UK direct marketers are set to benefit from a new initiative launched by the US DMA, designed to educate consumers about the benefits of the discipline and combat ‘fear-mongering’ against the sector.
The US DMA has pledged to invest more than $1m into the scheme, through the launch of the Data-Driven Marketing Institute (DDMI), which was unveiled yesterday at the industry body’s annual conference and trade fair being held in Las Vegas.
DDMI will be heavily focused on consumer research to help marketers improve attitudes to targeting, privacy and data usage.
It will also launch an educational campaign to help consumers understand how their personal data is used by marketers, as well as a lobbying effort to drum up support around Congress.
With the UK and US DMAs closely aligned, it is likely that any research will be shared between the two, adding to the body of evidence the London-based body already holds.
The DMA UK recently released its “Putting a price on direct marketing” report, designed to build a detailed picture of just how influential direct marketing is on the wider economy.
Linda Woolley, acting president of US DMA said: ” There seems to be a lot of fear-mongering out there that’s just inaccurate. There’s just no other way to say it. When the chairman of the FTC talks about going online and buying a deep fryer and having consumers be afraid that they’re going to be denied health insurance, that’s just flat wrong. We decided that it’s time to correct some of these mis-characterizations and misapprehensions.”
He added: “Some 18.7 per cent of US GDP is associated to direct marketing so it’s important we protect the industry’s growth. We’ve had an overwhelming response so far from our members as the goal is to prevent needless regulation or enforcement that could severely hamper consumer marketing and stifle innovation.”
Related stories
DMA rallies team for £47bn fight
DM industry grows 7% to £15bn
