Over the years, several major marketing campaigns have been pulled because they were just too shocking, too controversial and too risqué. From Benetton ads in the 1980s to controversial campaigns about child abuse to Pony’s “Black Jesus” ad from 2004, countless ads have been deemed too controversial for mainstream media. PETA, in fact, has built a multimillion-dollar organization on ads that are made to shock. Read More

  We’ve all experienced dishonest and predatory marketing tactics – ones that made us vow never to do business with a particular person or business and that might even have prompted us to warn friends on social media or discuss them with family and friends. Read More

The past few years have seen the emergence of inbound marketing as a more effective way to reach potential customers. The inbound approach to marketing essentially pulls prospects to your website with helpful information these individuals are looking for. It stands in contrast to outbound marketing, which pushes a message out to prospects who may or may not have requested it. Read More

  Direct mail has been around for a long time. A very long time. In fact, the first known example of direct mail was found in Egypt, and it dates back to 1,000BC! Over the millennia, there have been a few strategies that have stood out, and stood the test of time. Let’s take a look at the history of direct mail, and the best lessons we can learn from the past. Read More

  The 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing has been around for a long time. Ever since Ed Mayer came up with it in the 1960s, it’s been the gold standard for direct mail marketing around the world. It’s been a long time since the sixties though, and while the rule still stands, there are ways we should be using new technology to make the whole concept better. Read More

  Marketing has changed dramatically in the last 10 years or so. We’ve all heard, “The Internet changes everything,” and it’s true. But it’s not just that business has moved online and we purchase with a click instead of with a wallet. They very process we go through to do business is completely different today. Read More

  At TMR Direct, we’ve been helping companies and organizations do direct mail successfully for more than 40 years. I can tell you that we’ve never come across anyone who does it just for fun (although, we have seen some pretty fun direct mailings!). Companies and organizations use direct mail because they expect something in return. Read More

  If you’re running your first direct mail campaign, you probably already have a million things on your mind. Design and layout. Choosing the right message, and crafting an offer no one can refuse. Tweaking your copywriting until it’s perfect, and choosing the target market that you will send your message to. Read More

  At the end of this month (February 28th in case you want to watch), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor the best films of 2015 at the 88th Academy Awards ceremony. A lot of people will be watching to see who the big winners (and losers) are. Read More