Multichannel Surfing

A few years back, maybe even during the 2004 Presidential Election season, I opted in to receive e-mail messages from the Democratic Party. Now that I’m trying to opt out, the Democratic Party doesn’t want me to.

The latest e-mail I received from the party seemed like it was going to make it easy to unsubscribe if I just clicked a link. more

In what appears to be a sign that it does aim to cater more to catalog members, The Direct Marketing Association has named Bob Allen its interim president/CEO.

Allen is the former president/CEO of The Vermont Country Store. That’s about as old-school catalog as you can get (which I mean in the nicest possible way). more

You have to give John A. Greco Jr. credit for making it to 2010 as president/CEO of the Direct Marketing Association. Thanks to the nasty fight for DMA proxy votes just before the group’s annual board meeting on Oct. 18, I thought Greco would be a goner after the Annual Conference that week. more

It’s been five days since the 7.7 earthquake left Port-au-Prince in ruins, and governments, individuals and corporations have pledged what they can to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Based on press releases, here’s a quick rundown of which corporations have pledged cash, services and people. Also, here’s who’s letting the public know they are giving without coming off like it’s a marketing campaign:

• Crocs: They are donating thousands of pairs of Crocs to Haiti, and they’re using its headquarters as a drop-off point for those who want to donate supplies. But the headline of its press release makes it look like corporate giving is a competition, and that Crocs is in first place. Boasting to the world about being “a leading” anything in a press release is probably also not a good idea.



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I’m the lonely MCM Awards guy, and I’m waiting for your entries. I kind of feel like Charlie Brown, camped out at the mail box, hoping the Little Red-Haired Girl will send him a Valentine.

Maybe I’m just being wishy-washy. I know there were a lot of great catalogs and e-commerce sites that are worthy of getting Gold or Silver in the 2010 MCM Awards. And I’m sure those merchants are just waiting until the last minute to get their entries done.

Some merchants be afraid to enter, thinking they will have to compete against titans like Orvis, L.L. Bean and Harry & David. But we made some changes in categories that we hope help the Daveys of multichannel retail compete with the Goliaths. more

Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway, who assumed the reins of the PRC last August, wants to hear what you have to say. more