About the Author Tristan Garrick Follow me on:
I’ve been the PR manager for the DMA since 2008. In that time I’ve climbed up a steep learning curve from a point of knowing nothing about the DM industry to knowing enough to make it sound like I know what I’m talking about.

Recent Posts

Dove banner ad that shows it pays to be vigilant

There’s been considerable press interest of late in ‘complacent’ banner ad placement. The main focus of media and public ire has been the serving up of banners on tasteless pages on Facebook that promote domestic abuse. But as has been widely acknowledged, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The steps being proposed to tackle this focus on dealing with the content itself.… Read more

Did you miss SXSW? No matter, Harper Reed’s coming to London town

He’s the former hacker turned tech engineer who made a name for himself building a huge data platform for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Since then he’s been in demand on the international circuit talking about how he worked out how to get Obama to speak one-to-one with tens of millions of voters in ways that have never been achieved before. In early March he was wowing audiences at SXSW, and in April he’ll be making his first live appearance in London at the DMA’s Technology Summit.… Read more

2012 DMA Awards: the ‘real deal’ and definitely better Red than Dead

What difference does your work make? So many times when things are going wrong in the office you’ll hear one ‘glass-half-full’ type pipe up and say “Come on, it’s not like we’re saving lives here. We’re not doctors.”

While this platitude may put things into proportion, it also loses perspective on the fact that our industry does make a difference. The DM campaigns we produce aren’t art for art’s sake; they change people’s lives, have positive social effects and benefit the economy.… Read more

What matters most to improving email deliverability rates?

You all know the classic Monty Python ‘spam’ sketch – the one where nothing but spam is on the menu, much to the disdain of a ‘fussy’ customer. Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam….

Well, it’s not just fussy eaters that hate spam, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) do too. Why? Well an estimated 95% of all email sent is classed as spam, meaning that the tonnes of emails advertising cheap Viagra and get-rich-quick schemes run by the sons of bank owners in obscure African states are clogging up the web’s arteries and overloading email inboxes.… Read more

Don’t let your social media marketing suffer a slap in the Facebook

Investment in social media marketing and promotions has rocketed over the past couple of years as more and more users flock to a proliferation of new platforms. As a nascent channel, many marketers are still trying to find their feet and understand how to fine-tune their social media marketing strategies. But there’s no shortage of advice out there. A little Googling around the topic of ‘social media marketing strategy’ turns up hundreds, if not thousands, of ‘top-10’ how-to guides.… Read more

If Google’s putting ‘mobile first’, then why aren’t marketers?

Integrated marketing: whatever it means to you, or whatever you think it entails, there are some common themes that cut across all definitions: a plurality of online and offline channels; joined-up campaigns that cross multiple platforms; setting the touch points of a customer’s journey from product research to sales conversation. So far, so… sort of uncontroversial.

I thought the speakers at the DMA’s annual Go Integrated conference, sponsored by Menzies Digital Marketing, would’ve given me a clearer steer as to what it’s all about.… Read more

Social media marketing: Time to take some adult responsibility

The grace period for social media – the new kid on the marketing block – is over. No longer will brands forgive its foibles and excesses as youthful abandon. It’s time to grow up and take on some proper adult responsibility. That was the message I walked away with from the DMA’s social media debate at DMA Towers as part of national social media week.… Read more

What does ‘integration’ mean to you?

The language-mangling buzz words that our industry are so fond of casually tossing around are often loosely defined without the clarity of thought that Samuel Johnson would’ve demanded. ‘Integration’ is one such term. Everyone thinks they know what integrated marketing is, but there’s little in the way of agreement. Ask a room full of practitioners what they think and you’ll leave with as many opinions as you do business cards.… Read more