MEDS 2010: The morning after for direct marketing?

One of the hot topics discussed at the Mail & Express Delivery Show in London on 21 April was the future of direct marketing. Geoff Lambert, associate director, Triangle Management Services, was in the chair as the panel discussed where does direct mail go from here, and have advances in data and direct delivery created a new opportunity? Questions were also asked as to whether postal operators could raise their games?

Summarising, Lambert told Post&Parcel: “Throughout the day we heard from many different people about the future for Direct Mail. The gloom of some who believed the digital age had overtaken mail was countered by those who felt this medium had reached its appropriate position as the preferred method for communication with those who are established customers. Many questioned why transactional mail was not moving to become a more powerful direct marketing device and many examples were given of how this paper media were being used as the information tool to attract people to websites for further action.

“David Robottom (D&S Consultants) gave us a clear indication that, in terms of customer satisfaction, the international mail accreditation scheme was showing very high levels of satisfaction and a clear upward trend. Graham Arrowsmith from REaD group explained the giant steps being taken in using more and more data to inform posters before they communicate and the power to make the level of communication more relevant. The audience started to question if the amount of data being used was in itself leading to nervousness on the part of receivers, who were concerned what businesses knew about them, but reality was that response rates had started to rise again, as targeting became more sophisticated. Leon Deakin from Virgin Media made a call for more supplier engagement and a step change in innovation to give poster a wider range of options.”

Do you agree with Lambert? What is the future for direct marketing? Please comment below…