Direct Response Marketing

Guest Opinion: Direct Response Campaign Managers: MasterCard Would Call Them Priceless

1 Jun, 2007 By: Wendi Cooper Response

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In the world of political campaigns, one of the first positions filled is the campaign manager. Campaign managers have worked their way up through the ranks, and more than likely have a couple of impressive wins under their belts.

Wendi Cooper

They are good at what they do because they've done it all. Possessing hands-on experience in advance, finance, voter outreach, fund raising and just about any other part of a campaign gives them the ability to manage well. Most are excellent communicators and competitive motivators. Simply put, they love what they do.

They easily navigate the twists and turns of the campaign trail while overcoming challenges that are daunting to most. With every new campaign, the task remains the same: intelligently execute a campaign strategy by utilizing valuable relationships, professional expertise, trusted resources and a reliable team.

Usually "Type A" personalities, campaign managers possess a chameleon-like ability to adapt easily in any situation. Most I've met have no ego. They are trusted and well respected in their field. MasterCard would call them "priceless."

Similarly, all direct response campaigns have the same need for an experienced campaign manager. In fact, every DR campaign starts in the same place as a political campaign — without knowing if the campaign will win or lose.

As you can see in the chart above, the similarities between the needs and goals of a political campaign and a direct response campaign can be striking. Requiring the same degree of attention from day one, the anxiety level of the unknown is stimulating and intriguing. Results are quickly tabulated and there is either a winner or a loser — sometimes there could even be a tie.

If a direct response campaign proves to be a winner, then the real work begins. It's like suddenly becoming president. There are immediate critical decisions to be made. Even if you have a bad test, you will still rely on your campaign manager to advise you on what to do, what went wrong, and what happens next?

In the winning scenario, the DR campaign manager has guided you through set-up and launch, and you have learned to depend on them for nearly everything. There is so much now at stake: inventory needs, media budgets, lead times, timelines, Web piracy, Web media, Web offers, Web results, media results, conversions, customer service, billing and invoicing, reports and more reports, print, refunds, charge backs, purchasing/packaging, upsells, retail, international 85 the list goes on and on.

The ride has begun. You've either given birth to a company overnight or had to reevaluate your plans.

What lays ahead for the DR campaign manager? Some may pass blame if things didn't turn out as hoped, and others will look to him or her as their customer service manager, operations and finance manager, purchasing agent, and telemarketing know-it-all.

You may have come to depend on them as the offer and inbound guru or media expert. But the manager is actually none of these. What the campaign manager is is an invaluable asset to your direct response campaign. They are "priceless" because they are the only element of direct response that can't be quantified.

Wendi Cooper is CEO of C Spot Run Productions LLC. She can be reached via E-mail at wendi@cspotrun.com.

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