider of permission email software solutions, continues to score record growth in 2004, adding a total of 400 new clients in the first half of the year and nearly tripling its staff of marketing, technology and service professionals. This announcement follows an investment in July of $ 10.5 million from venture capital firm Insight Partners. The new clients include Little Tikes, Vacation Express, Sandbox, and WTTV-TV, a Fox affiliate.

ChoicePoint Precision Marketing Inc., a subsidiary of ChoicePoint Services Inc., has signed a contract that extends its business partnership with America's MoneyLine, Inc., a residential mortgage lender and servicer based in Glen Allen, VA and operating in 49 states. ChoicePoint Precision Marketing has been helping America's MoneyLine identify and acquire new customers through the use of telemarketing and direct mail services. The new long-term agreement covers data, analytics, telemarketing and print services.

Digitas Inc. and Modem Media Inc. have signed a merger agreement under which Boston-based Digitas will acquire Modem Media, Norwalk, CT, in a stock-for-stock transaction. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval of the stockholders of both companies, is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter. Modem Media is an interactive marketing strategy and services firm. Digitas designs, builds and runs marketing engines intended to drive customer acquisition, cross-sell, loyalty, affinity, and care operations for marketers. Following the merger, Modem Media will continue to operate under its existing name, and will be led by Martin Reidy, who currently is president of Digitas San Francisco. The Modem Media agency offices will be led by their current managing directors. The companies expect to merge the Digitas San Francisco and London offices into the Modem Media agency offices in those locations. In addition, one Modem Media board member will join Digitas's board of directors following the close of the transaction.

Banta Corp. generated net income of $15.2 million on sales of $341.1 million during second quarter 2004, compared with net income of $7.3 million and sales of $311.3 million a year earlier. The quarter ended July 3. Banta's direct marketing division saw a strong increase in demand, particularly for its print personalization services, while the catalog division reaped the operating income benefits of a 2003 restructuring and modernization of its Minneapolis plant. Revenue for the catalog division slipped due to the company's shuttering of its St. Paul plant.

Harte-Hanks Inc. generated second quarter net income of $25.5 million, a 10.7% jump from the $23.1 million it realized a year ago. The company's operating revenue rose 9%, from $233.2 million to $254.2 million, during the same period. The quarter ended June 30. The firm's direct marketing segment's operating income jumped 15.3%, to $22.2 million, on an 8.9% revenue rise, from $141.9 million to $154.6 million. In contrast, its shoppers revenue rose by 9.2%, to $99.6 million, but its operating income increased by only 10.2%, to $23.4 million.

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Factoid: Direct Mail Near Top in ROI
Meetings & Conventions Midweek News (7/28/04) reports that for the second year in a row, face-to-face events were second only to direct-mail programs for delivering a high return on investment. This is from a survey of 200 U.S.-based corporate marketing executives at organizations whose sales exceed $250 million. Conducted by the George P. Johnson Co. and the Meeting Professionals International Foundation, the study included participants from four industries: automotive, health care, high-tech and financial.

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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 24th of the month for publication sometime in the first week of the following month. We are striving for more precision in the publication schedule.

To reach NEDMA, email , or call 781-237-1366

NEDMA's url is http://nedma.com

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