List Segmentation Trends in 2012

Dec 8, 2011

What new list segmentation trends do you expect to see going forward?

Looking at Cyber Monday's stats, mobile will be a big trend in the coming months. One indication of this is that 8% of Cyber Monday's online purchases were made from a mobile device or smartphone. This number is staggering and represents an increase of several orders of magnitude over 2010. Anything with this type of rapid adoption cannot be ignored by our industry; and I think it is going to continue to accelerate. I also predict an increase in multiple variant segmentation. Most segmentation is done one variable at a time, something I feel is a fairly pedestrian practice, considering what is possible with data today.

As a segmentation trend, I think attitudinal segmentation will begin to take shape. This means that instead of segmenting by age/income/family status, we'll see more complex utilization of data that buckets people into categories of behavioral drivers derived from algorithms based on hundreds of data elements, not just one or two pieces of demography. These buckets will drive segmented messaging targeting consumers based on why they like what they like and why they buy what they buy...

- Read Full Article -

Effects of Email List Overabundance

Dec 2, 2011

What effect is the overabundance of email lists having on the market?

This is highly dependent upon how one opts to market through this medium. The main impact of the overabundance of email lists occurs in the low end, compiled email space. The less-than $40 per thousand email list market uses tens of millions of aggregated names, most of which are legitimately opted in) through default settings on major sites. This means that if a consumer has ever signed up for anything, there’s a good chance he or she unknowingly opted in to receive unsolicited commercial emails. The problem is that even though they are technically opted in, these lists are not well targeted—they are simply CAN-SPAM compliant. Response rates to actively opted in email lists are holding steady and performing well. We have considerable success with high-end prospect email lists. Those are the kind that have consumers requesting information on a specific topic/interest and have a well-known sender behind them that alerts the recipient to the relevant nature of the email being sent. They are also the kind that are fully white-listed and get past ISP filters because they are a recognized and approved sender. These “good” lists are simply that and the overabundance has not created a problem for the high end market.

- Read Full Article -

VeraData Hired as List Manager for The Breast Cancer Charities of America

Nov 23, 2011

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeraData, a leading integrated marketing services provider for more than 100 of the world's largest non-profits - has been named by The Breast Cancer Charities of America as their List Manager. Through direct mail and other marketing the organization does, VeraData's team of experts enhance results for the users of the list and expand the reach of the organization's donor base.

The Breast Cancer Charities of America (BCCA) is the only non-profit bringing the 'integrated cancer care' message to women in America. BCCA is considered a pioneer in educating the public about breast cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, survival and quality of life. The organization is leading the way through integrated cancer care which brings the body, mind and spirit to the cancer prevention, treatment and recovery effort by combining oncology, nursing, psychology, sociology, nutrition, exercise, spirituality and more..

- Read Full Article -

VeraData Selected as List Manager for American Life League

Nov 15, 2011

VeraData - a leading integrated marketing services provider for more than 100 of the largest non-profits in the world - has been chosen by American Life League to be their List Manager.

American Life League was formed in 1979 by Judie Brown, a pro-life activist. The organization is closely aligned with the Catholic Church and is opposed to birth control, stem cell research and euthanasia. American Life League is viewed as the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life education organization in the U.S. and is committed to the protection of all human beings from the moment of creation to natural death.

VeraData was founded in 2007 and is based in Fort Myers, FL. VeraData's team of data experts are creating new scientific and technological approaches to leveraging a charity's marketing data that helps them achieve better direct marketing results in attracting and retaining donors..

- Read Full Article -

USPS Summer Postage Sales

Sep 22, 2011

How much have the U.S. Postal Service's annual summer postage sales helped the industry?

In my business this hasn't had much impact, perhaps because our company predominantly serves the nonprofit community. The sales haven't been able to offset the economic challenges. It's nice for mailers to save a little money, but I haven't experienced a single case where our commercial clients were scheduling mail activity based on the summer postage sales. Bottom line is that while it was a decent idea, the process was pretty cumbersome. My understanding of the whole set-up is that it was administratively heavy with paperwork, etc.

I believe that the few clients who tried it were initially enamored when the USPS first announced it, and then subsequently denounced it. Basically the reward or the recoup was not worthwhile for them to continue. From what Ican tell, the summer postage sale hasn't achieved the desired result. From a marketing perspective, I thought that while the USPS did a good job in introducing the concept, there seemed to be a lack of constant public relations and marketing efforts to keep the initiative going and in front of their clients. Automation would have helped as well.

- Read Full Article -

Broker Roundtable: Political Mailing Lists

Sep 16, 2011

Looking ahead to next year, how important will political mailing lists be—especially in light of Obama's success with electronic media in 2008?

Political mailing lists will be more important in this election than in any prior election. Electronic media is the future. Doubting that is naïve. However, the 2012 election will be very much reliant upon multichannel execution. Most marketers are not yet fluent enough in the various online disciplines to convincingly forecast a result significant and accurate enough to replace direct mail.

Additionally, as a society, we are at least a decade away from shifting the balance from mail to online. Our boomer and traditionalist community control the vast majority of the money in our country and they respond better to direct mail than to any other channel. Yes, Obama changed the paradigm in the last cycle. For sure this is a sign of things to come. I also think we'll see electronic media as a predominant channel in the 2016 or perhaps the 2020 election. For 2012, however, political mail is crucial for candidates to contend for office.

- Read Full Article -

Demand for Debtor Lists

Sep 12, 2011

With recent economic stresses, will the demand for lists like debt consolidation, payday loans and the like increase?

We originally thought that folks declaring bankruptcy, getting high interest payday loans, with tax liens, etc would be nonperforming segments for direct marketers. Interestingly enough, we were proven wrong, terribly wrong. I think this further underscores the social irresponsibility of our citizens. So, depending on the product and very much depending on new credit/lending regulations and requirements, these types of lists can prove quite valuable...either as a suppression tool or as a targeted mailing list, these lists will grow and will be in demand one way or the other.

- Read Full Article -

Dealing with a Shrinking List Universe

Aug 29, 2011

This week's question: Is the list universe still shrinking and what should be done about it?

This is a tough question because the actual universe is growing and the amount of information we have as marketers is expanding. The biggest problem is fear and legislation resulting from the comparatively small number of unscrupulous marketers who abuse private information. It's a case of the few ruining it for the many.

I believe we should redirect the effort used to fight privacy regulation and focus on pursuing the real abusers, levying very stiff fines and perhaps more serious criminal prosecution. List shrinkage is a function of abuse, cyber crime/identity theft and the fears that this instills in the consumer. If marketers used the intelligence available to them to really customize offers and select the right audience to pursue, we wouldn't be in this place ..

- Read Full Article -

The Importance of YouTube as a Source of Names

Aug 22, 2011

This week's question: How important have YouTube and other online video sites become as sources of new names?

They're not important—at least not yet. While YouTube, vimeo and other video sites are aggregating user information, they have yet to emerge as major contributors to mainstream marketing lists.

Video, not surprisingly, is going to continue to grow in the online marketing sphere. Companies like Vidfluence, that offer private video management platforms, are helping marketers get on the leading edge of the video revolution. Nothing can convey marketing stories like video and nothing compares to an authentic video testimonial..

- Read Full Article -

The Outlook for B-to-B List Prices

Aug 11, 2011

This week's question: What's the outlook for B-to-B list prices going forward?

Looking at the two main providers as a benchmark, DNB/InfoGroup, it sure would seem as if B-to-B list prices will only be going up—but that may be misleading. This space has been dominated by these two companies for a long time. In recent years, competitors have sprouted up and are pressuring prices but still not to the extent seen in the consumer list space. That said, these start ups are led by industry veterans who are compiling data using less expensive methods..

- Read Full Article -

VeraData Changing Direct Marketing "List Business"

PRESS RELEASE
July 28, 2011

VeraData Changing Direct Marketing "List Business" by Leveraging New Data Science and Information Processing Technology- Company Serving Charities Globally-

FORT MYERS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeraData- a private company providing deeply insightful data & marketing services to more than 100 of the largest charities in the world- is discovering a new scientific and technological approach to leveraging data that helps non-profits achieve better direct marketing results for attracting and retaining donors. Through collaborative efforts with experts in Russia, college professors in the U.S. and staff trained in cognitive science, statistics and information processing, VeraData is changing how many charities market and use data generated from donor lists.

"The fact is most direct marketers are using methodologies that are 20 years old," says Matt Kaiser, Executive Vice President of VeraData. "Multiple regression analysis used today is the same as was used by Readers Digest in the 1970s. With computing capacity and speed exponentially increasing every few years coupled with the amount of information that is available it is odd that analytic methods used by direct marketers have not evolved much and not kept pace with other industries globally. The film/retail industry use methods such as 'Pragmatic Chaos' & 'Story Modeling' to predict success of products, why not direct marketers?"..

- Read Full Article -

Quadriga Art Says Data is King for Charities Aiming to Improve Donor Acquisition and Giving

PRESS RELEASE
June 27, 2011

NEW YORK, Jun 27, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Quadriga Art- the leading marketing firm for non-profits- says the right data analysis makes all the difference in executing successful direct mail and online campaigns. Seeking the right data experts to mine direct mail donor files to improve results across the spectrum, including planned giving, is a must in today's multi-channel and multi-media world. Basically, data should be viewed as a GPS tool for charities in their search for donors.

"List brokerage is no longer as simple as renting or buying a donor list," says Mark Schulhof, CEO of Quadriga Art. "Complex algorithms, developed with a long-term view drive successful list strategy. Not all analytics are created equally any more. The right people targeted as donors at the right time work well and conversely the right people targeted at the wrong time doesn't work at all. The right modeling firm, such as VeraData, can make all the difference." ..

- Read Full Article -

Who should control marketing databases, marketing or IT? Why?

June 17, 2011

This week's question: Who do you think should control marketing databases, marketing or IT? Why?

Marketing, of course! I answer this with a personal bias, obviously, but I do believe it is the correct answer. However, the best answer can depend somewhat on the type and size of company. In a perfect world, my marketing department would include a database architect/SQL programmer/SAS engineer/IT liaison.

In my experience, marketing has a lot of requests which require a lot of labor. Potentially, this involves a lot of software and in some cases a lot of hardware which ultimately means a lot of money. Herein lies the issue ..

- Read Full Article -

Testing Lists Outside Your Normal Comfort Zone

June 10, 2011

How important is it to test lists outside your normal comfort zone?

The short answer: It is critically important for multiple reasons. One is simply competitive advantage. If you only test lists which are clearly within your field of specialty, inevitably, you will encounter fatigue and saturation at some point. But that's the less important reason. Opportunity for success is the most important reason to test outside your comfort zone. I can think of numerous experiences where very out-of-the-box test ideas turned into ..

- Read Full Article -

Broker Roundtable: Targeting Diverse Ethnic Segments

June 6, 2011

As the U.S. gets more ethnically diverse, what are some tips to help marketers target various demographic segments?

There is more to ethnic segmentation than meets the eye. "Hispanic" isn't one segment, nor is "Asian." To segment appropriately and effectively, one must dig a little deeper. Country of origin is an important consideration when segmenting for a direct mail campaign..

- Read Full Article -

Minimizing the Impact of Do-Not-Track Legislation

May 23, 2011

With do-not-track-type bills gaining steam in Congress, what can marketers do to minimize their impact?

Due to the abuse from a few, our industry is encountering restrictive legislation that will inevitably affect all of us. This is, and has been, a simple solution that too many in our industry have failed to support. Self regulation seems a foreign concept to many marketers. The best thing marketers can do is adhere to best practices and not push the limits of personal information which hasn't been granted to you by the individual..

- Read Full Article -

Predictive Modeling Helps Focus Retention Marketing Resources

May 18, 2011

Is it possible to know one's customers better than they themselves do?

When it comes to next-purchase or defection behavior, marketers can use predictive modeling techniques to identify target populations most likely to respond positively to a variety of efforts.

Consider the contrast of a campaign focused with great precision through predictive modeling with a randomly targeted mailing. Predictive modeling might determine that the top 10 percent of customers by revenue represent the top 30 percent of customers likely to leave for a competitor. This information yields a readymade list of targets for retention efforts..

- Read Full Article -

Broker Roundtable: Keeping Names Fresh

May 16, 2011 12:02 PM

In the current climate, what are some ways to keep names fresh?

As marketers, we have inexpensive mechanisms of maintaining fresh names on our file. Email, for example, is a cheap and easy means of nurturing our client lists while updating information and keeping the interaction fresh. Not nearly enough direct marketers capitalize on simple-to-execute best practices that would keep their names engaged. If not email, we have mobile. If not mobile, we have personal URLs. If not PURLs, we have private and public social networks..

- Read Full Article -

Broker Roundtable: Are print catalogs still good for prospecting?

May 4, 2011 3:39 PM

Are print catalogs likely to remain a good prospecting tool for marketers?

People still like and respond to "stuff." Printed material is still preferred by many, many households and I don't think this is likely to change in the near term. As much as technology affects the way we interact with the world, nearly every household in America still flips through a catalog sitting on the coffee table. Whether it is culture, ease of use or perhaps just a relaxing change of pace, viewing catalogs and being unplugged from digital advertising is going to remain a part of our lives for many years to come. Newspapers, realistically, are obsolete yet every day, tens of millions of people read the paper, despite the newsprint rubbing off on their fingers..

- Read Full Article -

Broker Roundtable: Mobile Devices and Data Collection

Apr 28, 2011

How does the increasing sophistication of mobile devices affect data collection?

Mobile devices, no doubt, represent a significant opportunity for real time data collection and add depth to what types of information is captured. Depending on the device and the carrier, there are apps that allow for enhanced information, such as: position tracking (literal geographic position), usage tracking (how 'digitally savvy' are the users), purchase information (digital/mobile coupon use), short message service (SMS) interaction for immediate survey feedback, etc. The world is on a course for nearly complete mobile convergence..

- Read Full Article -

How Reliable is Social Media Data?

Apr 15, 2011

How reliable is data from social media for predicting buying behavior?

This often depends on the source. Is the social media property an aspirational venue or is it reality based? Some social sites breed users whose "habits" are more virtual than reality. If the sources are good, this data is helpful for marketers. Attitudes can be derived and used for more sophisticated offer versioning. Peer influence can be achieved through the appropriate use of social media data, as well. As a whole, we've found social media data lacks consistency and needs to become more accurate..

- Read Full Article -

Are Compiled Files Still Important?

Apr 8, 2011

With targeting becoming ever more precise, how important do compiled lists remain and why?

While standalone compiled data doesn't yield the same response, it has tremendous value in terms of predictive analytics. Nearly every name and address that goes out the door has filtered through some degree of analysis. Without compiled data, that analysis is very difficult to do well and is much less finely tuned..

- Read Full Article -

Cross Channel Special Report: The Benefits of Smartly Targeted Multi-Media Efforts

Apr 3, 2011

In marketing, empathy equals response and response equals dollars. One way of building empathy is by reflecting targets' interests or emotional touch points in messages aimed at them.

Creating empathy often takes a subtle hand. Consider a recent fundraising letter for the Institute for Shipboard Education. An outsider viewing it may gloss over a photo of a ship in the upper right-hand corner. But someone who has sailed with the Institute's Semester at Sea program will have a jolt of recognition, as the ship in the photo is one on which the participant has journeyed..

- Read Full Article -

How important are PURLs becoming as a data source?

Mar 25, 2011

How important are personal URLs (PURLs) becoming as a source for gathering data on customers and prospects?

Personal URL's are a means to enhance performance of other advertising methods. They provide instant feedback and the ability to provide a subsequent offer that is targeted to an audience of one. The novelty associated with a PURL is still there, recipients are often intrigued. To date, the vast majority of their use has been to personalize offers, prompt response to direct mail and e-mail—then, secondarily to capture additional information on the consumer..

- Read Full Article -

Popular Direct Mail Formats for 2011

Mar 7, 2011

What direct mail package designs are going to be popular in 2011?

Package designs are interesting to me. Which designs will be popular are somewhat dependent upon the audience. Current personalization technology coupled with the amount of behavioral data available to marketers leads me to believe that cultural anthropologists will be the ones driving package designs in 2011 through 2012...

- Read Full Article -

The Impact of Do-Not-Track Legislation on DM

Feb 23, 2011

What impact would potential do-not-track legislation have on data collection or direct marketing?

We've had our eye on this for some time now. List availability, hotline data and general interest behavior will take a hit if this comes to pass. Co-op lists will be more important than ever and search engines will have an unprecedented advantage when it comes to data. Opt-in search, in my opinion, is on the horizon. For instance, if Google provides a "premium" search service to consumers who opt-in to allow their behavior to be tracked for marketing, the number of participants would be massive—literally overnight. I think this is something that our legislators must consider when making these types of laws. The unintended consequences are significant..

- Read Full Article -