If you followed only one rule for the rest of your marketing career, what would it be?

15 candlesWe’re celebrating our 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY here at Johnson Direct (JD). How does it feel to be 15? Collectively, the energy emulating from the offices is full of gratitude and eagerness. Of course, we’re thankful to have survived some difficult economic times over the years and appreciative for the business our loyal clients have awarded us year after year. And, we’re enthusiastic about the smart solutions and multichannel campaigns that are in various stages of planning and development.

I thought it would be fun to bring you a more candid response from individual JDers. It isn’t every day we think about the one professional rule we live by. So I asked our celebrants of strategists, business developers, graphic and digital designers, writers and account managers to divulge one most-valuable insight to compile this TOP 15 List.

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Fast Track Planning Sessions Motivate Marketers to Rev Up 2014 Activities

Before you hit the pavement at full speed in 2014, schedule a pit stop with JD to refuel and recalibrate. Let’s get your crew on track with the same strategy; aiming for shared goals and striving to win the same race – together. We’ll help you rally the crew with a Fast Track Planning Session.

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Are you maximizing your data?

“Big data” is a hot topic not only in marketing, but also in business because of the potential it offers in helping to make smarter, more efficient decisions. At JD, we’ve been using data analytics for years to boost campaign results. We frequently work with our clients to help them use their data to better understand and target their audiences.

For example, predictive modeling is a proven technology that has been used for decades by many large retail and financial institutions to improve audience targeting for customer acquisition and cross-selling. One of the challenges with traditional analytics and modeling processes is they typically involve weeks of analysis, expensive tools and high levels of statistical expertise.

At JD, we use an automated solution for analytics that speeds up the process to make it practical for just about any marketing campaign. Instead of spending weeks on the analysis process, we usually can complete it in a matter of days. By statistically identifying what is unique about existing customers, responders or donors when compared to the general population, we can uncover strong cues that indicate who the best prospects will be for future campaigns.

In one recent campaign for a nonprofit, we generated a healthy 1.6% response rate from prospects who became new donors by profiling and modeling the organization’s existing donor list.

Two key analytics reporting tools we generate include: Profile Reports and Model Reports. Profile Reports provide a snapshot of the audience by identifying common characteristics such as age, gender, affluence, geography, propensity to donate, interests and more. They provide helpful insight for audience segmenting and creative development. Model Reports are predictive and provide information about attributes that will signal behavior such as a response or donation.

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Model Reports are created by analyzing hundreds of variables that can be attributed to those in your file with a patented automated process that uses genetic algorithms to create a scoring formula. They include a lift chart that illustrates how much more likely it is that model prospects will respond, along with a graphical summary of the attributes and/or behaviors that signal response and contribute to the model. The model itself is not delivered, but resides in a system as a resource for generating lists, so there are no confusing algorithms to decipher.

The availability of information today can be intimidating and overwhelming, but if you have the tools to process and understand it, it can be exciting and extremely beneficial. It can provide insight that helps to better allocate budgets and increase ROI. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can maximize your data, download our FREE guide to data analytics.

Enough sitting on the job, people…it’s time to take a stand!

If you’re sitting on the job right now, you’ll want to read this. A newly released report, researched and written by JD, reveals health risks for American desk-job workers who spend too much time sitting on the job and the many benefits for incorporating periodic standing into the office environment.

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What It Means When Something Works

What does it mean when something works? I mean really works?

I’ve had plenty of cars that “worked”; unfortunately, they worked my checkbook harder than they did as transportation. I’m driving one now as a matter of fact.

Just because they are running does not mean that they work efficiently. It’s the same way for too many marketing programs today.

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