Patricia Uhrich, Author at DCI

July 28, 2023

Top Fictional Movies and Series with an Advertising Spin

Among the many professions that are overly used among TV and movie characters, advertising professional is right up there with architect, lawyer, and doctor. Maybe it has to with so many copywriters making their way to Hollywood as screenwriters or perhaps it’s just a sexy occupation (on the surface and among those NOT in the biz). Check out our top picks for movies and series with a marketing and advertising focus. We’ve excluded documentaries from this list for the simple reason that we wanted to provide you with some light-hearted summer fun. Here’s our countdown to #1 (which we hope you’ve already predicted). 8. What Women Want (film 2000) stars Mel Gibson as a chauvinistic advertising executive who gains the ability to hear women's thoughts and uses this newfound power to his advantage. At its heart, the film is a timeless and star-studded (Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Alan Alda) romantic fantasy...

May 23, 2023

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

DCI Digital Campaigns Bring Home Two Awards

Last Thursday, May 18th, President and CEO Nick Lanzi had the pleasure of attending our region’s premier direct marketing awards show. Held at Manayunk’s unique Platform Thirty, The Philly DMA’s Benny Awards treated local direct marketers to another delightful evening of comradery and celebration of success. Speaking of celebrating, DCI was the proud recipient of two awards for our digital work over the past year. Our “Playbook”educational e-Book for ArmadaCare was a winner in the Digital Sales Enablement category. Developed to help ArmadaCare elevate the value of supplemental benefits to HR professionals, the Recruiting & Retention Playbook beat the control in terms of open rate, clickthrough rate and response rate. We attribute its success to the value of the content, including compelling statistics from our client, which was wrapped in a theme that clearly resonated with the needs of HR departments. In the Digital Social Media category, our “YES Plan” campaign took...

February 16, 2023

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

5 reasons why Super Bowl LVII marketing was like no other

With most of the Super Bowl ads hype in the rear-view mirror, we decided to take a dive into what made this year’s marketing push different. Even if you didn’t find the ads themselves to be creatively unique or powerful, there are trends and tactics in here that have something to say about how our culture and our marketing landscape is changing. #1 The appearance of Jesus: This year, the sea of alcohol and crass consumerism parted to make way for a brand re-fresh of Christianity. What does is say about our culture? The post-game banter says that we are as curious and skeptical as ever because we immediately wanted to know WHO was behind it. According to Christianity Today, the ads are partly funded by the family that owns Hobby Lobby, plus other evangelical groups. #2 The end of Anheuser-Bush InBev’s 33-year+ alcohol exclusive: While we may miss the Clydesdales and the likes...

January 25, 2023

in Marketing, Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

2023 Direct Marketing: Top Trends and Predictions

With the unexpectedly rapid recovery of 2021 and 2022 in the rear-view mirror, and inflation slowing as we entered 2023, we are left with a big question mark on where the economy is headed. Will inflation plus rising interest rates trigger a recession, or will the Federal Reserve’s policies deliver the “soft landing” everyone desires? In either scenario, businesses are likely to spend more conservatively and look for highly measurable marketing tactics that have the largest impact on the bottom line — i.e., exactly what direct marketers aim to do regardless of economic conditions. Here are some of the top ways we expect businesses to benefit from direct marketing in 2023: Increased emphasis on B-to-B marketing: According to the White House, over the last two years, Americans have applied to start 10.5 million new businesses, the strongest two years on record. Layer onto that the fact that B-to-B markets have higher-value purchases...

November 22, 2022

in Marketing

by Patricia Uhrich

5 Tips for Maximizing the 2022 Holiday Shopping Season

Despite the evidence of inflation all around us, consumers seem unfazed when it comes to their shopping habits. According to National Retail Federation President and CEO, “October retail sales data confirms that consumers continue to stretch their dollars on household priorities, including gifts for family and loved ones this holiday season.” In other words, consumers are still spending and they’re spending early on holiday gifts. The question is, what can you do to win your share of today’s holiday shoppers? We have some tips. Appeal to the Hybrid Shopper The intermixing of digital and physical shopping is becoming more dominant with more than half of consumers reporting they shop both ways. Clients of Aptos commerce solutions saw a 75% increase in e-commerce sales fulfilled from their physical stores during the 2021 holiday season. That means more of your customers will expect that they can purchase online and pick up the...

October 24, 2022

in Marketing

by Patricia Uhrich

Insurance Ads Gone Wild – A Brief History

Pure genius. That was the phrase that came to mind when we clicked on the YouTube page for Liberty Mutual’s Young People commercial. It has 1.4 million plus views, half of which are probably from marketers who saw it on broadcast and then had to see it again. Have a look. Kudos to the agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and the client for having a laugh at themselves. Insurance companies have been trying so hard to make ads that people want to watch, that it’s become a competition. 1999: GEICO Gecko Debuts We can thank GEICO for breaking away from stuffy, artless ads with the advent of the GEICO Gecko which first aired in 1999. Originally targeting government employees, Government Employee Insurance Company (GEICO) had an image problem as they entered the broader market. Obviously they succeeded, because according to Ad Age, 98% of people recognize the GEICO Gecko. With a running start, GEICO...

September 27, 2022

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

What it takes to win a Telly

Filming three versions of a DRTV spot with six actors, multiple extras and props in an outdoor location is akin to herding cats in a hurricane. Fortunately, our partners at Center City Film and Video are pros at managing what looks like controlled chaos. After months of concept and script development, we watched our creative vision come together in one frenzied day of shooting. The What Matters TV spot was conceived out of a need to appeal to a broad audience during open enrollment for individual health insurance. Together with our client, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, we knew our spot needed a setting that could serve as a common ground for a diverse group of people. We landed on a public park. Specifically, we chose the Philadelphia Navy Yard’s Central Green which had all the ingredients needed for a one-day shoot composed of numerous scenes. After a rain...

Author: Patricia Uhrich

Top Fictional Movies and Series with an Advertising Spin

5 reasons why Super Bowl LVII marketing was like no other

2023 Direct Marketing: Top Trends and Predictions

5 Tips for Maximizing the 2022 Holiday Shopping Season

Insurance Ads Gone Wild – A Brief History

What it takes to win a Telly

directchoiceinc