Until recently, I didn’t have a smartphone, so I never paid much attention to QR codes since I wasn’t able to scan them anyway. But now I’ve finally joined the ranks of 72.5 million (and growing) smartphone owners in the U.S. and I downloaded a free QR code scanner from the App store so I could try it out.

Thing is, I find that I’m not inclined to scan a QR code just because it’s there. Apparently I’m not alone. Statistics show that most Americans ignore QR codes. During the month of June 2011, 14 million Americans scanned QR codes – that’s just 6.2 percent of the total mobile audience (comScore study).

So are QR codes just a fad that is soon to die? Or can they be an effective part of a marketing strategy? I went to DMAW‘s October luncheon to find out what John Lil, consultant with Quad/Graphics, had to say.

In his presentation, “QR Codes: Unlocking the Power of Print.” Lil showed examples of QR codes being used as a strategy to collect e-mail addresses, to send users to streaming videos of product demos, to get users to enter a contest, get coupons, or join a loyalty program. QR codes can be printed in a book to send readers to a video clip, an interactive map, or a discussion forum.

Apparently there are about as many uses of QR codes as your imagination can come up with.

“Most are static QR codes,” says Lil. “Everyone who scans it has the same experience. In marketing, that’s not where we want to end up.”

Lil explained how you can take it to a whole new level with personalized QR codes. This has to be a direct marketer’s dream. Whether it’s a page in a magazine or a direct mail piece, your QR code can be personalized with information your database knows about the recipient. And unlike just having a URL on your printed piece, you can track if the individual scanned your QR code, when, where, and with what device. And with the personalization, you can create a personalized offer for the recipient.

“It’s a technique to get your printed page more interactive,” says Lil, “and the outcome of that is really up to you.”

The challenge, says Lil, is making QR code campaigns effective. In one study, only one third of U.S. consumers who have scanned a QR code say that it was worth the time spent.

To help ensure your campaign is effective, and your QR code is worth scanning, here are some tips gleaned from the presentation:

1. Have a mobile strategy in place first. Your organization should have in place a mobile strategy for content, and for giving customers what they want and need. Your website, and any page you send a user to with your QR code, has to be mobile friendly.
2. Know your audience. Where will they be when they scan your QR code? Do they need instructions on what the QR code is and how to scan it?  Nearly 30 percent of consumers don’t know what a QR code is.
3. Give them something of value. The small percentage of people willing to scan a QR code may be a reflection of not seeing the value of doing so up front. Promise something useful and relevant – not just another advertisement. Don’t use a QR code if you’re just sending someone to your website’s home page.
4.  Integrate QR codes with other media. Your QR code can send people a streaming video or connect them to your Facebook page.
5.  Make sure your QR code works. Use a shortened URL so your QR code is less dense, which will increase the chances of it being readable, especially on older smartphones. Also the bigger the QR code, the better. Don’t go below the size of a postage stamp. And test, test, test.
6. Brand your QR code. I’ll admit they are pretty ugly. But since about 70% of the code has to be readable, that gives you about 30% to add some personality to the code. They can actually be creative and attention-grabbing.

There are arguments on either side as to whether QR codes are failing. But I think that QR codes are just another tool that marketers can use to deliver value to their audience. We have to use them effectively, which means we have to adapt to an increasingly mobile world.

____________________________________________________________________________

Allison King is marketing director at TMG Custom Media and a prospective DMAW member. She has been a B2B direct marketer for nearly 20 years. Follow her on Twitter

Recently I attended the DMAW’s monthly luncheon where a packed house turned out to hear Roger Craver, Founder of DonorTrends, editor of TheAgitator.net share his insights on Integrating Your Year End Campaigns.

For most, one big lesson had to be this: when Roger Craver’s speaking, you can’t afford to miss it.

But in case you did, here are a few things to keep in mind for your year-end campaigns …

Multichannel communications are critical to successful fundraising.

You’ve probably heard this one before. But Roger presented the data to prove why multichannel communications are essential to keeping your donors …

• Direct mail donors who have an email address on file are 150% more valuable than direct mail donors without an email on file
• Email addresses shortens the time to achieving a second gift … and more than doubles the retention rates of one-time first year givers
• An SMS message following a solicitation can increase renewal rates by 25%
• Donors with email addresses give  50% more gifts per donor, and have an average gift  that is 67% higher

If you haven’t yet, it’s time to create a budget for acquiring your donor’s email addresses, mobile numbers and more. A little investment can have a huge impact on your retention rates.

Your donor has changed – and it’s your job to understand what they need.

Younger donors don’t behave like the generation that came before. Donors have changed from “tell me” generation to a “show me” generation that expects organizations to show them the impact of their support, with photos, stories, videos, conference calls and more.  And donors expect to you to listen to them, to hear their advice, concerns and opinions on your organization and your issues.

Fortunately, new communication channels are perfectly suited to engaging donors in dialogue … and an organization’s ability to retain its donors will increasingly depend on its ability to do just that.

To create strong, multichannel efforts, organizations have to change how they work.

• Good multichannel communications aren’t the sole responsibility of one department. Break down silos with interdepartmental teams empowered to create effective, multichannel campaigns.
• Follow the 75% rule. New channels won’t wait around while you craft the perfect tweet. Accept communications that are 75% perfect and 100% on time.
• Understand the ROI of each channel. Even when creating a multichannel campaign, be sure that you focus most of your time and energy on channels that have the greatest return on investment.

New technology allows us to go back to old ways of fundraising. Classic fundraising techniques still work better than anything else. 50% of donors say they were motivated to give because “a friend asked,” and fundraising emails sent by a friend have open rates of 90% (compare that to your last campaign!).

Use new channels to make your campaigns more personal, more timely, and more direct—all the elements that have always led to successful fundraising.

Do you have other great stats on the value of multichannel campaigns – or tips on smart, year-end strategies?

____________________________________________________________________________

Eliza Temeles is a Senior Account Executive at MKDM, a full service direct response agency committed to helping nonprofits engage donors, motivate action and inspire philanthropy. You can also catch her blogging at www.nthfactor.com.

When I saw this phrase originally this morning, it was in an email memo to our membership committee chair, alerting her of the deadline for our monthly membership newsletter. I groaned initially as I caught the typo after it had been sent, but then (must have been the caffeine influx), my mind took off with what I like to call that “association exec’s mind-set” and I began to think of all kinds of meanings for the term, “content is dues.”

For if you think about it, every bit of content should be of such value to the recipient that it helps them decide to join your association or makes them aware of the value of belonging and therefore, stay a member. All association executives know what that means – growing dues revenues, program attendance, product sales and most importantly, increasing a community who believes in the mission of the organization.

As a Membership Director, I’m always on the lookout for the latest in trend information, creative innovation, and engagement vehicles – any and all bits of intelligence that will help me make the value of belonging so evident to our members or prospects that my bottom line goes up even in difficult times. The theme for this year’s Direct Marketing Association of Washington DC Oct. 19^th Conference “How to grow again” caught my eye, but it was their tag line, “If One Bright Idea Could Grow Your Association Membership, Imagine What Many Could Do” that caught my interest. I’ll be there; you might want to be too!

____________________________________________________________________________

Christy Jones, CAE 

Director of Membership

American Association of University Women

Christy will be a panelist in the How to Grow from Our Successes and Failures session at DMAW’s Association Marketing Day, October 19 at the Kellogg Conference Center on Gallaudet University’s campus.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011  |  8:00AM – 4:30PM
Kellogg Conference Hotel, Gallaudet University  |  Washington, DC

This is not your ordinary association marketing event!  DMAW brings 50+ years of marketing education experience to present 1 day, 100+ association marketing attendees/speakers, and new ideas you can implement immediately, including:

• Grow membership and attract new member groups
• Increase event and conference attendance and revenues
• Improve acquisition, branding and more through social media
• Identify the right association management solution and other technologies to reduce costs, increase revenues
• Multi-channel marketing case studies to increase your ROI

SEIU Conference Center, Washington, DC

Speaker:  Roger Craver, President & Founder
DonorTrends

DMAW’s September Monthly Luncheon

When Roger Craver speaks, everyone listens!  Roger, a veteran of direct response fundraising, will walk you through the essentials for an integrated year-end campaign.  Need a little help in the 4th quarter making your goals – Roger can give you the know-how to do it!

The last time Roger spoke, we had a sell-out crowd!  Seating is limited, so don’t delay and register today!

____________________________________________________________________________

ADWKDC

Monday-Thursday – September 19-22

DMAW Members receive special rate

DMAW has partnered with the DC Ad Club so that our members can receive the DC Ad Club member rate to attend Advertising Week DC!

To learn more about the session locations
and how to register – click here:

____________________________________________________________________________

Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council
Wednesday, Sept. 21 |8AM – 2PM

Early Bird Deadline Ends TODAY! Sept. 1

DMAW Members receive special rate

Another partnership!

The PCC is offering DMAW members a discounted registration fee to attend the Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council Meeting.  A keynote address by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe will be broadcast live via satellite and Deputy Postmaster General, Ronald Stroman, will present in person.

To learn more about the location and
how to register – click here:

____________________________________________________________________________

GET SOCIAL – IN-PERSON!

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORKING
HAPPY HOUR
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

5:00PM – 8:00PM

Regional Food & Drink (RFD)

810 7th Street, NW

Washington, DC  20001
Metro to:  Gallery Place/Chinatown

RSVP to Jenna@turnkeysolutionsdm.com

to ensure you receive a DRINK TICKET!

A great time with colleagues and
to make new friends!

____________________________________________________________________________

Early Bird Registration Fee ends September 30! 
Benefit from the education and networking offered at the
9th Annual DMAW Association Marketing Day

Wednesday, Oct. 19

Learn…
HOW TO GROW AGAIN!

To learn more about the program and to register,
click here: 

Association Marketing Day is being held at the modern Kellogg Conference Hotel located on the beautiful campus of Gallaudet University.  Free parking and shuttle bus from Union Station are available.

____________________________________________________________________________

QR Codes:  Unlocking the Power of Print!
Thursday, October 20  |  12Noon – 2:00 PM

SEIU Conference Center, Washington, DC

Speaker:  John Lill, Consultant, Multichannel Marketing
Quad/Graphics

DMAW’s October Monthly Luncheon

Just a few things you will learn…how…

• QR codes allow for lots of new ways to embed content, drive calls to action and unlock the power of the printed page
• To track QR codes
• QR codes can be employed for strategic analysis & maximum results.

This is October’s Hot Topic and we expect a sell out!  Seating is limited, so don’t delay and register today!

____________________________________________________________________________

BEST OF DIRECT

Spotlight on Achievement

Thursday, December 1, 2011

National Geographic Society

Save the Date for
The First Holiday Party of the Season!

Plan to attend, celebrate with award winners and have a great time!

Invitations to be mailed by
the end of September.

For more information click this link or

Call 703-689-DMAW (3629)

Okay, look.  There’s no denying that we’re witnessing a seismic [seismic written pre-Virginia earthquake!], evolutionary step in how people and organizations communicate, thanks to social media.

And here’s what I (re)learned at the DMAW August Monthly Luncheon: unless we want to find ourselves on the bottom of evolution’s shoe, we must (re)discover where our audiences live – on the web – and (re)familiarize ourselves with the tools and information they use to connect.  The good news is that the  Aug. 18th DMAW luncheon attendees had Dr. Jo Golden and Tracey Holinka, MS, from Chaos To Clarity, to guide us through the social media maze.

The session’s title of “Excite, Connect & Succeed: Making the Most of the Social Web” should have included a post-script of “Don’t forget the fundamentals of direct marketing,” which Golden and Holinka both provided as a framework for their presentation.  We were reminded that people respond and connect through stories, we enjoy the opportunity to autonomously scratch our advocacy itch, and we will not refuse the chance to connect ourselves to a greater cause.

So, how does one apply the fundamentals to social media?  The session effectively laid out the advantages of using each of the main online outreach tools (website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter); the audiences we should expect to reach with each tool (active supporters, passive enthusiasts, job seekers, donors, collaborators); and the goals that could be realistically applied to each outlet (education and awareness, promotion of services, community building, in-demand resources).

We were also provided with online resources that will help keep us abreast of social media advancements, and excellent pointers on how to scale our social media efforts based on the need and scope of our individual organizations.  All in all, a well-rounded educational session that had me scribbling ideas in my notebook well before its 2pm wrap time.

And speaking of evolving social media … the capabilities of Google+ weren’t much discussed, as the platform is still in beta.  So here’s my question to you, and one I’m still trying to answer: does Google+ have the potential to be one of your organization’s new “go-to” social media outreach tools?

___________________________________________________________________________

Ryan Hutchinson is a DMAW member and is Senior Copy Editor at Nexus Direct, a nationally recognized marketing and communications firm that specializes in direct response. He is currently becoming acquainted with the brave new world of social media.

The DMAW MAXI Award Ceremony was held July 20^th at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center.  Over 180 attendees celebrated the 84 MAXI Award winners as they accepted their Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards, and three were selected to receive the special Big Idea Award.

Kristin McCurry, DMAW President, welcomed attendees and thanked the MAXI Committee, supported by over 60 volunteers, for their efforts during the past year. With an ever growing and changing marketplace, the MAXI Awards were re-energized this year to reflect the current trends in direct marketing.  Towards this effort, five distinct campaigns were designated for receipt of entries: Direct Mail, Multi-Channel, New Media, Telemarketing and Workhorse.  The results, a 30% increase in MAXI entries and one of our most successful MAXI Awards Ceremony ever.

After expressing appreciation to the 2011 MAXI Award Sponsors, many of whom are longtime MAXI supporters, Kristin introduced the emcees for the evening, Patrick Frame, Principal of Key Acquisition Partners and Charlie Cadigan, Senior Vice President of  PEP Direct who began presenting the awards. (To see a full list of the award winners please click here.)

Of note were the recipients of the BIG IDEA AWARD.  This year three deserving entries were selected:

SILVER MARKETING, INC.
Roaring Crowd Tube Mailer
for the Washington Wizards

CHAPMAN CUBINE ADAMS + HUSSEY
Democratic National Committee Major
Donor August Map Appeal
for the Democratic National Committee

FUND RAISING STRATEGIES, INC.
LIFE Magazine Poster
for the National WASP WWII Museum

Check out the photos of the MAXI Award winners receiving their awards and celebrating at the reception which followed.  Photos may be purchased at a nominal cost from the photographer’s gallery.

MAXI Award Winners:  http://markvanbergh.zenfolio.com/p794173042

MAXI Award Reception:  http://markvanbergh.zenfolio.com/p847288671

COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR

WEBSITE/URL REMARKETING:
LEARN HOW TO USE IT
TO IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS

Tuesday, August 2  |  12Noon – 1:00 PM

Speaker:  Marty Donner, Chief Revenue Officer, eWay Direct

Marty Donner will show you how to include remarketing as part of your online acquisition strategies – this could be the 4th quarter bump you need!

This webinar is complimentary to DMAW members and there is a nominal charge for not-yet-members.

____________________________________________________________________________

Want A Little Less Chaos? Then…

Excite, Connect & Succeed: Making the Most of the Social Web

DMAW August Monthly Luncheon

Thursday, August 18  | 12Noon – 2PM | SEIU Conference Center, Washington, DC

From Chaos To Clarity, join Dr. Jo Golden, Digital Strategist, Educator and Web Content Wrangler and Tracey Holinka, MS, Senior Web Designer/Developer and Managing Partner for a lively look at practical applications, possibilities and potential perils surrounding Social Media success!

Seating is limited – so please don’t delay!

____________________________________________________________________________

DMAW Member Recognition Awards

Please – don’t miss this deadline!

NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED TO AUGUST 8, 2011

We have received from a number of you that the deadline for  nominations came up too fast and with the Bridge Conference, people just missed the deadline for entering nominations.  So we will give you another week.  Please, though, don’t miss this deadline! 

Visit DMAW Member Recognition Awards

to download an application to nominate a deserving individual!

SAVE THE DATE!

Awards will be presented and recipients honored at the BEST OF DIRECT

Thursday, December 1, 2011

National Geographic Society (It’s the first Holiday Party of the Season - so plan to attend!)

____________________________________________________________________________

Tired of hearing how bad everything is and how you need to cut your budget and do more with less?  Ready for some positive information? 

Then join us at the 9th Annual DMAW Association Marketing Day and learn HOW TO GROW AGAIN!

____________________________________________________________________________

IS REMARKETING PART OF YOUR

ONLINE STRATEGY – IF NOT, IT SHOULD BE!
Tuesday, August 2  | 12NOON – 1:00PM

Have you ever been to a website and noticed banner ads for product, service or another organization from a website you visited recently?  Or, have you received an email follow-up with tailored content based on a recent website visit?

If you have, you’ve been remarketed! 

While it may seem slightly mysterious when it happens - and it happens regularly – would you like to know when and how to do it?

Learn how remarketing can help you capture the attention of donors, members and potential customers in a new way.

Tuesday, August 2 — 12 noon – 1:00 PM

 Members:  FREE

Not-Yet-Members:  $49

Join Marty Donner, Chief Revenue Officer of eWay Direct for the DMAW August Webinar and learn remarketing as a part of your online acquisition strategies!

We all know how crowded the direct marketing space can get and how tricky it is to turn site visitors into repeat users.  Remarketing gives you the tools to target website visitors with tailored content on other sites and via email after they leave your site – turning those one-time visitors into repeat users interested in your organization.  It’s timely, relevant and personalized to their interest and behaviors, making it easy for them to see why your organization, cause, product or service is a good fit for them.

Don’t hesitate to tap into an emerging direct marketing tool that will give your online acquisition strategies a boost!

This webinar is complimentary to members!  So I hope you will take advantage of this member benefit and REGISTER TODAY for this not-to-be-missed and soon upon us webinar!

The DMAW MAXI Awards Ceremony & Reception

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 ● 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center ● Potomac Ballroom ● National Harbor, MD

I hope you will take some time out of your very busy schedule and attend this event.  The winners can be very inspiring and possibly provide the motivation you need for your next campaign.  (A future MAXI winner – maybe?!)

Be part of this 32 year old DMAW tradition of awarding Gold, Silver, Bronze and Big Idea Awards for excellence & innovation.

Reserve your tickets today!

And, I hope to see you there!

Regards,

Kristin McCurry 

Principal, MINDset direct ● DMAW President

PS - Check out all of our great MAXI Sponsors below who will be there.  This event is a great place to mix and mingle with colleagues, friends and icons in the industry! Register today!

________________________________

Thanks goes to our

MEDIA SPONSORS

The NonProfit Times  |  Target Marketing

GOLD SPONSORS

Action Mailers  ●  Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey ● Consolidated Graphics  ●  Japs-Olson Company ● LW Robbins   ●  PMG  ●  Schultz & Williams ● Vertis Communications

SILVER SPONSORS
Fund Raising Strategies, Inc.  ●  Integram ● Nova Label Co., Inc. ● OMP ● PEP Direct   ●  Public Interest Communications