04Apr 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Direct Mail is Alive and Well

Direct Marketing
Despite all the attention being paid by marketers today to exciting, newfangled online channels and strategies, traditional direct mail is very much alive and well and more effective than ever in reaching individual customers and prospects. That appears to be the premise – which, as much as I’m enamored with the Internet, I certainly couldn’t disagree with – behind the U.S. Postal Service’s recent launch of Deliver, a free, bi-monthly magazine that, according to the March 14 issue of B to B, “explores how the U.S. mail can play a key role in companies’ overall marketing.” If you weren’t one of the several hundred thousand to receive the March issue, you can apply for your own complimentary subscription here.Creative Directors Take Note In the March 28 issue of Adweek (where,…
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31Mar 2005 by Bob Cargill

A Smorgasbord of Boston Restaurant Ads

Advertising
Before I got married, like most 20- and 30-somethings, I did my fair share of wining and dining and painting the town red. It was fun while it lasted.Today, with a home in the suburbs and four children under the roof, my wife and I are certifiably too encumbered to get into Boston for dinner, drinks and dancing. It’s just not our time to party. Sure, we still enjoy the night life and we’re certainly not housebound, but it’s a lot easier for us – and frankly, more affordable – to eat out nearby instead of venturing into town.Every once in a while, though, I’ll open up one of those roadside newspaper boxes and pick up a free copy of The Improper Bostonian, where we’ll read all about how –…
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25Mar 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Marketing Miscellany III

Blogging, Direct Marketing
If you haven't gotten around to it yet, don't hesitate any longer to pick up a copy of The New Marketing Conversation: Creating and Strengthening Relationships Between Buyers and Sellers. Written by Donna Baier-Stein and Alexandra MacAaron, both past presidents of the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA), it’s a comprehensive model for marketing in the new millennium, an indispensable guide for anyone selling, well, anything.Speaking of NEDMA, those who attended the association’s 26th Annual Paul Butterworth Copywriting Seminar the other night in Boston heard from a trio of illustrious direct marketers, all previous winners of the New England Direct Marketer of the Year award – Steven Tharler (Tharler/Opper), Nancy Harhut (Hill, Holliday) and Tracy Emerick (Taurus Direct Marketing). This free seminar – named after the late, great copywriter whose…
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18Mar 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Humor in Advertising: Two Funny Case Studies

Advertising, Copywriting
People "do stupid things" and "don't always use common sense," according to two different ads – for Vonage and UnitedHealthcare respectively – that appeared in the latest edition (March 11-13, 2005) of USA WEEKEND, the Sunday newspaper magazine supplement.If I hadn’t laughed out loud when I first saw these ads, I might have been insulted.Coincidentally, both ads use similar headlines and are able to get away with poking fun at their audience by breaking one of the cardinal rules of copywriting: Anyone who writes headlines in advertising knows to address customers and prospects in the second person, “you.” It’s one of the easiest ways to command the immediate attention of your readership.But in these two instances, the headlines were purposely impersonalized by using the indefinite pronoun, “people,” as the subject,…
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10Mar 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

The Celtics Are Winning on the Court — and in the Marketing Arena as Well

Advertising, Fundraising, Public Relations
Believe it or not, the Boston Celtics are looking more and more like a team that will not only make the NBA playoffs this year, but one that could legitimately contend for the Eastern Conference championship.Of course, much of such new found optimism is a credit to three-time All-Star Antoine Walker, who recently returned to the team with which he played his first seven seasons in the league. In a handful of games with the Celtics since he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks just a couple of weeks ago, Antoine is playing like the rejuvenated veteran he is, and his teammates seem to have stepped up their game as a result.Those who follow the Celtics have also responded enthusiastically in kind, packing the FleetCenter – on July 1, to…
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02Mar 2005 by Bob Cargill 1 Comment

A Blog Would Probably Work Wonders for JWT

Advertising, Blogging
Kudos to JWT for re-launching itself just a couple of days ago as a "billion-dollar startup” – it won’t happen overnight, but you can count on a powerful and positive ripple effect throughout the advertising industry.This was no cheesy publicity stunt, after all. This was the largest advertising agency in the United States proudly – and loudly – formalizing its belief that “time is the new currency of savvy consumers who know what they want and refuse to waste their time on choices that don’t meet their needs.”This was a watershed moment not just for JWT, but for anyone else who makes a living in advertising, direct marketing, public relations, fundraising and, yes, even in the blogosphere.What this legendary, 140-year-old agency is acknowledging – and responding to – is a…
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22Feb 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Why You Should Test Wristbands Now

Direct Marketing, Fundraising
If you don't wear one yourself, chances are someone you know wears one of the Lance Armstrong Foundation's yellow LIVESTRONG wristbands – after all, 33 million of them have already been distributed by this nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer prevention and survivorship.But yellow isn’t the only color people – on behalf of their favorite charities – are wearing on their wrists these days.Indeed, the phenomenal, overwhelming success the Lance Armstrong Foundation has had with yellow wristbands has caused nonprofits everywhere to sit up, take notice and adopt the very same idea, launching fundraising campaigns of their own around colored silicone rubber wristbands that symbolize their respective causes.For instance, fans of the Boston Celtics can now demonstrate their support of their favorite basketball team by wearing a green, “I am a…
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18Feb 2005 by Bob Cargill No Comments

Breakthrough Fundraising Trends, Strategies and Tactics

Direct Marketing, Fundraising
In the January/February 2005 issue of FundRaising Success magazine, Tim Burgess' column ("Because It Matters") explores "The Fundraising Landscape, Circa 2005," pointing out that “the smartest fundraisers are paying attention to what promises to be next in breakthrough fundraising trends, strategies and tactics that will revolutionize the way funds are raised in the years ahead.”“So get on board if you want to ride the coming surge of fundraising effectiveness,” writes Burgess, co-founder of the Domain Group, providing readers with a handful of great recommendations, including but not limited to the following:Diversify Your Channels (“Acquiring new donors is like managing your stock portfolio: Diversification is crucial to minimizing risk and maximizing return on investment.”)Bond With New Donors (“The biggest mistake nonprofits make is failing to pay close attention to new donors…
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07Feb 2005 by Bob Cargill

Running the Boston Marathon for Charity: A Personal Fundraising Initiative (Part Four)

Boston Marathon, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Ten weeks from today, I'll be running the Boston Marathon for the seventh time in my life, the fourth time for charity. This year, I'll be running it for Children's Hospital Boston. Children's Hospital Boston is a 325-bed comprehensive center for pediatric health care. As the largest pediatric medical center in the United States, Children's offers a complete range of health care services for children from 15 weeks gestation through 21 years of age (and older in special cases). Children's records approximately 18,000 inpatient admissions each year, and its more than 150 outpatient programs and emergency services care for more than 300,000 patients annually. The hospital also performs 120,000 radiological examinations every year. For the 15th year in a row, Children's Hospital Boston was recently rated one of the nation's…
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