The study, Response Rate Report 2021: Performance and Cost Metrics Across Direct Media, revealed that email was the most used medium in all campaign types (B2B, B2C, and split B2B/B2C), averaging an 82 percent usage rate among respondents. Social media came in second at 74 percent.

Beyond email and social media, the report included overall findings for paid search (51 percent), digital display advertising (42 percent), direct mail (38 percent), and SMS (18 percent).

Although email was the top media choice chosen by marketers, its usage has declined 6 percent since the last Response Rate Report was issued in 2018 while social media advertising scored the most significant shift in reported usage, up 17 percent since the last study.

In terms of ROI, survey respondents indicated that while they certainly make use of modern technology in their direct marketing efforts, traditional methods such as sending messages in a letter-sized envelope via the U.S. Post Office can be remarkably effective. Those who did so reported a 112 percent ROI, followed closely by SMS at 102 percent and email at 93 percent.

The mail format that produced the best ROI to “house” lists was postcards (92 percent). The mail format that produced the best ROI to “prospect” lists was letter-sized envelopes (112 percent), the highest of all formats. Other notable formats to prospect lists include dimensional and oversized envelopes, both of which eclipsed 90 percent ROI.

More here.

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In his latest book, Wikipedia for Business 2022: The Rules & Latest Developments that Businesses & Communicators Need to Know to Succeed, Josh Greene of The Mather Group, LLC, does a deep dive into the world of Wikipedia, providing updates on what’s new, what’s changed and what strategies businesses need to benefit from the encyclopedia’s reach. All tips and strategies are ones used by his team as they help some of the largest Fortune 500 companies, international brands and high profile nonprofit organizations align their Wikipedia pages, SEO goals and online reputations.

“I’m excited to help communicators understand how Wikipedia works and how to engage in a constructive way.  Far too often, we hear from well meaning communicators who are frustrated with their experience or interactions with Wikipedia, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Even for those that do understand, they don’t always understand how to monitor their page and how it can – and can’t – be included in any online ORM and marketing strategies.”

Greene is the CEO of The Mather Group, LLC, an online reputation management company.  

The book can be purchased online as either an e-book or a paperback. Each chapter contains to-the-point updates and actionable tips that will give you exactly what you need to navigate the complexities of the world’s largest online encyclopedia. 

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Quackenbush’s hire marks a return to the agency; she was an account supervisor at Harvey a decade before. Her rejoining the agency comes on the heels of Harvey’s recent change in ownership. Kathy Harvey, who founded the agency in 1986, turned over the reins to Managing Director Matt McDermott in a December 2021 sale.

McDermott has focused on expanding Harvey’s talent bench and services offerings to support its transition into a full-service firm. “Sarah is a force-multiplier with a track record of building successful relationships with big-clout brands as well as companies that punch above their weight,” said McDermott. “It took a decade for us to find a chance to work together — and it was worth the wait.”

Quackenbush most recently served as Vice President of Account Services and Digital Marketing at technology firm MindGrub and its cannabis-based subsidiary MindBuzz. Before that, she was Business Development Director at Havas CX Helia. In her career, Quackenbush has led strategic and account efforts for clients including CoverGirl, Kleenex, Cottonelle, Fitbit, Mally Beauty, Acura, Curio Wellness, and Heavy Seas.

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Of note, while digital visitors increased for The Post and other media outlets, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center report, average minutes per visit for the top 50 U.S. daily newspapers, based on circulation, was a little less than two minutes in Q4 2020. This is down about 45 seconds from when Pew first began tracking this in Q4 2014.

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Wikipedia states that Aaronson was a founding member of the D.C. chapter of SAG-AFTRA.  In addition, “in 1948, she acted in Baltimore in a Johns Hopkins Playshop production of an English translation of Martine. She broke into radio in the late 1940s in Washington, DC, and was one of the first women to make the new technology a full-time career. In the 1950s, Ayres teamed up with Walt Teas, another nationally known voice from Baltimore, to become one of the first freelance voiceover teams in the radio industry. Over the next 30 years, Ayres, along with Teas and another personality, Joe Knight, recorded thousands of commercials and syndicated programs on a national scale, mostly at Baltimore’s version of Hollywood, Flite Three Studios, and overseen by legendary audio engineer, Louis Mills.

“In the 1960s and 1970s, Ayres also taught radio and communications at several Baltimore-area institutes of higher learning, such as Johns Hopkins University, Goucher College, and Towson University, and collaborated on projects with famous Vatican painter Joseph Sheppard and Beatles’ photographer Morton Tadder. Ayres also had an extensive solo career spanning over 50 years. In addition to radio commercials, Ayres narrated for such institutions as the National Geographic Society, SeaWorld, and the AARP. For 25 years, Ayres hosted regular radio shows such as “Tuning into Life,” “The Heart of the Matter,” and she wrote and produced the radio series “For the Young at Heart”. Ayres wrote, produced, and starred in a children’s music CD about manners, entitled “Doo-zees and Don’t-zees,” which was released in May 2007.

“In 1983, Ayres won an Addy Award from the American Advertising Federation and a Best in Baltimore Award from the Advertising Association of Baltimore for commercials that she made for the Baltimore Blast.”

More here.

The post Voiceover legend Florence Aaronson, aka Flo Ayres, dies at 98 appeared first on Capitol Communicator.

In the lawsuit filed in a District of Columbia court, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleges Google has “systematically” deceived consumers about how their locations are tracked and used. He also says the internet search giant has misled users into believing they can control the information the company collects about them, reports the AP.

“In reality, consumers who use Google products cannot prevent Google from collecting, storing and profiting from their location,” the lawsuit says. Google has “an unprecedented ability to monitor consumers’ daily lives.”

Google makes it impossible for users to opt out of having their sensitive and valuable location data tracked, the suit alleges.

The attorneys general of Texas, Indiana and Washington state filed similar lawsuits in their state courts on Monday.

“Google’s business model relies on constant surveillance of its users,” Racine’s office said in a news release. The D.C. suit asserts that Google has “a powerful financial incentive to obscure the details” of its location-data collection and to make it difficult for consumers to opt out. It says location data is a key part of its digital advertising business that generated $150 billion in revenue for Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., in 2020.

The company, based in Mountain View, California, is disputing the claims.

More here.

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Stephanie Ranno, TorchLight’s VP of Business Development and Account Management, provides 2022 predictions regarding continuing changes related to the hiring of marketing and communications leaders.

TorchLight Hire is a marketing recruitment agency that matches area employers with top D.C.-area marketing, communications, creative and digital talent. According to its website, “TorchLight Hire has the connections, experience and service-centered mission to offer both employers and job candidates an exceptional hiring experience with a goal of peak performance for both.”

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As we begin the new year, members of our team have made their predictions about what to expect in the worlds of design, marketing, and web development for 2022:

Design
A clearer, more creative headspace. 2022 will be one where hopefully, we’ve gotten back into our more normal but new headspace to create. 2020-2021 was a beat down on creatives and the creative industry because of the isolation. We predict that 2022 will be the year of returning to growth, creative risk-taking, teamwork, and collaboration, whether in person or virtually.

Marketing
The prolonged pandemic is going to keep things virtual. Just as we thought the pandemic was finally going away, Omicron ramped things back up. At the end of 2021, we saw things go back to being virtual or even canceled. Our prediction is that the virtual world of PR is here to stay…at least for a while. We’re going to keep seeing virtual interviews and events, and social media is going to keep things busy.

In 2020, TikTok blew up. Looking at that, expect social media to continue to be one of the best outlets for businesses to share content and sell themselves, especially with the boom of TikTok videos and Instagram Reels. What this all means – PR professionals must keep getting creative with their pitches to the media, creating content that hasn’t been done before and that has a killer call to action. In addition to promoting their products and/or services, companies will be advertising their core values to ideally retain existing customers instead of appealing to new ones.

Web Development
Web apps just become apps. More and more “apps” will be web apps that run inside native shells on your phone, desktop, and more. Think Spotify, Slack, or even Discord. Modern apps will be built on the web, then ported back to devices. More and more will run even better in your browser than on some of your devices. Another result of this trend is that the line between website and app will further blur (outside of high-demand apps like gaming or video editing).

What are your predictions for 2022? Let us know!

About Liquified Creative
Liquified Creative, a Capitol Communicator sponsor, is an award-winning advertising agency based in Annapolis, Maryland. The agency’s in-house creative and marketing team provides strategic integrated marketing services, including branding, graphic design, creative web design & development, strategic digital and traditional advertising services, experience marketing, and public relations, among others. The agency works with many Fortune 500, top mid-size, and enterprise-level companies throughout Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia.

The post Making Waves: Liquified Creative’s 3 Predictions for 2022 appeared first on Capitol Communicator.

In announcing those making the 2022 Power List, leadersHum states they are celebrating “the distinguished leaders whose contributions to leadership coaching and strategy have made it what it is today. We welcome the leaders inducted into the leadersHum Power List of the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership to watch for in 2022.”

According to the Power List: “Lisa Nirell is an expert sales and marketing consultant and is a member of Marshall Goldsmith 100 coaches. She is the founder of Marketing Growth LeadersTM and the Chief Energy Officer of EnergizeGrowth®. Lisa Nireli is hired by innovative firms such as Adobe, LinkedIn Learning, Skillsoft, Google, AARP, USA TODAY NETWORK, and Hilton to gather new insights, design new strategies, and launch ground-breaking marketing initiatives. She is also the author of The Mindful Marketer: How to Stay Present and Profitable in a Data-Driven World and EnergizeGrowth NOW: The Marketing Guide to a Wealthy Company.”

“Nothing pleases me more than being nominated by one of my clients. Joining this special community with Dorie Clark, Whitney Johnson, Gary Vaynerchuk, Marshall Goldsmith, and Simon Sinek is simply incredible. Thanks to this award, I can expand my mission more broadly: to help marketing leaders build stronger companies and better lives,” said Nirell, who is based in Leesburg, Virginia.

leadersHum is described as an open gathering of coaching “leaders, thinkers and coaches.”

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