Direct mail under renewed attack

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the UK Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have signed an agreement to up recycling of direct mail from 13 per cent to 70 per cent by 2013.

Lara Shannon, spokesperson for the DMA indicated that ‘draconian’ legislation would ensue if it didn’t comply. “We need to get through to the mass mailers that blanket mass mailing isn’t on anymore,” she added. Whilst this might be akin to the oil industry’s body saying, “driving your car long distances isn’t on anymore,” Shannon’s statement is borne out by some facts.

The US direct marketing agency Wyse Direct claims it can now achieve the same result from mailing 7,000 targeted and data-researched customers as it used to get by mailing 300,000. Targeted, personalized direct mail achieves response rates in the region of 30-40 per cent according to Jon Field, Heidelberg’s General Manager, Digital for Australia and New Zealand. A mass mailer will count himself lucky to get a 2.5 per cent response.

Backing this up are statements from futurist Dr Patrick Dixon at a recent direct marketing conference in Helsinki; “We are approaching the end of mass market-centric model. Digital technology and the internet have enabled a customer-centric approach – one-on-one.”

How will Australia’s direct mail print industry respond to these challenges?