Tag: UK

Direct mail spend down nine per cent

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Spend on direct mail fell by nine per cent in 2007, according to The Top 100 Direct Mail Spenders report published by Marketing Direct.

The report, based on a survey of more than 6,000 consumers by media consultancy Billetts, reveals that declining response rates, a shift to digital and environmental pressures are behind the decline in budget being allocated to direct mail.

Financial services companies cut back spend on mail as the first effects of the credit crunch were felt half way through 2007. The top five users of direct mail – BSkyB, Saga Group, MBNA Europe, Lloyds TSB and Halifax – all registered double-digit decreases in spend in 2007 compared to the year before.

In the same period, the online advertising market, including display, classified, email and paid search grew by 38 per cent to GBP 2.8bn.

Capital One, formerly one of the UK’s top three spenders, fell eight places to number 10 as it reduced its expenditure by 65 per cent to GBP 11.4m in 2007.

Mike Welsh, chief executive of Craik Jones, said the industry had only itself to blame for the move from mail to digital.

Amanda Phillips, chief executive of Proximity London, said that with green issues under the spotlight last year, “direct mail was an obvious target”.

There were three new entrants to the Top 100: QuickPages, the insurance quotation business, Virgin Media and fashion brand Oli.

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EuroDirect to join Royal Mail data partners (UK)

Posted by | Jul 14, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is strengthening its investment in data services by adding EuroDirect to its panel of data partners.

The move is designed to better service Royal Mail’s customers with dedicated data solutions, and assist them in using data tools to improve the effectiveness of their direct mail campaigns.

Royal Mail’s clients will now benefit from EuroDirect’s Data Exchange prospect pool consisting of 40 million records, its suite of Cameo Consumer Classifications, credit-scoring service CallQualify, and consumer insight and marketing intelligence system Microvision.

EuroDirect joins Dataforce on the panel, which was set up in January.

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Royal Mail goes hands-on (UK)

Posted by | Jul 9, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is finalising contracts with a range of suppliers for the provision of handheld devices to track letter and parcel information.

By the end of this summer, more than 25,000 staff handling items tracked by special and recorded delivery will use the devices, which are intended to speed up and modernise postal processes.

The devices will enable Royal Mail van drivers to capture signatures at the point of delivery. The data will then be transmitted over a wireless network, allowing customers to check via the web whether or not items have arrived at their destination.

Royal Mail is in the final stages of making contractual adjustments with the pool of partners chosen to carry out the project.

While contracts await final sign-off, suppliers are understood to include hardware specialist Intermec and systems integrator CSC.

Training will be done in-house and will begin in the weeks prior to the implementation.

Some 70,000 staff who deliver items by foot or bicycle will continue using a paper-based system to record signatures and delivery times, but the devices will roll out to all postal delivery workers in the future.

Trials for the handheld computers began late last year.

The project is the first stage of Royal Mail’s GBP 1.2bn IT-based infrastructure upgrade and will underpin a series of customer-focused initiatives.

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Business Post Group plc – AGM / interim management statement

Posted by | Jul 9, 2008 | |

AGM of Business Post Group plc, Chairman Peter Kane will announce the following statement to shareholders covering the period 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2008.
“Group revenues for the period increased by some 16 pct on the equivalent period last year.

Parcel revenues showed satisfactory improvement on last year. In particular, we continue to see good growth in our B2B parcels business which represents in excess of 80 pct of parcels revenues.

Our Mail business, UK Mail, continues to achieve strong growth, driven by new business wins together with further mail volumes from existing customers.
Revenues in Specialist Services for the period were up significantly on last year. In particular our Courier business has benefited from the contract with Orange which commenced in the period.

We have made a good start to the financial year with continued revenue growth and with trading performance in line with management expectations.”

Business Post Group plc announces that Dennis Clark, Non-Executive Director and Senior Independent Director, retires from the Board following today’s AGM.
Philip Stephens has now taken up the role of Senior Independent Director.
The Board is well advanced with the process of appointing a successor to Dennis and expects to make an announcement on this matter in due course.

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