Archive for October, 2009

Got Your Halloween Outfit Ready?

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

The spookiest of American holidays is just days away. If you’re like me, you’re still scrambling for a unique and easy-to-throw-together-last-minute costume. The thought entering an over-stimulating and smelly party store just days before Halloween is out of the question for me, but will be my outfit be as cool as others?

Apparently the days of your dad throwing a sheet over your body and calling you a ghost are over. The costumes these days are more and more intricate and creative. From Kate Gosselin wigs to the late Michael Jackson and DRTV’s very own Billy Mays outfits, the best-selling costumes this Halloween season are personal and fierce!

Think dressing up as the legendary Billy Mays is tasteless and offensive? Well, Billy’s son, Billy Mays III, gives these outfits the Mays’ signature two thumbs up seal of approval! He’s even throwing a contest for his fans to see who has the best Billy Mays outfit on his website www.wheresbillymays.com. So go ahead, bust out your blue shirt and represent Billy’s positive spirit this season - you won’t be alone!

Jamie Hill is ERA’s marketing manager.

Posted in Advertising, Branding, Direct Response, ERA, Electronic Retailer, Just for fun..., drtv | 1 Comment »

Buzzing ERA Crowd at Stingaree in San Diego

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

It’s not a far stretch to say that everyone that attended the ERA Networking Reception in San Diego on Monday, October 19, had a FABULOUS time. With 200+ direct response pros in attendance on the rooftop of Stingaree, the vibe and overall buzz of the evening was upbeat and optimistic. The drinks were flowing, the atmosphere was perfect and the conversations were flowing! Many people said they were making more connections during the two hour reception than they had made all day on the conference in town!

Having Andi Barness and Ben Freedman from PrimeImage Media at the reception also created a lot of buzz, they managed to get more than a dozen interviews with attendees asking why they were planning on coming to The Great Ideas Summit 2010 in New Orleans. Check out the video they produced below and the pictures that Kim Lewis with ERA snapped. www.ERAGreatIdeas.org

For all of you that attended, we hope it was a worthwhile and successful networking event for you!

Posted in Direct Response, ERA, Electronic Retailer, drtv | No Comments »

Soft Trials and The Bottom Line

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

On most days I wake up and the first thing on my mind is: “Who am I going to make more money for today?”  Now, I say most days because Saturdays I wake up and first thing on my mind is “Ahh, it’s Saturday!” and on Sundays the first thing on my mind is “Dear God!  You must be a Giants fan, after all you made the sky blue.  So how about a win today?”

Monday through Friday however I am constantly focused on bringing more dollars to peopl’s bottom line by helping them pay attention to what most do not: the recovery of consumer receivables.

I think that in today’s turbulent economy and in the face of quarterly losses by even the biggest in our land, it’s more than time to start watching the bottom line from every possible aspect especially the collections.

I am finding more and more companies in the DR segment are trying to acquire more sales by offering soft trial offers for very little amounts of money. This is increasing their bad debt to rates that are 4 and 5 times higher than the average. This average being defined as standard multi-pay offers where you get 1/3rd of the money in the first installment as opposed to 1/5th with a 30-day no questions asked return. People are taking advantage and the DR Marketer is losing profitability. How can we resolve this?

One answer, if you’re insistent on keeping your offer to the consumer with the soft trial, is through a competent and detailed recovery process. If you know the bad debt will mount into very high percentages than you can be better prepared to handle it. Here are some tips to do this:

Have your fulfillment house and agency on the same page - nothing will hurt you more than inconsistent dates of service on the portfolios.

Have the portfolios run through the recovery scoring models and predictive metrics are to ensure maximum liquidation - the informed you are about the consumer you are attempting to get your money or product back from, the more you will get either of those.

Are bad addresses and phone numbers being appended? What service?

Are bankruptcies and deceased claims being validated? What service?

What is the dunning strategy? How are letters and impacts being measured?

What is the calling strategy? How many times a week is my portfolio being dialed? Attended? Unattended?

There are many more questions to ask of your agency or a prospective agency and be sure to do so.

As for the money that’s out there right now to be collected; my advice is simple:

Go get it. It’s yours and it can be obtained with the right partner.

As for me, I am going to make my partners more money as soon as I am done typing. They earned it and they deserve to have it.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

ERA’s Tomi Turner on the FTC’s Revised Guides

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

picture-150x150Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission released its revised Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. The Guides are more than 80 pages long, so we’re still analyzing the changes. However, there is no question that our extensive advocacy efforts have had an effect on the final iteration of the Guides. The commentary included with the changes explains that advertisements using consumer testimonials should be evaluated by the net impression of the advertisement. A footnote in the revised Guides also suggests that in some cases a disclaimer could be sufficient. A more comprehensive legal document will be circulated shortly, but it is clear from a preliminary review that our efforts have not been made in vain. The 35 advocacy meetings on the Hill, 40 constituent meetings at the Fly-In, the testimony before the Senate, two sets of detailed comments and our suggested language were all helpful in presenting our case to the FTC.

However, the new Guides certainly do present some challenges, both to traditional TV marketers and those in social media. ERA is already planning educational opportunities that will provide suggestions for compliance with these changes. We hope the FTC will seize the opportunity to improve the marketplace by presenting to these changes to ERA members at one of our conferences.

Members who attended the Fly-In, supported the Leadership Reception, participated in the Government Affairs Committee, helped to author and review our comments to the FTC, and of course, testified before the Senate, were all instrumental in mitigating some of the more harmful changes. We thank you.

Tomi Turner is ERA’s legislative manager.

To read ERA’s official statement, click here.

To read more about ERA’s government affairs efforts and what you can do to help, click here.

To read Electronic Retailer magazine’s June cover story on Endorsements & Testimonials, click here.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Advertising, Direct Response, ERA, Electronic Retailer, Government Affairs, Infomercials, Marketer, Online, Social Networks, drtv, e-commerce | No Comments »