Direct Mail Still Delivers

Google has once again delayed the death of the third-party tracking cookie in its Chrome browser. This is the third reprieve Google has given cookies since it first promised to phase them out in 2020. The next year, it pushed the date back to 2023 and then delayed it again to 2024. In its latest postponement, Google said in a blog, “we envision proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting early next year.” The search giant seemed on its way to phasing out cookies earlier this year after it cut off access to 1 percent of cookies in January. However, how and when Google would phase out a greater percentage of cookies was never clear, multiple ad industry insiders said. Total Retail's Take: This is interesting news for retailers, and particularly their marketing teams, which rely on third-party cookies to identify and track customer behavior on their websites.

We’ve passed the six-month mark of living through a global pandemic. I’m not sure it’s an anniversary worth celebrating – it’s more of a ‘day-that-will-live-in-infamy’ type. In the retail world and working with consumer-facing brands, we’ve observed that many with a direct-to-consumer orientation have fared well. In contrast, the broader spectrum of the retail and consumer services sector has not. I’ll try to be as diplomatic as possible here – if there’s one thing Americans don’t like, it’s being told what to do. We tend to think of ourselves, our families, and our immediate communities – and probably in that order – as the best sources of information. State and federal guidelines tend to (at least initially) be met with resistance, especially when those guidelines affect one’s ability to earn a living, visit with family and loved ones, or eat a meal indoors at a restaurant. What the pandemic has revealed is simple: culture matters. Congregating limitations and business closure edicts, and the delay in loosening them, have put our culture on ice. Although, not entirely. read more at: https://cohereone.com/the-pandemic-matters-of-culture-and-why-direct-to-consumer-brands-are-thriving/

Not enough paper for your catalog? Direct mail to the rescue! If catalogs are a main part of your marketing mix, then you know how valuable they are for driving sales and maintaining customer loyalty. But, with today’s supply chain challenges, you may be having trouble finding paper and press time for your full mail plan. The challenge with a catalog is that only a few printers do it well and it uses a fair amount of paper. With current capacity issues at printers and limited paper supply, it’s hard to get a catalog (or all of your catalogs) in the mail. So, what to do? Don’t stop mailing! According to the ANA 2021 Response Rate Report, direct mail drives the highest ROI for all media. Physical mail drives engagement so consider other forms of direct mail in place of the catalog. Learn more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/print-even-when-paper-supplies-are-low/