• imediaconnection, Thursday, December 1, 2005 11:33 AM

Paul Epstein believes it's high time to rewrite the rules governing online direct marketing. In a wide-ranging article, the CEO of High Voltage Interactive, a lead generation and customer acquisition company, cites DM pioneer Ed Mayer's 30-year-old set of rules governing direct marketing, and then updates the list. Mayer established the "40/40/20 Rule" in which 40 percent of a DM campaign should focus on audience, 40 percent on offer and 20 percent on creative. But in the Internet age, Epstein says the guidelines must be reconsidered. "Is there any real comparison between sorting through a handful of paper from your mailbox and interacting with the online world?" he asks. Thus, he suggests a new formula in which DM campaigns focus on 25 percent audience, 25 percent offer, 25 percent creative, and 25 percent technology.

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