Electronic Retailer - May 2011 - 66

RICK PETRY

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“Be The Voice of Reason”
abstract or even doubtful and makes it real. It lends a voice of reason, and gives our elected officials a reason to believe. This anecdote is a powerful reminder that politicians and their staffers are consumers, too. Of the aforementioned mass media, yes, but of your products and services as well. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reports that House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy and a group of fellow Republicans have dogmatically taken up P90X in order to trim their waists with the same vigor with which they approach government waste. Like a fitness regimen, Congdon asserts that ERA’s government affairs efforts are having a transformative effect. “Our presence in Washington, coupled with the realization that they use and like our products, has gone a long way in helping us make our point to policymakers who may be trying to stop us across the board because one or two marketers aren’t so great,” he said. And that is where you come in, for this is an industry of storytellers so skilled in the craft that their products and brands become the stuff of pop iconography. And although you are undoubtedly busy, you don’t get a chance to be part of the industry’s collective legislative-shaping narrative unless you accept a seat at the table. You can’t expect your elected representatives to appreciate the impact your business has on the economy and their district’s tax base unless you remind them. Lastly, you can’t foster trust with your congressional officials unless you make it a priority to forge a relationship. Which leads to one question: Will you be accounted for on May 24-25 in Washington, D.C.? Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing and is a past chairman of ERA. He can be reached at (503) 740-9065 or online at rickpetry.com. On Twitter at http://twitter.com/thepetrydish.

The public perception of the direct response industry is often driven by a particularly narrow focus of the mainstream media. Too frequently that spotlight is on the worst practices of bad actors laid bare in juicy newspaper accounts and primetime television exposés that are a staple of ratings’ sweep periods. This emphasis on negative portrayals paints the entire industry with the same brushstrokes of ignominy; brushstrokes that can spur the stroke of a regulatory pen that threatens to wipe out our very existence. However, there is a way to bring balance to such discourse: participate in the ERA Government Affairs Fly-In and help shape policymakers’ perceptions of the industry.

You can’t expect your elected representatives to appreciate the impact your business has on the economy and their district’s tax base unless you remind them.
Here, for example, is a powerful counterpoint to direct marketing’s bad rap: At a time when rampant obesity and diabetes threaten to drain the healthcare system, not to mention the life force of countless tax-paying citizens, leading lifestyle companies such as Beachbody, Fitness Quest and Gaiam are turning lives around with healthy fitness and diet programs. In fact, at one Fly-In, as Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor was making sense of the audience, Beachbody president Jonathan Congdon relates that one of the lawmaker’s aides said, in effect, “Oh, you’re the P90X guys? My husband and I used that program to lose 25 pounds each before going on vacation.” This, at a time when the use of typicality claims was receiving particular scrutiny. Such testimony takes a position that may seem

electronicRETAILER | May 2011

Electronic Retailer - May 2011

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