July 23, 2018

New & True: GraniteRock Pan

Description: A nonstick pan
Pitch: "The best pan ... for cooking, frying and even baking"
Offer: $19.99 for one with free shipping
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay an extra fee)
Marketer: Emson
Producer: Hutton-Miller
DRMetrix Rank: No. 25*
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Emson currently has one other pan on the DRMetrix chart: the original Gotham Steel pan at No. 28.

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* Based on weekly monitoring by AdSphere.™ To learn more or to try it for free, click here.

New & True: Copper Fit Compression Gloves

Description: Copper-infused compression gloves
Pitch: "Support muscles and joints in your wrist, palm and fingers"
Offer: $19.99 with free shipping
Bonus: None
Brand: Copper Fit
Starring: Jerry Rice
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Producer: Blue Reef
DRMetrix Rank: No. 38*
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IdeaVillage currently has one other Copper Fit campaign on the DRMetrix chart: Copper Fit Advanced Back Pro at No. 26.

IdeaVillage had four Copper Fit campaigns on the Mid-Year 2018 True Top 50: Copper Fit Advanced Back Pro (14), Copper Fit Balance (21), Copper Fit Pro Series (36) and Copper Fit Energy Socks (40).

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* Based on weekly monitoring by AdSphere.™ To learn more or to try it for free, click here.

July 16, 2018

In the News: Goodbye ERA & DRMA, Hello PDMI

That was quick.

Just days after announcing the Direct Response Marketing Association (DRMA) would cease operations, the former leaders of that organization have joined forces with the former executive vice president of the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) to form a new industry organization called the Performance-Driven Marketing Institute (PDMI).

According to the official email announcement:

[L]ed by John Yarrington, Thomas Haire, and Bill Sheehan [the PDMI] is a leadership organization dedicated to promoting, protecting and advancing its membership through education, networking and marketing, and advocacy ...

With plans for a September kickoff event in Las Vegas — the PDMI Summit — and a full array of publishing and event services for the industry in 2019, the PDMI is currently working to create a 501(c)(6) association that also will serve as a voice for the industry with federal and state regulators alike.

Yarrington was the publisher of Response Magazine, and Haire was its editor in chief. Sheehan was the executive vice president of the ERA and the executive who signed the June 1 statement revealing the ERA was closing down.

It seems the new PDI Summit is meant to take the place of the ERA Las Vegas show. It is scheduled for September 24-26, according to the email. The location is as yet undetermined. Registration will open July 30.

The plan is now coming into focus, and that plan was consolidation. More to the point, our industry won't be without a trade association for long.

July 15, 2018

In the News: DRMA Will Also 'Cease Operations'

The following statement hit inboxes Friday:

After serving the direct response and performance marketing community for more than 26 years, Response Magazine and its affiliated products and the Direct Response Marketing Alliance (DRMA) — will cease operations as of today, July 13, it was announced by the publication’s parent company, Questex LLC.

Response, headed by Publisher John Yarrington and Editor-in-Chief Thomas Haire for much of the past two decades, will publish and deliver the July magazine as its final issue ...

The Response team would like to express its most sincere gratitude to its readers, advertisers, members, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors for their support of our work to educate, network, and inspire this wide-ranging industry during the past 2.5 decades. The relationships we have built with each of you have been a powerful factor in our long-term success — and in many cases have transcended the business we’ve done together.

The full text of the announcement can be found here.

This is a unique moment in industry history, folks. The ERA is gone, and now the DRMA. As of today, we have no trade associations, no trade magazines and no trade shows.

We'll have to see what the future holds.

July 13, 2018

New & True: Flawless Brows

Description: An eyebrow trimmer
Pitch: "Hold it like a pencil, use it like an eraser"
Offer: $19.99 for one
Bonus: Free shipping on multiples
Brand: Finishing Touch
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Producer: Blue Reef
DRMetrix Rank: No. 20*
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This is the third Flawless product IdeaVillage has rolled out. The others are Flawless Legs, which is No. 2 on the recently released Mid-Year True Top 50, and the original Finishing Touch Flawless (No. 7).

In August of last year, IdeaVillage also tested Flawless Glo, a lighted facial cleansing brush. That project did not roll out.

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* Based on weekly monitoring by AdSphere.™ To learn more or to try it for free, click here.