The nation’s rapidly growing and ethnically diverse citizenry presents real opportunities for companies that take the time to get to know their target audience and then wrap DRTV campaigns around their varied preferences.

Tips for effectively leveraging QR codes in your advertising campaigns

Direct response is all about getting consumers to take action. Pick up the phone, visit a website, respond to an ad on a mobile phone — these are all responses that direct marketers focus on as they develop campaigns. It just makes sense that quick response (QR) codes would have a place in a DR marketer’s toolkit.

Successful strategies for creating DRTV hits that appeal to children of all ages – and their parents

Armed with an insatiable appetite for the unique, pretty, ugly, soft and cuddly, today’s kids want more toys, dolls, art kits, pillows, music and entertainment than ever. They don’t even have credit cards yet, but their voices and buying habits are already being heard – and heeded – in many households.

When someone copycats a legitimate DRTV product, everyone loses. Consumers get inferior products and may even get hurt by the counterfeit versions. The original marketer loses sales, incurs legal expenses and winds up with a damaged reputation. The industry as a whole gets a black eye as customers complain about the purchase to friends, family and co-workers.

The more than 100 million U.S. mobile phone users who access the mobile web from their devices are a significant – yet largely untapped – opportunity for marketers looking to leverage their advertising dollars across new mediums. Whether the mission is sell more products, increase brand awareness or beef up an existing customer database, mobile marketing is proving itself as a viable option for companies of all sizes and across all industries.

The days when television viewers picked up their phones to dial toll-free numbers while viewing infomercials could be numbered or, at least, slowly dwindling in favor of other response mechanisms. The economy, a lack of available credit for shoppers, and changing consumer habits are all taking their toll on the venerable DRTV cornerstone known as the infomercial.

I’ve been to a lot of technical conferences and this was one of the best. My first trip out of town in my new, used but new to me, car with iPod Pandora wired into an MP3 auxiliary port into the cars speakers (the first car I’ve had with this feature) was a great start and finish. Everything in between was top notch.

Today’s consumers want a cohesive shopping experience. They want to know that the products, colors, sizes and prices they see on television match those that are being sold on the Web, on the shelves of their favorite retail stores and in the print magazine ads that they read while sitting in the doctor’s office. They also want to know that when they visit a company’s Facebook or Twitter page, or view an online video product demonstration, that they’re learning more about the product than they saw on television.

You’d be hard pressed to find a marketer who hasn’t used popular social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Ning to stretch its advertising dollars. Whether they are broadcasting 140-character updates on Twitter, posting photos from recent company events on their Facebook walls, or responding to customer comments on Ning, companies across all industries are realizing the value of this broad-reaching, and extremely affordable, channel.