Panorama fightback wins PR gong

The DM industry’s PR offensive against BBC One’s Panorama show ‘Why hate junk mail?’ has scooped the Crisis & Issues Management Award in the 2011 PRCA Awards.
Broadcast in July, the Panorama programme promised to investigate the true cost of junk mail and scam mail to the public and the environment. However, as industry insiders feared, the programme presented a confused account of the complex issues surrounding both and failed to distinguish them from legitimate direct mail marketing.
The DMA and its PR agency Eulogy initiated a PR campaign to put across the industry’s point of view in resulting social media conversations.
Consumer press were briefed on the facts about advertising mail to set the record straight, while the DMA also forearmed its members with a toolkit to help them deal with concerns raised by their clients arising from the Panorama episode.
Commenting on the win, the DMA’s director of communications and insight Rachel Aldighieri, said: “Winning this award gives us great recognition for our effective campaign to counter negative perceptions of the legitimate, multi-billion pound advertising mail industry.
“The industry wrongly comes under national media scrutiny for its perceived relation to junk mail. It’s the DMA’s role to counter this wrongful criticism and promote the value of targeted mail to the consumer and business alike.
“Working with Eulogy! is a great fit for the DMA as not only do they know our industry really well and work with many of our members but they also have a passion for the industry that goes beyond their day job.”