June 2019

By Debbie Major It almost goes without saying that when there are innovations there are, alas, growing dangers. It is not coincidental, then, that two top trends for 2019 focus on creating retail experiences and on stepped-up security and privacy. Experiential shopping The essence, in theory, of this marketing innovation …

By Vito De Filippis The rise of discount brokerages, direct banks and the emergence of robo-advisors has fragmented the financial services industry. To protect their market share, firms that were once devoted to providing face-to-face client advice, or advice seekers, have established new divisions to serve self-directed investors. This two-pronged …

By Kristi Kanitz Summer tends to be a time that everyone slows down and takes time off. This is true for businesses as well. With employees taking vacations and sales dipping, many businesses question the need for summertime advertising. So, should a business spend the time and money to advertise …

By Greg Brown Accurate address data is imperative to running a business. Without it, you can’t ensure timely deliveries, can’t bill and get invoices paid and can’t stay in touch with customers. However, did you know address data can also be used to deliver great insight so you can market …

By Mark Harrison For the past decade the International Post Corporation (IPC)’s IPC Global Postal Industry Report (GPIR)—published every November—provides an analysis of the performance of 50 postal operators worldwide and leading integrators (see box) The study aims to evaluate the frequency and risk factorswith which’exemption to disease, requires treatment …

Letters to the president By Brendan Read Doug Ettinger became president and CEO of Canada Post Corporation (CPC) in March 2019 after serving nearly three years as its chief commercial officer and as a member of the senior executive team. He has over 30 years experience in the consumer packaged …

The Future of Mail Marketing, Circa 2025 By Brendan Read Is the “past is prologue”, as William Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest? Or, on that vein, is “history bunk”, to paraphrase Henry Ford? Measures of both views might be the right answer, for while history may set the stage it …

By Luc Vezina An executive at a booming software company recently explained to me that he was hesitant about deploying a branded community on his web site because the customer feedback might get too hot to handle. Considering my position, one might think I was shaken by this admission. But …

What comes next? By Stephen Shaw The future has a nasty habit of creeping up on businesses when they least expect it. The corporate graveyard is filled with infamously complacent brands which ignored the storm warnings. The reluctance of most companies to conceive of a future much different from today …