Anderson Marketing Blog

Business reply cards (BRCs) have deep roots in American marketing, starting as far back as 1928. They’ve been around longer than Medicare. Frozen foods. Scotch tape. Canned beer. Teflon. And even Monopoly. But despite their longevity—or perhaps because of it—some companies may question their effectiveness in today’s highly digital world.

Here’s something you may not have thought about: Spanish is different in different Spanish-speaking countries. Don’t assume that because Hispanics speak Spanish, they all speak the same Spanish. Everyday words can have such different meanings within each Hispanic cultural sub-segment that, in the extreme, one group may respond positively while another may do so negatively to the same word.

My former English teacher, Miss Thorne, would kill me if she read this, but the rules of grammar are not etched in stone.

Do you find your marketing in this situation? Everything with your marketing communications seems to be going well. Your brand has been in place for months, maybe years. Guidelines, templates, asset libraries and training are all available to employees and resources. Then you begin to discover that:

As direct marketers, we’re on a constant quest for reliable intel to help make each new campaign more effective than the last.  Response rates.  Offer.   Mailer format.  Contact frequency.   These are just a few of the many reporting elements we slice, dice and obsess over to try and move the proverbial needle.

As we all know, lists, targeting, segmentation, modeling, etc. are one of the most important components of a direct marketing program.  Through years (OK, decades) of testing, I’ve come to realize that in nearly every client program there is a significant opportunity to improve results through the use of multiple data sources.  The roots of this strategy trace back to the nonprofit industry, where organizations regularly rent multiple third-party lists for donation appeals in addition to their house file of past donors.  These third-party lists are closely analyzed based on number of donations, average donation amount and total amount of donations.  Underperforming lists are quickly eliminated from the campaign and new lists are constantly tested against the best performing list.

This year’s DMA is coming up quickly, and will be held right here in San Diego—not far from Anderson HQ in Poway—October 25-30, at the San Diego Convention Center.

If you’re lucky enough to have a strong control, in any medium, by all means keep using it. You may be tired of it—but as long as it delivers great results, don’t mess with a winner

I've actively worked in direct marketing for more than 30 years, and never before has it been this easy to be a great marketer. The Internet now provides access to virtually unlimited free information on marketing best practices through blogs, webinars and more.

“In order to understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded, and obsessed with one small section of truth.” -Xun Zi, 312–230 BC