by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009
The calendar might tell you we’re in the midst of the lazy days of summer but recent buzz in the marketing world tells a different story. Entrepreneurial energy is humming in some less expected spots: Read more
Archive for July, 2009
Summer Deals: It’s All About “Free”
by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009
Dukky was all about finding freebies this week. Here are a few of our favorite finds. Follow us on twitter @dukkytweets to hear about them in real time. Read more
The USPS and Direct Mail: Beasts in Transformation
by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009
Since the start of the current recession, one business that has taken a particularly big hit is the mailing business. This includes FedEx, UPS, and DHL but the company that has faltered the most is the USPS. In 2008 alone the USPS saw a net loss of almost three billion dollars. The reason for this is largely due to the huge decreases that have been occurring in the amount of mail being shipped every year. The USPS thought it could survive solely on the bulk mail sent out by junk mail companies, but it appears that they were wrong.
Now the huge corporation that is the third largest employer in the United States, and gives jobs to nearly one million people is in serious jeopardy. This graphic presented by the website Good, gives an excellent indication of just how massive the USPS is, and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.
Image Source: Flickr
This week there was a lot of news about the future of the US Postal Service. The President of the National League of Postmasters reported that the organization’s obligation to pay retiree health benefits is dragging its bottom line into the red (reportedly to the tune of $20 million in losses a day.) In response, the USPS is considering restructuring its employee benefits and cutting back on delivery and office hours. As you might imagine, these announcements have caused a stir.
We thought it was a good time to take another look at this graphic published by Good a little while back. It gives an excellent indication of the size of the USPS (according to wikipedia, it’s the third largest employer in the country) and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.
The USPS is going to have to embrace some change to stay relevant – and so does its mainstay direct mail. Dukky’s developing new technology and listening to consumer sentiment in order to help our direct mail customers. This week we launched a demo that shows how we marry direct mail with social media and voice technology in order to increase response rates. See where the future of direct mail is heading here. We hope the USPS will follow suit and innovate alongside us. Because when change is brewing, the worst thing you can do is put down your head and avert your eyes.
Advertising Hits and Misses
by The Dukky Team | July 24, 2009
For this week’s Direct Marketing News Round Up we decided to go old school and looked into some recent advertising campaigns that were successful and also not so successful. We figured it would be a good reminder that you can have all the social media, tracking, testing, and planning in the world but if you don’t have a good advertising pitch than you are simply just wasting your time. Deciding to be charitable as well, we’ve included a video of what Twitter really is, for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past couple of months.
Best Deals of the Week!
by Teri | July 24, 2009
Finding great deals online takes a bit of time, but if you know where to look, you can really rake in the savings. Below is a list of four of the deals we tweeted this week. To receive our daily tweets about deals, cool sites and other things we find interesting, follow us @dukkytweets.
1.) Did you know that Old Navy has a deal site? Its refreshed every week with hidden deals. http://bit.ly/OVoyE
2.) Get pampered with a free Origins mini-facial. Appointments available everyday through Aug. 2nd. http://bit.ly/8I9NP
3.) See Everything in HD with a new 42” Philips LCD HDTV for $899 http://bit.ly/dnCER
4.) Restock the office supplies and save 15% at Office Depot with coupon code 58078640 http://bit.ly/ih39A
Finding great deals online takes a bit of time, but if you know where to look, you can really rake in the savings. Below is a list of four of the deals we tweeted this week. To receive our daily tweets about deals, cool sites and other things we find interesting, follow us @dukkytweets. Read more
Tough Times for Direct Mail
By Brice Sanderford | July 23, 2009
Tough Times
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times focused on the health of the direct mail market, and attacked the increasingly unpopular business tactic. The reporter, David Lazarus, took the time to go to the office of the main direct mailer in the Los Angeles area and interview the co-owner of the company that sends out 12 million articles of third class mail every month.
Lazarus found the building a bit despairing - in the midst of the recession the direct mailing company in LA followed the trend of many other businesses, and recently laid off nearly half of its work force. They aren’t the only ones suffering. For the first time in nearly six decades, the direct mailing industry has experienced a decrease in sales.
Lazarus didn’t disguise his contempt for the direct mail industry. Others are cheering its demise. There has been an uproar against the direct mailing industry due to its apparent disregard for the environment and its lackluster approach to reducing waste. There are reportedly 19 states that at the moment are trying to pass laws involving a do-not-mail registry, and more stringent restriction on the junk mail business.
Thing is, the direct mail industry is an important cog in our economy. Direct mailing companies in the U.S. alone employ about 1.2 million people, and indirectly employ another 9 million. It stimulates an estimated two trillion dollars in spending every year helping to keep small businesses afloat, drive major corporations advertising campaigns, and also keep the United States Postal Service running. An attack from the government may not be the most prudent solution…for anyone.
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times focused on the health of the direct mail market, and attacked the increasingly unpopular business tactic. The reporter, David Lazarus, took the time to go to the office of the main direct mailer in the Los Angeles area and interview the co-owner of the company that sends out 12 million articles of third class mail every month.
The Need to be Social
by The Dukky Team | July 17, 2009
Most of our personal lives have collided with social media to some extent. And now, we marketers are finding that our work is leading us deeper into social networks. At Dukky, we’ve developed tools that allow marketers to spread their deals through social networks and track the activity. This week, bloggers and journalists have been writing about similar concepts. Below are some of the top stories about how to most effectively incorporate social media into your marketing mix.
Dukky’s Direct Marketing News Round Up:
How to Make Your Tweets More Useful, Duct Tape Marketing: Been having trouble figuring out how to make the most out of your Twitter account? Here are some tips to really get some use out of your Tweets.
Just Because You Can Wear Spandex Doesn’t Mean You Should, Dukky Blog: Do all marketers belong in social networks? We don’t think so.
Top Deals of the Week
By Teri | July 17, 2009
We found some great deals out there this week, but make sure you take advantage of them while you still can. Remember if you want to receive our deal picks in real time just follow us on Twitter @dukkytweets. Read more
Should All Marketers Join the Social Networking Party?
by Kristen | July 16, 2009
The beauty of social networks rests in their ability to filter the noise of the internet and surface high quality and relevant information.
For instance, on Twitter I follow people I trust who are talking about subjects of interest like online marketing, social media, finance, and journalism. My Facebook friends keep me updated on my social circles, even when I’m living on the other side of the country. And LinkedIn’s industry groups connect me with insightful articles and discussions.
Yet social networks are constantly polluted by voices that care little for quality or privacy. Overly eager marketers, spammers, and other wily strangers often infiltrate my personal streams of information. I have to work to keep all of my accounts spam free.
Four Great Deals for the Week
by Teri | July 7, 2009
Here are some of our favorite deals of the week. Several of the deals we post expire within a couple of days. To receive the deals in real-time, follow us on Twitter @dukkytweets. Any suggestions on great deal providers? Send them over in a reply to this post!
1. Just in case you forgot— head over to Chickfila today July 10th in full cow attire to get a free meal!
2. Free Lollapalooza sampler anyone? get your personal iTunes redemption code here.
Read more