Time 12:57 1:00 - 8:00 No catch really, just the reality that everything is integrated. Kind of like the Chaos Theory for marketing. Every piece of data you get about a market or customer behavior can make a difference. OK, enough theory — here’s what is happening. The U.S. Postal Service is pushing variable data and direct mail capabilities. Hey, the right creative can drive about 5 percent of the recipients to give you so much data that you’ll be able to begin a meaningful dialog. Those are the metrics of USPS direct mail piece called Direct Mail Deli. I like to call it “the sandwich piece.” We interview Rod DeVar, manager of advertising and promotion for the USPS, about the power of using variable data in direct mail pieces. The dynamics of the Web being able to serve relevant data on sites — whether its banner ads or associated products and services — is refining consumers expectations even when it comes to the old standby, direct mail. That paper-based communication, too, now needs to be as relevant and targeted as a frequently visited dynamic Web site. So when catalog recipients account for 37 percent of a retailer’s Web site sales, that’s a good combination that can get even better. 8:00 - 13:00 In this podcast, we also tie in a preview of the Blog World Expo session “Integrating Social Media into the Marketing Mix.” Imagine that. Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and one of the speakers in that session. He highlights participation in social media from Nikon (digital learning center on Flickr) and Kodak (1000 Nerds Blog). Kodak is also one of the major sponsors of the USPS direct mail piece, along with AdAge and Printing Impressions. Oh, one more thing: The USPS direct mail effort also drives recipients to its new Web magazine, Deliver. And if you think that the Web 2.0 crowd is too cool for direct mail, a podcast and writing contributor to Deliver magazine’s site is Joseph Jaffe, author of Join the Conversation and host of the Jaffe Juice podcast (formerly Across the Sound). Here’s the first installment. Didn’t we start this post talking about direct mail? Wild. Less