"There's so much that's sexy in social media and in mobile right now," he said. "Anyone who's bought a smartphone in the last 18 months is doing some things they hadn't imagined yet." When they read about a big company launching a cutting-edge initiative, they want in — but the economics usually only make sense for large companies that have experimental budgets. Instead, he says it often pays to focus on bread-and-butter marketing (like direct mail) or even on technical innovations of the past few years that are effective, but less novel (like mobile websites).

In the gaming industry, direct mail is still king. In fact, it's not really close with a response rate of over 4X then email alone. Yet, many marketers get caught up in the sexy new marketing trends. Social gets more attention than direct marketing, even though direct marketing brings much more profit. Likes are revered, yet direct mail is boring and so yesterday. Sometimes whats worked in the past is what will work in the future.