Market demassification has resulted in an ever-increasing number of market niches and the use of direct marketing to reach these niches is growing. The Christmas Shopping season provides Direct Marketers with opportunities to extend brand awareness and increase sales, sometimes dramatically. Consider your own purchasing experience or that of a friend or relative over the recent Christmas holiday. You can reflect on direct marketing advertising pieces of information such as catalogs, credit card offers, e-mail notices, TV commercials, and other forms. How effective were these techniques in causing you to purchase? Which one(s) of these direct marketing techniques do you feel is the most successful (caused a purchase) or least effective (caused irritation to you), and why? What can astute marketers do to increase the effectiveness of their direct marketing?