We certainly live in very interesting times! It seems that the entire human race is destined to go through many radical changes, together and…..like…..right now! So much is in flux: our climate, the economy, social stability in many countries, and more. So it’s not really that surprising that the direct marketing industry is also “going through it.” During these times it’s interesting to survey the landscape and pick through what is visible to discern some trends within our industry, and to gauge what is working and what isn’t.

A couple of weeks ago I attended DM Days in NYC, and it was not a happy scene. There were way too few booths, too few people and the only buzz going around was that folks really need to migrate their efforts to AdTech from now on. Seems that fundamentally DM Days needs either a radical makeover or may go the way of the dinosaur. I have a feeling DMA in Boston will be a much better show, I certainly hope so (and I hope to see you there in October).

Another industry icon performing a radical makeover right now is Infogroup, just yesterday they announced the sale of their global market research firm ORC International, a $100 million dollar business unit. Infogroup has been making over its staff, brand and business units in an effort to focus intently on the integrated multichannel marketing needs of its clients. I think they have read the tea leaves correctly and are doing what it takes to survive and thrive through the continuing uncertainty of the current era.

When I ran a commercial printing company for 5 years here in Seattle it was an established fact that printers either had to diversify in order to retain their customers, or be eaten alive by other market players who offered a more complete service. Commercial printers were adding value-added services, from a letter shop to color digital printing, and from fulfillment services to digital asset management, all in an attempt to be all things print related to their customers. Those printers with access to capital could at least attempt to cross that chasm to continued success through diversified solutions. But over a 5 year period so many printers, big and small could not, and the printing industry went from 55,000 print shops down to 27,000 at the last count.

Companies that provide direct marketing solutions and services are now finding themselves in a similar position to what the printers discovered from 2002 onwards, they must evolve, diversify their service offering, and compete to retain their best customers while building a complete turnkey solution to attract new customers. By adding email, social network and mobile marketing services, offering more access to technology, providing integrated data access, analytics and modeling these companies have a shot at surviving our World in Upheaval, and by focusing they can avoid folding – we truly do live in a virtual Darwinian petri dish, survival of the fittest will define our industry going forwards.

Cheers Rich

Rich Lancaster
CEO
Compact Information Systems