Promo - December 2007 - (Page 6)

www.promomagazine.com A Penton Media publication EDITORIAL PROMO Editor in Chief Larry Jaﬀee larry.jaﬀee@penton.com Larr y Jaf fe e / Editor in Chief THE RESTLESS CONSUMER Executive Editor Patricia Odell SeniorEditor Amy Johannes Reporter Richard Tedesco Editor-at-Large Brian Quinton DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Jed Davis ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Bryan Benjamin bryan.benjamin@penton.com When is too Far? National Sales Manager Barbara Paul barbara.paul@penton.com Dir.of Mktg. Services/Classiﬁed Alan Steen alan.steen@penton.com Even marketers are complaining about over-shilling OK, this might be an unpopular thing to write on this page. But the reality is that there always has been an undercurrent of dread for commercial ploys to get the unsuspecting public to buy stuff that they don’t necessarily need. Promotional marketing gets a little bit more respect among the masses than general advertising because it’s designed to engage or entertain. When done right, the audience takes action because it’s interested in what’s being offered. I realize that I might have opened a Pandora’s Box last month by running the anti-marketing diatribe by renowned comic book artist R. Crumb (see this month’s letters on page 21 for both pro and con sentiments). But I also recently encountered several instances of marketing executives admitting that they’re fed up with being bombarded with unsolicited come-ons that they view as a total waste of time. Going to work last week I rode the subway with the father of one of my daughter’s friends. It turns out that he works a block away from Promo’s office at a marketing agency specializing in health care. Genuinely interested in the magazine, he confided that—as a consumer—he’s tired of some company trying to get his attention everywhere he turned. “I know that’s a weird thing for me to say, given my job,” he sheepishly admitted. Later that day I headed over to a panel discussion at the ad:tech convention at the Hilton, a bonanza of all things interactive marketing that has grown by leaps and bounds since I last attended. The CMO of a major Madison Avenue agency talked about how the leading floral marketer forever lost a customer as the result of him being hit with a relentless bombardment of e-mail. He regretted ever placing an order. I was reminded of an interview I did last year with G2 Direct & Digital chairman and CEO Larry Kimmel for Direct, Promo’s sister magazine. As a new parent, he now has less tolerance for marketing spin. “I want to know the facts more quickly and be sure that the information is credibly delivered. It’s a new world, where content is king and consumers are in control.” Kimmel added, “We’re not really in the advertising business anymore. We’re in the accountable, education and entertainment business because consumers are so empowered to decide what commercial messages they want to receive and what they want to reject. You have to engage consumers differently — it’s incumbent upon us now to add value, to tell them why this product or service suits them, solve the problems they may not know they have, enhance their lives or entertain them. You can’t tell people what to do any more.” P I couldn’t have said it better myself. l 6 Resource Sales Associate Cynthia Foristel cynthia.foristel@penton.com Online Sales Development Director Rob Shore rob.shore@penton.com Production Manager Diane Straughen diane.straughen@penton.com Classiﬁed Production Coordinator Lindsey Sutton lindsey.sutton@penton.com P E N TO N M A R K E T I N G M E D I A S T R AT E G I E S Senior Vice President, Penton Media Financial Services and Marketing Group Warren N. Bimblick Publisher Leslie Bacon Group Editorial Director Ray Schultz Director-Audience Marketing Len Roberto Marketing Manager Jessica Kapoor Show Director Robin Altman READER INFO Editorial e-mailbox: promo.mag@penton.com Subscriber Service: 866-505-7173 (toll-free in the U.S.); 847-763-9504 (for calls originating outside the U.S.) Reprints: 866-436-8366 List Rental: Marie.Briganti@walterkarl.infousa.com ADVERTISING 249 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011-5300 Phone (212) 462-3580 Fax: (212) 683-4572 or (845)732-7054 EDITORIAL OFFICES 11 Riverbend Drive South Stamford, CT 06907-0225 Phone (203) 358-9900 Fax (203) 358-5834 Chief Executive Oﬃcer John French john.french@penton.com Chief Financial Oﬃcer Eric Lundberg eric.lundberg@penton.com Vice President, General Councel Robert Feinberg robert.feinberg@penton.com Reprints: Contact FosteReprints to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in PROMO at (866) 436-8366 or (219) 879-8366 outside the U.S. and Canada. Instant reprints and permissions may be purchased directly from our Web site; look for the iCopyright tag appended to the end of each online article. Portions of our magazine subscriber lists are available to carefully screened companies that oﬀer products and services directly related to the industries we cover. Any subscriber who does not want to receive mailings from third-party companies should contact the subscriber service department at (800) 441-0294 (USA), or (913) 967-1707 (outside USA). ©2007 Penton Media. All Rights Reserved November 2007 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com larry.jaffee@penton.com byran.benjamin@penton.com byran.benjamin@penton.com alan.steen@penton.com cynthia.foristel@penton.com bob.shore@penton.com diane.straughen@penton.com lindsey.sutton@penton.com john.french@penton.com eric.lundberg@penton.com robert.feinberg@penton.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - December 2007

Promo - December 2007 Contents Editor's Note Urban Refuge Digital Directive Soft Soap Voice Lessons Jordan's Monster Deal College Bowl Sprawl Good Deeds Commentary Blue Christmas Q&A: Clutter Cutter Widgets? They're Easy The Agency Center Resource Center Secret Weapon Index of Advertisers

Promo - December 2007

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