Press Check/Newsletter

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Testing a new Direct Mail Campaign? Think like a restaurant owner!

I’ve always thought that successful direct marketing testing was similar to cooking good food at a restaurant. You may think I’ve lost it, but just think about how restaurants go about compiling their menu: The recipe for each item begins with an idea or hypothesis.  This may be something completely new or just a slight […]

The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Do you feel appreciated by the people you work with?  If so, then you probably enjoy going to work each day.  However, if you do not feel appreciated, then your work may simply be a means of keeping food on the table. These are the opening sentences of Gary Chapman’s book, “The Five Languages of […]

Innovation: Getting the most out of your thinking

Consider these words: Inspiration, Innovation, Ideas, Generative, Proactive, Association, Creativity. We’ve all had those “Ah Ha!” moments when we’ve worked and worked on something, and “Ah Ha!”. So, how can we have more of those times and can we have more of those times in team meetings? How can we generate and capture more great […]

Raving Fans

What is a “Raving Fan”? For most of us, it brings to mind images from snowy Super Bowls with shirtless fans (some who just shouldn’t be) in the stands, painted with their team’s colors from the waist up. Maybe we think of that guy who got a tattoo of Taco Bell because he’s loco for […]

Mail – Your Only Friend in a World of Spam

The 2013 NPF was kicked off in style by the PMG Pat Donahoe to a packed house in lovely San Francisco. The PMG’s message is not subtle, and he boldly makes his case that mail is personal and different from the many other communication channels that vie for your attention. “People still make time and […]

7 Most Overlooked Mistakes Before Sending Your Files to Print

The perfect printed piece doesn’t start with the printer, it starts with you… the designer. There is nothing like the feeling you get after receiving your printed pieces back from a printer, and seeing the perfectly finished piece. The colors are exactly what you wanted them to be, the registration is in perfect alignment and […]

SOC2, no it’s not the argyle one you’ve been missing

Many of our clients are marketers. We work closely with CMOs, marketing directors and other direct marketing professionals. Recently, many of them have been approached by folks “on the other side of the building” with unusual questions about vendor compliance. These questions typically involve a request for vendor partner reports with strange acronyms and funny […]

The Secret Sauce

It happened again last week. We were in our “discovery” phase with a new client. The analysis had reached the stage where we were discussing postage optimization on their direct mail program. Then, that famous line surfaced once again. It goes something like this… “I don’t think we need to spend much time in this […]

$200,000 Postage Savings

Proactive Savings Analysis Results in Tremendous Postage Savings! The Scenario: A prominent telecommunications provider (hereout referred to as “Telecomm”) frequently uses direct mail to reach current customers, new movers and prospects. While there are no significant service problems with their mail vendor, they are moving to a different advertising agency.  Telecomm’s previous direct mail vendor […]