logo
Pat Mercuri, Founder of Managed Direct Response, was Nominated for OCBJ's Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards for the 11th Consecutive Year

Pat Mercuri, Founder of Managed Direct Response, was Nominated for OCBJ's Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards for the 11th Consecutive Year

Pat Mercuri, President and Founder of Managed Direct Response, has been nominated for the prestigious Orange County Business Journal (OCBJ) Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards for an extraordinary 11th consecutive year. This recognition highlights Pat's exceptional leadership and his embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives success in Orange County.
Pat Mercuri is widely acknowledged as a trailblazer and innovator in the direct marketing and lead generation industries. He has consistently adapted to industry shifts, ensuring that Managed Direct Response remains at the forefront by providing cutting-edge solutions to its clients. This ongoing innovation and focus on customer satisfaction have fueled the company's sustained growth and earned it a loyal client base.
The OCBJ Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards celebrate individuals who demonstrate the American entrepreneurial spirit, which is marked by creativity, determination, and an ability to build and sustain successful business ventures.
'To be nominated for the 11th consecutive year is a true reflection of our incredible team's hard work and dedication,' said Mercuri. 'We've always sought to push the envelope and redefine what's possible in direct marketing. This recognition reinforces our commitment to delivering exceptional client results, and I'm already looking forward to our 12th nomination next year!'
Under Pat Mercuri's leadership, Managed Direct Response has evolved over the past 20 years into one of Orange County's premier direct marketing firms. The company specializes in diversified services such as email marketing, direct mail, and print and mailing solutions. With extensive experience in continuously testing and adapting marketing techniques, Managed Direct Response has successfully driven business growth for its clients, mailing hundreds of millions of direct mail pieces over the years.
'I'm incredibly proud of this recognition, but none of this would be possible without the exceptional team around me,' said Mercuri. 'They are always pushing the boundaries to help our clients succeed.'
Managed Direct Response is a full-service marketing agency based in Irvine, California, specializing in direct response marketing. The company is known for its innovative strategies, client-centered approach, and outstanding results. It serves a variety of industries, including mortgage, non-profits, solar, automotive, and retail. For more information, visit www.managedmktg.com.
Managed Direct Response
www.managedmktg.com
Copyright Business Wire 2025.
PUB: 01/28/2025 03:28 PM/DISC: 01/28/2025 03:28 PM
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hey, experts — admit what you got so wrong on Trump's tariffs
Hey, experts — admit what you got so wrong on Trump's tariffs

New York Post

time18 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Hey, experts — admit what you got so wrong on Trump's tariffs

Economists across the political spectrum predicted that President Donald Trump's trade negotiations would end in disaster. Now that his Aug. 1 deadline has passed without the sky falling — and with multiple advantageous deals completed — it's time to seriously reevaluate the flawed arguments the experts made against his strategy. Many, it turns out, made basic errors in economic reasoning. Advertisement On the left, Nobel laureate and Columbia professor Joseph Stiglitz declared in January that Trump's policy was 'very bad for America and for the world,' while University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers called it 'impressively destructive.' On the right, prominent free-market advocates like George Mason's Donald Boudreaux also voiced strong opposition. Advertisement Yet their arguments against tariffs revealed a fundamental misunderstanding: They decried tariffs as uniquely harmful, while ignoring that the same logic applies to all taxes. Take the common critique that tariffs, as a tax on trade, reduce trade overall. Phil Gramm and Larry Summers — one conservative, one liberal — jointly argued that tariffs 'distort domestic production' by pushing resources toward less efficient uses. They warned tariffs would slow economic growth. Advertisement That's true. But every tax, including sales taxes and income taxes, discourages trade, distorts production and reduces growth. Sales taxes lower consumption. Income taxes discourage work. Corporate taxes deter investment. All taxes distort the economy — tariffs are no exception. Advertisement Another frequent claim is that tariffs hurt consumers. Again, true — just as all taxes do. Logically, opposing tariffs simply because they raise prices and reduce growth means we should oppose all taxes. But unless we abolish government spending — which stands at $7 trillion this year — we need taxes of some kind. That's why economists usually argue for minimizing the total economic damage that all taxes cause across the board. Distortions increase as tax rates do. Before Trump's policies, the average US tariff rate stood at just 2.5% — tiny compared to the 43.4% average top personal income tax rate (including federal and state taxes) or the 27.5% average total corporate tax rate. If we understand a tariff as a tax like any other, higher tariffs could in fact reduce the overall economic burden on American individuals and companies — an outcome that Trump has often touted as his ultimate goal. Advertisement It's unclear whether a 15% tariff is optimal, but it seems apparent now that a 2.5% rate was too low. Economists also missed how negotiation tactics work. Trump began with aggressive tariff threats, horrifying many economists — but the results speak for themselves. The United States has secured deals that dramatically opened foreign markets representing 55% of global GDP. Advertisement Even critics have had to acknowledge the shift. 'To avoid worst of Trump tariffs, [the European Union] accepted a lopsided deal,' The Washington Post conceded, while the London-based Financial Times described how the EU 'succumbed to Trump's tariff steamroller.' 'Under the new deal, US goods into Vietnam will not be taxed while Vietnamese exports will face a 20% US tariff,' the South China Morning Post explained — in coverage that described Hanoi's 'optimism' regarding the agreement. So while the United States is imposing higher tariffs on many imports, other countries lowered or removed their tariffs on American goods, and dropped many of their non-tariff barriers as well. Advertisement These are significant wins that economists failed to anticipate, and that few thought remotely possible even six months ago. Experts also ignored yet another of Trump's reasons for increasing tariffs: as a means of providing for national defense and global freedom of the seas, costs that Americans have borne for a century. Ideally, other countries would help pay for these efforts — how about they just send us a check for the share of benefits they are receiving? Advertisement But since that's not about to happen, tariffs may be the only viable alternative. Trump's trade policies defied economists' dire predictions, delivering substantial gains in opening foreign markets to American exports without tanking the US economy. If tariffs can help lower more damaging taxes while advancing strategic national interests, they deserve a more honest and nuanced evaluation. At the very least, economists should have the guts to admit they were wrong — and take a hard look at their conventional wisdom. John R. Lott Jr., president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, is an economist who has held research or teaching positions at the University of Chicago, Wharton Business School, Stanford, Yale and UCLA.

Trump announces 100% tariff on semiconductors made outside the US in potential blow to domestic businesses
Trump announces 100% tariff on semiconductors made outside the US in potential blow to domestic businesses

New York Post

time18 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Trump announces 100% tariff on semiconductors made outside the US in potential blow to domestic businesses

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced plans Wednesday for a 100% tariff on 'all chips and semiconductors' — insisting that there would be an orderly economic transition despite potential major impacts on US businesses. 'We'll be putting a tariff, approximately 100%, on chips and semiconductors,' Trump said at an Oval Office event with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who arrived to announce plans for $600 billion in new investments in the US. Trump said he would exempt companies that have plans to transition their manufacturing to the US — a hint that the world's largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan's TSMC, which is building massive manufacturing plants in Arizona, would be spared. Advertisement 3 'We'll be putting a tariff approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors,' Trump said at an Oval Office event with Apple CEO Tim Cook. REUTERS 'If you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge, even though you're building and you're not producing yet in terms of the big numbers of jobs and all of the things that you're building. If you're building there will be no charge,' Trump said. 'So 100% tariff on all chips and semiconductors coming into the United States. But if you've made a commitment to build, or if you're in the process of building, as many are, there is no tariff.' Cook did not comment on the tariff plan when given an opportunity to address the press. Advertisement Trump described the duties as a way to hold accountable companies that backtrack on pledges to open US manufacturing plants. 3 Trump also said he would exempt companies that have plans to transition their manufacturing to the US. AFP via Getty Images 3 The president described his tariff plan as a way to hold accountable companies that backtrack on pledges. AFP via Getty Images 'If, for some reason, you say you're building and you don't build, then we go back and get we added up, it accumulates, and we charge you at a later date, you have to pay, and that's a guarantee,' Trump said. Advertisement 'I think the chip companies are all coming back home. They're all coming back. You know, we started with Intel, and gradually Intel was just taken over the coals, they were taken to the cleaners, frankly, and moved to other places in particular Taiwan, but I think a lot of those companies are coming back, and they're coming back very rapidly.' In additional to large 'reciprocal' tariffs and a new 10% baseline tariff on most countries, Trump previously applied 50% tariffs on foreign steel, aluminum and copper and a 25% tariff on foreign-made cars in an attempt to boost those American industries. The president did not specify a start date for the new computer-chip tariffs, and has previewed similar duties for pharmaceutical drugs and lumber.

Warren asks FTC, DOJ to consider blocking Dick's-Foot Locker merger
Warren asks FTC, DOJ to consider blocking Dick's-Foot Locker merger

The Hill

time18 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Warren asks FTC, DOJ to consider blocking Dick's-Foot Locker merger

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns with the proposed merger between Dick's Sporting Goods and Foot Locker on Tuesday, citing the potential blow for American families and businesses. 'Dick's and Foot Locker currently compete with each other and with independent retailers to secure deals with suppliers. The new giant would have significantly increased power to extract favorable conditions with manufacturers,' Warren wrote in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). 'This could mean that independent retailers are at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating with suppliers, which could give Dick's and Foot Locker an incentive to engage in anticompetitive conduct to restrict suppliers from dealing with independent retailers,' she added. The Massachusetts senator said mom and pop shops could be threatened by the deal, valued at $2.4 billion. From 2017 to 2022, one out of every four shoe stores across the U.S. closed, which resulted in the loss of more than 25,000 jobs in the same period, Warren's office said, citing Census Bureau statistics on the economy. Warren also referenced a CreditKarma study released last month in which 39 percent of parents said they could not afford back-to-school shopping this year. 'Dick's Sporting Goods's proposed acquisition of Foot Locker would combine two of the nation's largest athletic footwear retailers, creating a giant that would have increased power across the business, from suppliers to workers to customers,' Warren said. 'This deal could raise prices for families already facing higher sneaker costs from President Trump's tariffs and threaten workers and small businesses,' she added. Warren said blocking previous mega-mergers has proven beneficial for consumers, citing the failed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons. 'Following Kroger and Albertsons' loss in court, the new CEO of Albertsons revealed the benefits of preserving competition by describing how the company now planned to improve to keep prices low 'to attract more shoppers' in order to compete with rival companies,' Warren said. 'This is a striking example of the benefits of competition for consumers, and should give antitrust agencies the confidence to continue vigorously enforcing antitrust law,' she added. The DOJ and FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Warren's letter. The Hill also reached out to Dick's and Foot Locker.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store