Well said Mike ! In the frenzy to capture new sales through all things digital, the power of direct mail and other traditional marketing channels should not be ignored.

What I see happening within most large corporations today is the "Silo Effect." These companies have collectively invested billions of dollars in digital and interactive marketing channels, but the interactive group doesn't communicate with the marketing group, who doesn't communicate with the direct mail group, who doesn't communicate with the customer service group who doesn't communicate with he interactive group.......and around and around it goes.

The resulting multiple outbound messages produced by these Silos are often confusing and even contradictory. There are a few notable exceptions in Corporate America today, but within most large corporations, these Silos are a reality.

In today's interactive world, most messages are "direct" in nature. For traditional Direct Mail Marketers, the "ask" or "response pathways" might be changing, (ie: the desired response is to drive recipient to an interactive landing site and a full compliment of behavioral analytics) but the statistical validity of traditional marketing channels cannot be ignored !