As direct marketers, having your message stand out from the crowd is critical. You never want to blend in or become part of the noise. Today consumers are bombarded with more messages daily, than they ever have been before. So marketers need to find ways to cut through the overload and make a meaningful impression. One approach that has proven effective time and again is “emotional marketing.”

Don't look now, but 2024 half over.

And it's been quite a year, hasn't it? We've seen everything from the AI revolution with ChatGPT to the USPS grappling with inflation. But here's the million-dollar question:

Seems everyone is talking about AI these days.

But the big question is, what are the best ways to use it in our everyday business?

First things first, let's address the elephant in the room: AI is no longer a futuristic concept; it's a reality that's already making waves in our industry. In fact, a recent Hubspot survey revealed that a whopping 64% of marketing professionals are already using AI tools in some capacity. Impressive, right?

As a direct marketing pro, you know that the playing field is always changing. So let's take a sneak peek at some key trends that are going to transform how we do business in the next 3-5 years.

You're probably hearing a lot of buzz about large language models (LLMs) and generative AI these days. And for good reason – this technology is poised to transform marketing in some major ways.

Direct mail continues to be an effective marketing channel, but determining the right format for your campaign can be crucial for maximizing response rates and return on investment (ROI).

This is the last of four blog posts on Hyper-targeting and Hyper-Personalization. In this post we will explain how these two strategies can be applied without using sensitive or protected personal information. If you missed any previous installments, you can find them here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3. 

In today's digital marketing landscape, the integration of hyper-targeting, hyper-personalization, alongside behavioral insights and data-driven creativity, can set the stage for groundbreaking multi-channel campaigns.

Here's what you need to know to get the most out of your efforts...

This is the third of four blog posts on Hyper-targeting and Hyper-Personalization. In this post we will explain how these two strategies can be applied in data rich categories such as banking, credit cards and insurance. This includes strategies for each channel, as well as real world examples. If you missed previous installments you can find them here: Click here for Part 1. Click here for Part 2. 

This is the second of four blog posts on Hyper-targeting and Hyper-Personalization. These two strategies are frequently misunderstood, as marketers attempt to use one strategy, when they really mean the other. In this post, the benefits of using each strategy individually are explained, as well as the benefits of integrating and using them together to create a seamless marketing funnel. If you missed the first installment of the series, you can find it here.

This is the first of four blog posts on Hyper-targeting and Hyper-Personalization. In this post, each of these strategies is defined, and their similarities and differences outlined. Also, some ideas are provided for how each of these strategies can be applied within different marketing channels like direct mail, email, search and content marketing.