Home Leisure Direct wins Direct Commerce Readers' Choice Award

As part of the ECMOD annual celebration of excellence, the Direct Commerce Readers’ Choice trophy is given to companies that have demonstrated an affinity with their customers and the wider sector.

It is awarded for continuous innovation and customer service and this year is a fitting tribute to the commitment of the team at Home Leisure Direct, which received comments like “great branding”, “sophisticated website” and “super-clear communications”.

Bristol-based Home Leisure Direct was selected as a business which innovates, inspires and consistently delivers exceptional service, making it one of the most sought-after accolades of the ceremony. Watch the video below to see the Home Leisure Direct team pick up their trophy at this year's venda-ecmod awards, which took place at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club on 18th April.


Founded in 2007 by husband and wife team Michelle and Andy Beresford, the idea for Home Leisure Direct came after they spotted a gap in the UK market for style-conscious customers who wanted to create games rooms in their own homes.

The duo instantly set about sourcing what has now become the largest selection of games room equipment in Europe. From their humble beginnings with a small home office and an old computer, 2012 saw the business move into a large showroom in Elberton, where it now employs six staff. Last year also saw the company undergo a rebrand and launch a new version of the website, a dedicated mobile site, Home Leisure TV and a raft of behind-the-scenes improvements to enhance the customer experience with the help of digital agency Bluebox.

With customers all across the UK and Europe, the Beresfords have seen their business go from strength to strength. The website has been a consistent success and since 2008 turnover has increased by more than 1,300 percent. What’s more, sales this year have risen 34 percent despite the much-publicised tough trading conditions. These achievements are testament to the passion and commitment of the entire Home Leisure team, its suppliers and of course, its customers.--MT

The Direct Commerce Readers Choice award was sponsored by

Venda-ECMOD Awards Highlights Video

If your memory of the venda-ecmod awards 2013 is a little hazy, you might want to check out this video.

Held at Chelsea Football Club on 18th April, the venda-ecmod awards recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

Recapping the highlights from the night, including backstage interviews with the delighted winners, this video catches up with our sector’s very own champions.--MT

Congratulations winners!

Multichannel retailers celebrate excellence at venda-ecmod awards

Online, catalogue and multichannel retailers representing the full spectrum of the sector celebrated success at the venda-ecmod direct commerce awards on Thursday, 18th April 2013.

Now in their 15th year, these annual awards recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

Held this year at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club, the awards were presented by Sky News anchor Dermot Murnaghan.

Best Multichannel Business CategoryB2B – annual sales up to £5 million: ESE Direct
Consumer – annual sales up to £5 million: Bloom
B2B – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: International Dance Supplies
Consumer – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: Scotts of Stow
Consumer – annual sales over £30 million: Charles Tyrwhitt

Consumer Categories
Children’s Sector: Great Little Trading Co
Womenswear & Accessories: BoPeeps
Menswear & Accessories: Loake Shoemakers
Home including Food & Wine: Victoria Plumb
Gardening & Outdoors: Hingstons
Gifts & Gadgets: The Handpicked Collection
Luxury Brands: Wall London
Charity Trading Operation: RNLI (Sales)

Business-to-Business Categories
Industrial & Warehouse Supplies: ESE Direct
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering: Lyco
Education & Teaching: TTS
Maintenance, Facilities Management: Lyco

Best Catalogue Creative & Production: Seasalt
Best Website: Direct Golf
Best Mobile Commerce Site: Diamond Manufacturers
Best Use of Social Media: Littlewoods
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales up to £25 million: This Works
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales over £25 million: Argos
Outstanding Customer Service: Bureau Direct
Direct Commerce Readers' Choice: Home Leisure Direct - commended for customer service and continuous innovation.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nick Wheeler of Charles Tyrwhitt and Chrissie Rucker of The White Company for their contribution to the catalogue and home shopping sector. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Peter Harris and Angus Thirlwell of Hotel Chocolat, Fran Cotton of Cotton Traders, Johnnie Boden of Boden and Tony Laithwaite of Direct Wines.

The competition was fierce and although not crowned winners, the following companies were highly commended by the panel of independent ECMOD judges. 
•    Thompson & Morgan 
•    Worldstores 
•    Long Tall Sally 
•    Railbookers 
•    Bodie and Fou

SHORTLIST UNVEILED FOR THE VENDA-ECMOD DIRECT COMMERCE AWARDS

Top names including Argos, Diamond Manufacturers, Seasalt, Victoria Plumb and WorldStores, have all made it onto the prestigious venda-ecmod direct commerce awards shortlist.

Celebrating business excellence among cataloguers and multichannel marketers, the shortlist includes companies in the running for all categories, including the Direct Commerce Readers’ Choice Award, outstanding customer service, best catalogue creative and production, and best use of social media.

The full list, in alphabetical order:

Argos, Atterley Road, BigDug, Bloom, Bodie and Fou, BoPeeps, Bureau Direct, Charles Tyrwhitt, Diamond Manufacturers, Direct Golf UK, ESE Direct, Firebox, Great Little Trading Co, Handpicked Collection, Hingstons, Home Leisure Direct, International Dance Supplies, John Lewis, Lakeland, Littlewoods, Loake Shoemakers, Long Tall Sally, Lyco, Railbookers, RNLI (Sales), Scotts of Stow, Seasalt, The White Company, This Works, Thompson & Morgan, Toast, TTS, Victoria Plumb, Wall, WorldStores.

All entrants on the shortlist have undergone a rigorous judging process by a panel of independent judges, with the final winners announced on the evening of 18th April at a fabulous gala dinner awards event at Chelsea Football Club. Sky TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan will present trophies to the winner in each category, with a special—and top secret—lifetime achievement award also in the pipeline.

Tickets for the event may be purchased subject to availability. Call 01271-866112 or email info@ecmod.com to secure your seat.

There's still time to nominate your favourite for an ECMOD Award

Everyone loves a winner!

That’s why we are inviting you to tell us which client-side businesses you think deserve to win the 2013 Direct Commerce Readers’ Award. As a special thank you we’ll enter you in our free draw so that you could win one of two pairs of VIP tickets for the prestigious ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards Presentation Dinner event at Chelsea Football Club on April 18th 2013.

Click here to download the form which can be emailed or faxed back. 

As part of the ECMOD annual celebration of excellence, the Direct Commerce and DC Weekly Readers’ Award is all important category – with the winner chosen by you and your fellow Direct Commerce magazine and DC Weekly newsletter readers. As such, it has extra special meaning and is greatly valued.

Everyone has at least one sector business they have high regard for. This is your opportunity to show support for the businesses which innovate and inspire you, which consistently deliver exceptional service to you as a customer, and which truly deserve the very special accolade of an ECMOD Direct Commerce Readers’ Award.

Make your choice by downloading the official form to nominate up to THREE client side businesses - B2B and/or B2C, which sell via direct channels - catalogues, online, TV, press ads. Tell us why you've chosen them in up to 25 words and add your own details so we can verify your nomination as well as enter you in the prize draw for one of the two pairs of VIP tickets.

Closing date for nominations is Friday, 22nd March 2013.

Click here to download the form which can be emailed or faxed back.

Congratulations ECMOD Supplier of the Year Award winners

Eleven supplier companies were celebrated for their outstanding contribution to the multichannel and direct commerce sector at the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards ceremony. The awards evening on Tuesday, 27th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London was part of the ECMOD 2012 conference and exhibition.

The awards invited client-side companies to vote for the suppliers that really made a difference to their business in the past 12 months. A record 138 supplier companies were nominated for an ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards. The list was whittled down to 34 finalists, but only 11 emerged victorious. 

3rd Party Order Fulfilment – Prism DM

Creative and Design Service – Catalogues 4 Business

Mail Delivery Service – Royal Mail

Mobile Commerce Solution/Service – Metakinetic

Home Delivery Service – Hermes

Web/Digital Development – smartebusiness

Print Production – Garnett Dickinson

Media Planning Service – The Specialist Works

Technology Solution – Postcode Anywhere

Data Services – Abacus

Payment Solution – Ogone

The awards were presented by Direct Commerce's editorial director Miri Thomas and head of sales James Webb. Photos from the night will be published in the January 2012 edition of Direct Commerce magazine. Click here to subscribe and receive your copy.

ECMOD Supplier Award shortlist announced

The ECMOD organisers have announce the shortlist for the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards.
With a record 138 suppliers receiving nominations from some 420 client-side companies, the 2012 awards evening promises to be an exciting event for all finalists and their clients.

The record number of entries means there are 34 companies competing for the spoils in just eleven categories, in what is set to be one of the closest contests since the awards were launched nine years ago.
The eleven winners will be announced on the evening of the 27th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.

Huge congratulations to all the companies that have made it this far. Has your star supplier made the shortlist?

Abacus
Amethyst
ARM Leeds
Basedata
Callcredit
Catalogues 4 Business
Citizen Communications
CitySprint
Feefo
Garnett Dickinson
Hermes
iForce
IPH Global
Keystone Software
Maginus
Metakinetic
MG OMG
Ogone Payment Services
Parcelforce
Postcode Anywhere
Prism DM
Rhapsody
Royal Mail    
Sanderson
Shutl
SmarteBusiness
The Specialist Works
TNT
Toinfinity
Transactis
UPS
Webmart
Williams Commerce
Yodel
 
Join us for the conference during the day and attend the awards ceremony in the evening at no additional cost. Review the speakers, sessions, topics and workshops and book your conference places on the ECMOD website.

For further information on attending the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show call the ECMOD team on 01271 866112 or register online for your free entry to the exhibition hall.

ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards

If someone has made your life a little easier this year then wouldn’t it be nice to show your appreciation and say thank you?

Did your direct mail campaign go without a hitch because of the faultless service you received from your mailing house? Were your customers kept happy with deliveries that turned up on time? Did the redesign of your website result in increased visitors and an up-turn in orders? Did the new format of your printed catalogue hit the right note with your existing customers?

We’ve all had campaigns where the help and assistance of our suppliers has proved invaluable. Now here is your chance to say thank you, and in the process they could pick up a coveted ECMOD Supplier of the Year award. Any company will know the value of being able to refer to their business as “award winning”; it inspires confidence and demands respect. Let your supplier know how much you value their input by putting them forward for an ECMOD Supplier of the Year Award today.

Nominating your chosen supplier is free of charge, there are no lengthy forms or complicated judging procedures. Just tell us who your supplier is and why, in your opinion, they deserve to win an award. There are eleven categories to choose from and you can nominate a supplier for each category is you wish.

Supplier companies are also free to circulate the form to their client base. All entries must be received by 6pm on Friday, 15th October 2012.

The ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards Presentation will be held on Tuesday, 27th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show.


Click here to access the official ECMOD Supplier of the Year nomination form.

ECMOD Direct Commerce Award Winners

The ECMOD Awards are delighted to announce that the following companies have won a prestigious ECMOD Award for work carried out during 2011.

Held at a glittering ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel on the evening of 27th March, these awards recognise business excellence for organisations engaged in direct-to-customer retailing across traditional and emerging channels.

With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

The winners are

• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £0 - £5M, Business to Business: ESE Direct
• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £0-£5M, Business to Consumer: MattressesWorld
• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £5M-£10M, Business to Business: International Dance Supplies
• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £5M-£10M, Business to Consumer: Railbookers
• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £10M-£25M, Business to Business: Ironmongery Direct
• Best All Round Business or Brand – Annual Sales from £10M-£25M, Business to Consumer: Artigiano
• Children’s Sector: Great Little Trading Company
• Fashion Apparel for Women: Artigiano
• Fashion Apparel for Men: Oliver Sweeney
• Gardening & Homewares:  Thompson & Morgan
• Gifts: Handpicked Collection
• Education & Teaching: TTS Group
• Industrial Equipment & Supplies: ESE Direct
• Niche Trade & Professional Supplies: Lyco Direct
• Catering, Hotel & Facilities Supplies: Lyco Direct
• Warehouse & Materials Handling Supplies: Rapid Racking
• Best New Market and/or New Brand Launch – Enterprise Level: Argos TV
• Best New Market and/or New Brand Launch – SME: Bodie and Fou
• Best Catalogue Refresh – Business to Business: Morleys of Bicester
• Best Catalogue Refresh – Business to Consumer: RUCraft
• Best Mobile Commerce Performance: Very.co.uk
• Best Website Redesign: Macmillan Cancer Support
• Best Online Business – Business to Business: Farnell Element14
• Best Online Business – Business to Consumer: Mobile Fun
• Best International Performance: Charles Tyrwhitt (Direct Commerce
Readers’ Choice Award)
• Outstanding CRM & Customer Service: Dolls House Emporium
• Congratulations also to Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris of Hotel Chocolat, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for their contribution to multichannel retailing.

Shortlist unveiled for the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards

Following a rigorous judging process, the following companies have been shortlisted for an ECMOD Award. Recognising business excellence among cataloguers and multichannel marketers, the following list includes shortlisted named for all categories, including the Direct Commerce Readers’ Award.

• Amazon
• ARAM
• Argos TV
• Artigiano
• Asos
• Aspace
• Beauty Express
• Boden
• Bodie & Fou
• Charles Tyrwhitt
• Cos
• Dolls House Emporium
• ESE Direct
• Farnell
• Great Little Trading Company
• Handpicked Collection
• Hotel Chocolat
• Integra Office Supplies
• International Dance Supplies
• Ironmongery Direct
• Laura Ashley
• Letterbox
• Lush
• Lyco Direct
• MacMillan Cancer Support
• Mobile Fun
• Morleys of Bicester
• Oliver Sweeney
• Railbookers
• Rapid Racking
• RS Components
• RU Craft
• Shop Direct
• Thompson & Morgan
• TTS Group
• Very.co.uk
• WorldStores

The final winners for each category will be revealed on the evening of 27th March 2012 at the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards gala evening at the Lancaster London hotel.

A representative from each shortlisted business will receive a VIP ticket for the black-tie evening event. Additional tickets may be purchased subject to availability from the ECMOD offices. Tickets are priced at £165 each + VAT and include welcome drink reception, three-course dinner and wine, plus the ECMOD Awards ceremony, charity casino and prize draw and dancing.

For more details, visit www.ecmod360.co.uk/awards or call 01271 866112.

Vote Now in the Direct Commerce Readers Award 2012

Direct Commerce magazine is proud to announce that it has once again partnered with the ECMOD Awards to facilitate the Direct Commerce Readers’ Award category for most inspirational business in the catalogue and online retail sector. Click here to vote for your favourite.

The ECMOD Awards have spearheaded the recognition of business excellence for organisations engaged in direct-to-customer retailing across traditional and newly emerging channels. Established in 1998, the awards have built a strong reputation for honouring the best the sector has to offer.

An additional category within the ECMOD Awards, the Direct Commerce Readers' Award was introduced last year. After a very close-run competition, clothing retailer/catalogue Boden emerged victorious, beating six other finalists including Asos, Charles Tyrwhitt, Kiddicare, Lakeland, Net-a-Porter, and The White Company to the title.

The Direct Commerce Readers' Award invites executives who work within the sector to nominate the catalogue, online or cross-channel commerce businesses they hold in the greatest esteem. This year, individuals are welcome to nominate up to three companies they feel really stand out for their innovation, brand and service.

Voting is done online and the winner will be announced at the ECMOD Awards evening at the Lancaster London Hotel on 27th March 2012. Click here to access the official Direct Commerce Readers' Award voting form.

As a special thank-you for voting, all those making a nomination will be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the ECMOD Awards Evening.
 
Closing date for nominations is Monday, 5th March.

ECMOD Supplier of the Year Award Winners

The very best of the UK’s specialist suppliers to the direct commerce sector have been recognised at the prestigious ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards 2011.

Thirteen companies received their awards at a special networking evening ceremony held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, during the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show. The annual awards event aims to recognise the outstanding contribution these organisations make to the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. In total, 39 businesses reached the final shortlist.

Unlike many others, the awards expressly call for nominations from client companies, asking them to vote for the suppliers that have contributed the most to their businesses.
The winners are:

Best third-party order fulfilment – AMETHYST
Best creative and design service – CREATIVE MOUSE
Best mail delivery solution – CITIPOST
Best international support service – ESSENTIAL COMMERCE
Best home delivery service/solution – HERMES
Best web and digital development services – CHANNEL ADVISOR
Best print production service – EC2I
Best media planning service – THE INSERT HOUSE, part of the Specialist Works Group.
Best technology solution – SANDERSON

Four further companies were also commended in a number of brand new categories:

Most effective website optimiser – PEERIUS
Most effective online campaign optimiser – REDEYE
Most effective use of predictive analytics – MORE2
Most valuable contribution to business through data - ABACUS

Footage and photos from the night will be available soon from www.ecmod360.co.uk.  --MT

Last chance to vote for your favourite supplier

Direct Commerce magazine is proud to support the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards in 2011.

These awards, held annually during the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show on 30th November to 1st December, recognise the hard work and effort suppliers to the direct commerce sector put into securing the success of their clients. This year, cataloguers and online retailers are invited to nominate those suppliers who have gone the extra mile in up to 14 categories, including a new Lifetime Achievement Award.
Voting is free, and to nominate their chosen suppliers, client companies are invited to fill in an online form (http://svy.mk/ny9HNy). Supplier companies are also free to circulate the form to their client base. All entries must be received by 6pm on Friday, 21st October 2011.

The ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards, in association with Data Driven Business Week and supported by Rising Media, CatEx Direct Commerce Association and Direct Commerce magazine, will be held on Wednesday 30th November at the Business Design Centre in Islington as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show.

This year’s categories are:
BEST 3rd Party Order Fulfilment
BEST Creative & Design Service
BEST Mail Delivery Solution
BEST International Support Service
BEST Home Delivery Service/Solution
BEST Web & Digital Development Services
BEST Print Production Service
BEST Media Planning Service
BEST Technology Solution
NEW Most Effective Website Optimiser
NEW Most Effective Online Campaign Optimiser
NEW Most Effective Use of Predictive Analytics
NEW Most Valuable Contribution to Business Through Data
Lifetime Achievement Award

Suppliers overcharging small businesses by £3.6 billion

If you’re an online retail start-up, establishing a good relationship with your suppliers early on is key. A good supplier can often become more like a partner, advising on the services best suited to your needs and helping out when you need it most. You may not have the clout of Amazon or Tesco, but you should still demand a stellar service from all your vendors.

Not all suppliers, it seems, have their clients’ best interests at heart. Small businesses are being overcharged by more than £3.6 billion by “greedy suppliers”, according to a survey produced by b-to-b group-buying website Huddlebuy.co.uk.

The research found that businesses with fewer than 10 staff are paying up to three times more for goods and services than larger companies.

Huddlebuy found that small firms ranging from information and communication firms to construction companies are spending £1,285 more than they need to, with some spending up to £4,000 too much.

Small businesses are paying more than double what they should on a range of everyday services and in some cases are missing out on discounts of 70 percent, according to the study, which also highlighted sole traders, freelancers and consultants are being overcharged £2.17 billion a year, which is an average of £969 each per year.

Businesses in the London and South East best beware, as the study shows they are being overcharged by £1.3 billion a year, with other businesses in the East of England (£390 million) and the North West (£368 million) also being rip-off hotspots.

The Huddlebuy survey says that the professional business services sector is the worst culprit for overcharging small companies (£1.4 billion annually), while the property sector overcharged small companies the least (£120 million annually).

Saurav Chopra, chief executive at Huddlebuy, says, “The results of this research are simply shocking. Small businesses fighting desperately to survive in harsh economic times are being ripped off by greedy suppliers, whilst big businesses enjoy huge savings from their favoured suppliers.”

This doesn’t have to be the case. Direct Commerce is once again proud to support the ECMOD Supplier of the Year Awards. These awards, held annually during the ECMOD Direct Commerce Show (30th November to 1st December), recognise the hard work and effort suppliers to the direct commerce sector put into securing the success of their clients. This year, cataloguers and online retailers are invited to nominate those suppliers who have gone the extra mile in up to 14 categories, including a new Lifetime Achievement Award.

The beauty of these awards is that the winners are chosen by their clients, not by a judging panel far removed from the coalface. Show your support by voting. It's absolutely free to nominate your chosen suppliers; all you need to do is download the official form (http://bit.ly/SOYA11), complete it and return it by Friday, 7th October 2011--JD

Seven companies reach Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award shortlist

Seven highly respected direct commerce businesses have reached the shortlist of the inaugural Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award. Having received some 462 votes, it was too close to call between Asos, Boden, Charles Tyrwhitt, Kiddicare, Lakeland, Net-a-Porter, and The White Company. As a result, it will fall to delegates at the CatEx Round Table Day—held on the same day as the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards on 6th April—to cast their votes so that the outright winner can be named. The outright winner will then be invited to accept the trophy as part of the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards evening.

In related news, congratulations to Carol Cade of the Book People who, by making her nomination for the readers' award, won our prize draw of two tickets to the Awards evening. Enjoy the night!

For information on booking a seat at the ECMOD Awards visit www.ecmod360.co.uk.

For information on attending the CatEx Round Table Day visit www.catalogueexchange.co.uk.

Catalogue e-business Readers Award

This year, Catalogue e-business has teamed up with the annual ECMOD Awards to introduce the Catalogue e-business Readers’ Award for most inspirational business in the catalogue and online retail sector.

The ECMOD Awards have been the Oscars of the home shopping sector since 1998, honouring the best the market has to offer. This year, Catalogue e-business is asking you to be a part of that success. The magazine is looking for the most inspirational catalogue or online selling business as chosen by its peers. All you have to do is nominate the direct seller you hold in the greatest esteem and the business with the most votes will be honoured at the ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards Evening at Lancaster London Hotel, 6th April 2011.

Voting is quick and easy using our online form--no printing, downloading, emailing or faxing required! Simply visit http://svy.mk/e33BkQ.

As a special thank-you for voting, you will be entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to the ECMOD Awards Evening at Lancaster London Hotel, 6th April 2011.

Hurry--closing date for nominations is 4th March 2011.

Johnnie Boden at ECMOD

At ECMOD this year, one of the most popular sessions was a live interview with Johnnie Boden, founder of the Boden apparel catalogue. If you were one of the delegates in the room, as I was, you were in no doubt fascinated by how candid Boden was about his most memorable mistakes and successes of the past 20 years. What particularly caught my attention during the session was the admission that the company does not measure a customer’s lifetime value—sometimes known as the holy grail of multichannel marketing (part 4, 02:02).

For more on this and other insights into one of the home shopping sector’s most popular brands, check out the four-part video on the Catalogue Exchange’s YouTube channel. In particular, have a look at the Q&A session at the end of the interview and tap into the hot topics in the direct selling sector right now—the problem of free returns, the effects of discounting, and as Johnnie Boden called it, the “never-ending nightmare of testing”. –MT

ECMOD quickies

One drawback of attending a conference with an especially good programme of sessions and speakers: There’s no way to cover everything you want to. Such was the case at ECMOD this year. Nonetheless, here’s a selection of notable quotes and quick takeaways that I’ve gleaned fromt the conference, which began yesterday and ran through today at Earls Court in London:

• “The successful catalogues we work with focus on having a website better than their catalogue,” said Bill LaPierre of list and data firm Direct Media/Millard during his Thursday morning session. This ties in with one of his truisms of direct marketing in the 21st century: The website is the core business, and the catalogue brings in incremental sales—the reverse of the longstanding conventional wisdom.

• Also from LaPierre: Sixty percent of the success of a catalogue is down to the merchandise, 20 percent to the mailing list, 10 percent to the creative, and the remaining 10 percent to customer service.

• In addition to helping ecommerce sites with their search engine optimisation efforts (by providing more content for search engine spiders to crawl), a blog “kind of builds a personal trust, as people want more and more information about companies these days,” Karen Watson, co-owner and managing director of The Real Flower Company, said during a Wednesday morning session on social media.

• At the same session, Wiggly Wigglers founder Heather Gorringe said, “Podcasts aren’t always thought of as social media, but I actually think they’re the start of it all.” Wiggly Wigglers has had great success with its folksy yet informative podcasts, as well as with other social media. Facebook, for instance, drives about 7.5 percent of all traffic to the rural-lifestyle cataloguer’s website, and Twitter drives another 7.5 percent. Of Twitter, Gorringe said, “It puts us on an even platform with companies that have an enormous budget.”

• Another panelist of the Wednesday morning social-media session, Asos’s James Hart, said, “Your community is not just your customers. Your community is you and your customers.”

• Discussing his company’s launch in the US market during a session on UK brands expanding overseas, Boden managing director Julian Granville noted, “In the US we planned for just about every disaster scenario there is, but we didn’t plan on this much success.” The message: Just as you should have contingency plans for underperformance, be sure you are prepared for greater-than-expected demand.

• Think “free” is the most effective word you can use in an email subject line? Think again. In her Thursday afternoon session, Michelle Farabaugh of consultancy Lenser said that of the emails her company had tested, seven of the 10 most-effective ones had “New” in the subject line.

I’ll be posting more-extensive coverage of ECMOD on our Catalogue e-business website (www.catalog-biz.com) and in the November issue of Catalogue e-business magazine—once my brain cells have processed everything and, just as important, once my feet have forgiven me for wearing court shoes two days in a row for the first time since last year’s ECMOD.--SC

Congratulations winners!

Three cheers to all the winners at last night's ECMOD Awards. The full list of winners is available here. More details and photos will shortly be available from the ECMOD website www.ecmod360.co.uk. --MT

One for the road

I'll be heading up to London later today to attend tomorrow's Cat X Factor Conference and the ECMOD Awards dinner. I'm especially excited about the conference, presented by two internet pros I've had the privilege of working with over the years: ecommerce doyenne Amy Africa and SEM guru Stephan Spencer. They're not only highly knowledgeable but also very entertaining. I've moderated panels on which both of them appeared, and boy, was it tough to hold my own. (That's assuming I even did manage to do so.)

The only downside, for me, is that because I'll be travelling today, I won't be able to partake in my annual Ronnie Lane birthday celebration. Ronnie Lane was a criminally underappreciated songwriter/performer, formerly of the Faces and Small Faces, who died in 1997 of MS at the age of 51. Each year on his birthday I play as many of his solo CDs as my family will let me get away with, but I won't have the opportunity to do so today. Well, maybe I'll be able to sneak in a few visits to YouTube.--SC