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SmartTalk E-Newsletter Articles - April 2008
Finding, Keeping, and Nurturing Great Creative
Talent
Use Online Pre-testing To Optimize Creative
New Mailing Standards For Popular “Slim Jims”
A Postal
Rate Hike Every May
What's Hot and
What's Not
The MDI Group Home
Finding, Keeping, and Nurturing Great Creative
Talent
By Karen Riley
Is it a happy accident, or the result of lots of
planning, hard-won battles, and synergy?
Fourteen years ago, I was known as a production
maven. I could pull apart a job and figure out how
to save time and money by looking at processes and
combining the best fit of people and technology to
reach the common goal: the best creative, at the
cheapest price.
I had a consulting business and only worked for the
big publishing giants, and their vendors – companies
like Readers Digest, Hearst, RR Donnelley, and Rand
McNally. I managed people and processes so that when
presses started spinning to print millions of
pieces, bottlenecks didn’t occur and monies weren’t
lost. Nothing kills a budget worse than stopping the
presses.
When I decided to leave that world and open a
creative agency, one of my clients was a well-known
VP in a large publishing house. I was afraid to tell
him what I wanted to do because I thought he was
going to look at me and say, “What makes YOU think
you can run a creative agency?!” Instead, he looked
at me and said, “You have a talent for hiring
talent. Stay local, and let me know when you’re open
and we’ll give you some business.”
Fourteen years later, I own an agency that has
long-standing controls and tests that meet or beat
forecasts. I’d love to sit here and say it’s because
I’ve personally figured it all out, but that’s just
not the case. I’ve been fortunate to create a team
that pulls together and weaves their magic. A team
that can pull apart the objectives and then
collectively come together and present a piece that
works.
Just how do they do that?
First, it isn’t easy. Second, it’s a never-ending
process. But lastly, it’s probably the most
rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my career. I’d
like to share with you how to navigate the confusing
maze of finding great creative; what to look for;
how to nurture it and direct it; and what happens
when it all comes together successfully.
What to look for, and how to find it.
First and foremost, look for PASSION. Let’s face it
– we’re creatives. If we don’t feel it in our bones,
it isn’t going to happen. Whether I’m talking to a
60-year-old pro, or a kid out of college, I need to
hear the excitement and see the twinkle in the eye.
And it has to be a passion for what we do: direct
response print work. Not the next great Coca-Cola
ad, or interactive animation.
Next is the hard part: EXPERTISE. In our business,
there just isn’t always enough around. Direct
response is its own little niche. It takes years of
experience, and trial and error, to know what works
and what doesn’t. But that’s never enough – it takes
much more experience to decipher what’s even
feasible to test. It’s not a business that can
rest on its laurels. Sure, we can test and get a
winner and get a little life out of it by testing
and retesting off that winner, but we all know that
to stay in the game, we need to continually beat
ourselves at our own game.
And, what kind of expertise are you looking for? ALL
OF IT!
You want people who can look at a list and hone in
on the right percentage of names, with the right
qualifications behind those names, and pull a test
list that perfectly matches your demographic
objectives. You want marketing people that can
understand what your clients have done, fully grasp
where they need to be, and write the multi-step
program that will get them there.
You want writers and designers that can craft a
solution to draw an audience in, keep them moving
throughout a piece, and deliver them to the bottom
line of taking us up on our offers. And once all of
these balls are up in the air, you want buttoned-up
account managers that make sure nothing falls
between the cracks and everything delivers on time.
Lastly, you want vendors that bring new technology,
new solutions, great prices, and deliver amazing
product.
Finding these people takes lots of work.
I’m proud of the team I put together. In the end, we
have people of all ages, all experiences, differing
levels of passion, but one absolute goal: to make a
winner. How did I find them? By staying on it 24/7.
For new talent, I’m on college blogs and run small
ads in regional databases. I stay connected to the
community by occasionally doing a speaking
engagement, or short class course. We budget dollars
every year for our Creative Director to test out new
freelancers – regardless of whether we have an
overflow of work. And we constantly try out new
writers – sometimes putting 2 writers on the same
project so that it’s blind to our clients.
To find more experienced talent, I network
continually. We’re a member of the DMA, and also sit
on a secondary council relevant to senior executives
and owners of direct marketing agencies. We’re also
a member of the Hudson Valley Direct Marketing
Association, and the Direct Marketing Club of New
York. I belong to numerous online forums that offer
creative blogs, agency-owner discussions, monthly
webinars, and off-site functions.
I’m out there – constantly looking for talent and
expertise for both potential new employees and
potential new vendors. And once I find them, I’m
constantly trying to challenge them. As the owner
and marketing director, I’m always feeding, pushing,
prodding, and questioning what makes this piece
better than the piece before. I have huge
expectations of my employees, contractors, and
vendors, but I also learn from them every day. It’s
our collective teamwork that ultimately nurtures all
of us.
When all of this works the way it can and should,
the teamwork creates magic! To this day, it never
fails to amaze me that we kick-off a project with
hand-scribbled notes and lists from our clients,
outlining an objective to sell something, to
someone, in some-such way – and a few weeks later,
my team brings the most amazing pieces to the table.
It could be a unique idea, an amazing list, a
carefully planned campaign, or the synergy ignited
between a great writer and a great designer. It’s
magic. I love it. And most satisfying of all…our
customers love it.
Karen Riley is President of The MDI Group, Inc. — a
direct-response agency with experience in strategy,
creative development, and execution. She can be
reached at 914-402-7100, or at
kriley@themdigroup.com.
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Use Online Pre-testing To Optimize Creative
Pre-testing creative approaches online can save you
money, time, and increase the likelihood of a
positive return-on-investment. According to Barbara
Leflein of Leflein Associates, Inc., “Pre-testing
creative online has proven to be a reliable and
predictable indicator of broader success in the
marketplace.”
By combining an online survey with proposed direct
mail approaches, marketers gain valuable behavioral
information plus intention-to-act feedback from
prospects. Marketers can expect response rates to a
survey to fall between 2% and 15% depending on the
makeup of the prospect list.
Research can be completed within a 3-week period
from survey questionnaire approval and receipt of
graphics to be tested. Topline results can be
delivered after the first several days in the field.
Source: Barbara Leflein, Leflein Associates, Inc.
Top
New Mailing Standards For Popular “Slim Jims”
New mailing preparation standards are being
developed by the US Postal Service for folded
self-mailers, booklets, and folded booklets mailed
at automation and machinable letter rates.
The move came about because letter-size booklets and
folded mailers (also called “Slim Jims”) became
increasingly popular after last year’s price
increases for flat-size catalogs, but many “Slim
Jims” tend to jam automation equipment or get
damaged during processing. The preparation standards
for enveloped mail pieces will not change.
Initial test results have been released and
published by the USPS. Mailers are encouraged to
send the USPS their comments and suggestions.
Source: Condensed from DM News
Top
A Postal Rate
Hike Every May?
After last May’s average 20% to 40% postal increases
for catalogers, the USPS announced February 11th
that rate hikes for Standard Mail Flats would stay
below the CPI (Consumer Price Index). Future rate
hikes should be much more manageable since they are
now tied to the CPI. The 1% average postal rate
increase for Standard Mail Flats – the category
affecting most catalogers – that’s scheduled for
this May is proof of that.
However, according to a February 29 postal Webinar,
there will now be a rate change every May. The USPS
will be adjusting prices annually each May “because
the new law requires predictable price changes,”
says Michael K. Plunkett, USPS’s manager of pricing
strategy.
“We are moving toward the industry standard. Most
other shipping companies adjust their prices every
year,” Plunkett says. “Not long after the passage of
the new Postal Law, we queried our customers and
other industry stakeholders regarding the best time
for price adjustments,” Plunkett adds. “While there
was a range of responses, many customers indicated
that May was a favorable time. It avoids having to
make changes during the fall mailing season or the
holiday period.”
Source: Condensed from Multichannel Merchant
Top
PEAK MAILING MONTHS: It’s not surprising that September
(34.6%) and October (33.8%) were most often identified as peak
mailing months, but 31.5% of preferred practice testers* said
ALL months were equal for their companies.
BROCHURE EFFECTIVENESS: The majority of respondents
(57.1%) said that a direct mail package with no brochure was
more effective in lifting response than a brochure alone
(22.5%). However, high-volume mailers differed from average
respondents in saying that a direct mail piece alone and a
brochure alone had equal impact on lift (33.3% vs. 20.4%).
*High
quantity mailers who also tested creative elements more than the
average respondent.
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