nicom) have been buying traditional (DRTV, direct mail, list management) DR agencies for 20 years, bringing them “We’re seeing more
into their family of agencies. But many of these companies, like A. Eicoff & Co. traditional advertisers
and Wunderman, still function independ- and marketers realize the
ently. And while they may attempt to provide DR services to their brand agency value of spending money
cousins, says Tim Hawthorne, chairman/ on ROI-focused media
executive creative director at Hawthorne Direct in Fairfield, Iowa, and a member that’s more measurable
of the Response Editorial Advisory Board, and accountable.
the sharing of clients is more rare than
common. — Craig Aramaki, Euro RSCG Edge
“The foremost change in the major
brand agencies’ DR work is the acquisition and/or in-house development of new
media services,” says Hawthorne, “much
of which is accountable, and direct response.”
At least for now, Hawthorne says that
DRTV, direct mail, DM print, catalog
and list management are still strongly
the domain of specialized DRTV agen-
cies, adding that general brand age”ncies, in general, have never understood nor
respected these traditional DR marketing
channels. “And I don’t think they ever
will,” says Hawthorne. “They’ve been
forced to adopt and develop new media
DR because they see which way the wind
blows. But they still prefer big-budget,
branded TV ad campaigns.”
The fact that DRTV and general
agencies are for the most part sticking to
what they do best isn’t exactly negative.
In fact, from a day-to-day perspective,
Hodor says there will always be a place for
specific service line specialties that will
remain within their domain. “There will
still most likely be separate print groups,
network groups, digital media specialists
and DR specialists to do the actual blocking and tackling required for clients that
need all of those services,” he explains.
Where the capabilities need to be
blended the most, Hodor says, is at the
top — starting with the account directors/
planners, and within the data analytics
teams. “It’s all about analyzing the data,
looking at all media types holistically and
what they are bringing to the table for the
client’s business,” Hodor says, “and then
disseminating this information to the
specialized service lines so everything is
