Impact Acquires Twin Cities-Area Direct Marketing Company

From its own experience leading the marketing industry, RRD has honed in on five key trends that will be pivotal to marketers seeing success in 2020, including: Trend #1: From omnichannel to optichannel. For years, marketers have been working to consider every channel in order to be successful. While this may have been realistic a decade ago, the vast number of channels make it ineffective to activate campaigns across all these channels and mediums. In 2020, marketers will take a step back and adopt a more holistic approach, essentially ditching the omnichannel mindset in lieu of “optichannel,” which means making strategic decisions based on the brand promise, customer expectations, personal preferences, and the anticipated return on investment. Trend #2: The pop-up comeback. In an age where major retailers like Toys ‘R’ Us and Barneys are shutting their stores, these same brands are also making a return via the pop-up. These retailers are now hosting pop-up events aimed at creating unique and memorable consumer experiences. The goal of a retail pop-up store is to build brand interactions that make a lasting impression with customers. In 2020, marketers need to view experiences as the new form of brand promotion and engage consumers through immersive activations. Trend #3: Voice marketing finds its voice. While voice search and voice assistants were novel just a few years ago, they are on the cusp of becoming a household item. In fact, it’s expected that the base of installed smart speakers will reach 225 million units by 2020 and 30% of all web searches will be done without a screen. For marketers to get ahead in 2020, they need to define how voice marketing should be integrated into their overall marketing strategy. click read more below for the rest

Data is the digital residue of behavior. It is the contrails of customer intent -- a thin, wispy proxy for the rich bandwidth of the real world. It does have a purpose, but it should be just one tool in a marketer’s toolbox. Unfortunately, we tend to use it as a Swiss army knife, thinking it’s the only tool we need. The problem is that data is seductive. It’s pliable and reliable, luring us into manipulation because it’s so easy to do. It can be twisted and molded with algorithms and spreadsheets. But it’s also sterile. There is a reason people don’t fit nicely into spreadsheets. There are simply not enough dimensions and nuances to accommodate real human behavior. Data is great for answering the questions "what," "who," "when" and "where." But they are all glimpses of what has happened. Stopping here is like navigating through the rear-view mirror. Click Read More below for additional information.

•Staples launched a quarterly magazine for sparking conversation and provide resources for professionals who see their work "as more than just a job," according to a press release. Called Staples Worklife, the publication is a component of the company's new branding as "The Worklife Fulfillment Company." •The print and digital magazine, which launches with a circulation of 250,000, is part of a larger campaign that also includes a Staples Worklife podcast, e-newsletter, live events and a digital community. As Staples faces competition from online sellers like Amazon and others that also offer office supplies and equipment, the company is trying to become more than just a retailer by ramping up its lifestyle marketing. Click Read More below for additional information.