Direct mail moans fall, online soar

Direct mail complaints have plummeted by more than a third over the past year, the second successive major fall, according to the ad watchdog’s 2014 Annual Report, however, they have been offset by a 35% rise online marketing moans.
With direct mail volumes holding up well, the stats suggest that practitioners are taking more care with their communications; sadly the same cannot be said for the Internet, which once again is far and away the most complained about medium, contributing to a record number of complaints overall – up 19% from 2013 to 37,073.
While the dizzying growth in online marketing makes this almost an inevitability, the Advertising Standards Authority report shows Internet ads triggered 13,477 gripes, compared to 9,988 in 2013.
Meanwhile, nearly all other DM sectors – including direct mail (-34% to 352, email (-13% to 881), door-drops (-8% to 304) and SMS (- 5% to 233) – saw significant falls.
The ASA says sites like Change.org, where people can create their own petitions and encourage others to complain have been a significant factor in driving record number figures
Paddy Power’s Oscar Pistorius ad received over 5,000 complaints in 72 hours as a result of a Change.org petition, while a similar petition against Protein World’s Beach Body campaign received over 40,000 signatures.
The ASA/CAP work resulted in 3,384 ads being changed or withdrawn and a record 1,599 compliances cases resolved. CAP delivered training and advice on 194,200 occasions – an increase of 21%.
Chairman of the ASA Lord Chris Smith said: “We’ve been putting some serious thought into how we go about working as effectively as possible, with the interests of the consumer in mind. As part of that, we want to put a stronger focus on those cases where there is the greatest potential detriment or harm. By having more impact and being more proactive we can help provide a responsible framework for advertisers to continue to engage creatively with their customers.”