Millard Group Inc.

“Do-not-call lists are here. Do-not-spam regulations are being introduced. Do-not-mail legislation may not be far behind. The privacy issue may be the biggest concern the direct-to-consumer industry has as it moves forward.” These were the sobering words of Ben Perez, president of the Millard Group and chairman of The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) 11th Annual Catalog-on-the-Road Conference, which was held in Boston last month. “The direct marketing industry is on the government’s radar screen regarding privacy,” he continued, “and the attention is at a level that shouldn’t be ignored.” In related news, The DMA last month announced new initiatives to help direct and

Type the word “Gift” into any Internet search engine, and you’ll be faced with more sites than you know what to do with. From Gift.com to SendAGift.com, online gift retailing has become a hot-button business. With such a crowded field, why would the executives of retail giant Target Corp. decide that three of its strongest print catalog brands—Wireless, Signals and Seasons—would do better under one URL, GiftCatalog.com? The answer lies in the shopping experience. Market researchers told Target’s online division, target.direct, that potential for cross-selling among the three catalogs was high, but that navigating three different sites was not as easy it should be.

Last year was a tough one for magazine circulation. Direct mail response rates, stampsheet performance and newsstand sales were down in 1998, according to the 1999 CircTrack industry survey published in August by Capell-Jones. Yet CircTrack deals mostly with established magazines. How does a new magazine gain a foothold in this tough environment? E. Daniel Capell, editor of the report, says, "There are really two ways to launch these days: Try it on the newsstand or do acquisition mailings." In June 1998, publisher Steven Brill (of The American Lawyer magazine and Court TV fame) launched Brill's Content. Its start-up strategy comprised many

When Peter and Peggy Rice founded the Plow & Hearth catalog in an outbuilding on their Virginia farm in 1981, their inspiration was the back-to-basics movement. Nearly 20 years later, the country philosophy remains, but the back-roads mail order business is anything but backwards. Its adoption of a high-tech database in the mid '90s has led to quick, efficient growth through sophisticated modeling, which in turn engendered a home-furnishings catalog spin-off and a highly successful upselling program. Now Plow & Hearth's dual commitment to direct marketing basics and use of cutting-edge technology is allowing the founders to reap what they've sown. In April

About this time nine years ago I was getting set to be married, so I registered my china and crystal patterns with a Big Department Store’s bridal registry. Then, a funny thing happened: I started receiving boxes at my home from someplace called Ross-Simons. “What store is this?” I asked my mother, for while it carried the precise gifts I had selected, I had neither been there nor heard of it. “It’s not a store. It’s a catalog,” she replied. More recently, in the fall of 1997 my sister was wed. For her bridal registry, she chose to skip the Big Department