Articles by Mike Ertel
Blog Archive
Use These Marketing Recommendations to Put the Buyer First
Our team always looks forward to überflip’s Trends Reports, and their recent “What Today’s Marketers Are Focused On in 2020” was no exception. The forward from President and CMO, Randy Frisch, echoed our thinking when he said, “Although looking at trends can give us an edge, it can also take us off track."
The Hidden Drivers of Today’s Marketing Mix: The 5Is and 7Ps
The concept of the Marketing Mix has been around since the 1950s when Neil Borden introduced it as the ingredients for an integrated set of marketing “tactics” to create a higher value relationship with customers (what we now refer to as “CX” or “customer experience.”) In the early ‘60s, a marketing professor named E. Jerome McCarthy created a mnemonic for his students [...]
IWCO Direct’s Megan Lester Adds “Cal Poly Award Recipient” to Her Numerous Accolades
We just learned of a new benefit from our media monitoring service: It provides visibility to an employee’s achievement when she is too modest or humble to tell us about it herself. Imagine our surprise and delight when “Megan Lester” and the video below appeared in our daily report! [ ... ]
Things to Keep in Mind When Marketing to Dads This Father’s Day, Or Any Day
Father’s Day is always special for me, but not because of the attention, the gifts, or even for getting to pick what I want to do for the whole day. It’s special because it’s a reminder of all of the blessings I have in my life, particularly my twin boys Caleb and Mason (12) and […]
It’s Time to Evaluate our 2016 Direct Marketing Trend Predictions
Trends are generally thought of as general likes and dislikes, but they can be difficult to predict and are sometimes fleeting. Take fashion for example. Colorful dress socks with suits is a current trend that I’m becoming more comfortable with. I’m actually enjoying wearing them (though I’m probably at the back end of that particular […]
After Further Review: Instant Replay on Our Favorite Super Bowl Commercials
During the past few weeks the only things receiving more hype than the Super Bowl were the political debates and polls attempting to decipher who is likely to win each party’s nomination. With that in mind, we thought it would be fun for a few of my marketing colleagues, Debora Haskel and Mike Dietz, and […]
The #1 Opportunity in Your Direct Marketing Strategy and How to Take Advantage of It
Unfortunately, not every direct marketing strategy or campaign is a success. When things go south, there is usually no shortage of opinions on what the culprit was. But in all my years of experience, the number one reason a direct marketing strategy failed – or at least didn’t reach its full potential – is limiting […]
Size Matters: DMA Response Rate Report on Direct Mail Formats
It didn’t surprise us to read in the 2015 DMA Response Rate Report that the format and size of the mailpiece used in your direct marketing campaign can impact your results. In fact, we have a lot of evidence and analysis that says direct mail formats and size will impact your results. For example, the […]
Who’s Your Daddy: Marketing to Men with Direct Mail
With Father’s Day rapidly approaching (that’s this Sunday for all you last-second shoppers), this dad would like to talk about something that doesn’t get much attention: marketing to men. Let me explain. Every year it seems like Millennials and moms get all the love from marketers. Of course both are key demographics. We’ve written at […]
How to Avoid Taxing Your Direct Mail Budget
Tax Day tends to get people thinking about their finances and ways to make their money go further. For direct marketers, this thought naturally extends beyond W2s and into their budgets at the office. Today I’d like to offer the latest and greatest ways to avoid taxing your direct mail budget: Focus on package design. […]
