I've been accused of having marketing foresight. Here's proof...


On September 19th, the entry on my George Carlin daily calendar pad will read: "The worst thing about e-mail is that you can't interrupt the other person. You have to read the whole thing, and then e-mail them back, pointing out their mistakes and faulty assumptions. It's frustrating and it's time-consuming. God bless phone calls...."
Obviously, George is taking a consumer's point of view here. When you receive a telemarketing call, you can make it a living hell for the telemarketer. With emails, you really conduct monologues that are linked, rather than true dialogues. You don't have a dialogue upon receipt of direct mail, upon hearing a radio ad, or seeing a TV spot.
Now let's look at the marketer's side.
There are two major forces working in successful direct marketing: disruption and dialogue. The telephone is still the most disruptive medium and lends itself, as George advises, to the most dialogue. Direct mail works best when it is a disruption in the pile of bills and other ads. If you establish a tacit dialogue with recipients .... get them nodding their heads, "Yes, that's me" within the first minutes, you win.
Network TV advertising doesn't disrupt much any more, simply because it's too easy to tune out. Except when (and if) George Carlin does spots playing the Hippy, Dippy Weatherman.
What do you think about disruption and direct response? (Please don't call.)