Direct Marketing Association

The Power of DirectRelevance. Responsibility. Results

DIRECT MARKETING ASSOCIATION

Not Just Mail

Jerry CerasaleSenior VP, Government Affairs

Direct Marketing Association

Change Your Name?

At a recent fundraiser a U.S. Senator asked DMA’s

President and CEO, “Have you considered changing

your name. You’re not just a mailing industry group.”

Direct Marketing Association

What is the DMA?• Over 5,000 corporate members

– 55% marketers– 45% suppliers

• Internet Alliance is a subsidiary• DMA Non Profit Federation• Direct Marketing Education

Foundation• Co-owner of Interactive Marketing

Solutions

Direct Marketing Association

More on What We are!

• Ethics– Guidelines– Enforcement– Best Practices

• Events– Seminars– Conferences– Networking

Direct Marketing Association

• Research– 9 million, $900 billion– Remote selling reduce prices?

• Councils– Catalog– List– Teleservices– IMAB-Internet– ISEC-Compilers– Directo– Direct TV– etc.

Direct Marketing Association

DMA’s Issues

• Protect the process for remote selling– State and Federal– Privacy front– Postal front– Telemarketing front– Interactive front– Tax front– International front

Direct Marketing Association

Privacy

• Too high postage rates will put some of you out of business

• Inability to share data to find new customers will close all of you

Direct Marketing Association

Basic Privacy Position• Customers have choices

– A choice to not receive more messages from you

– A choice to not have information shared with others

– Opt-out– Not Opt-in—as in Europe

• Italy went opt-in and saw a 33% reduction in DM in one year!

– Opt-in for very sensitive data—medical, financial account numbers, SSN?

Direct Marketing Association

Taste of Privacy Issues

• Security Breach– Information on customers and prospects is

lost• via hackers• via physical loss• via employee theft• via fraud

– Notify those individuals

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What Data?

• Any information?• Jerry buys baseball tickets?• Financial account data?• SSN?

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DMA Position

• Only name, contact AND – SSN– Driver’s License– Financial Account Numbers

• Only if there is a significant risk of ID theft

• No access and correction– If access—not to all data—just that listed

above

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Spyware or Adware• Programs placed on computers to

learn your interests to send you ads• DMA guidelines for notice and easy,

complete removal• Some legislators want opt-in• Relate to postal

– How do you obtain my interests?– Opt-in by me?

Direct Marketing Association

Postal Issues• Reform—YES w/ hard cap• Military Retirement—to taxpayer not

mailers• CSRS escrow—some for rate relief• Rate case—upper single digits is

outrageous– Join with others to parcel issues to reduce costs of

our members– Concerned w/ flats vs letters

Direct Marketing Association

More Postal• Members want DMA to focus on

policy, but enter the mail prep regulations when needed and asked

• DMA believes that US economy is based upon computer manifests for shipment of goods– Why not the mail– USPS needs to learn KISS!

Direct Marketing Association

DNM• DMA fought do-not-call registry

– Laughed at by some mailer associations

• NOW! Do-Not-Mail bills in 4 states– Why?– Success of DNC

• Mailers live in a fantasy world thinking that’s the phone or that’s the Internet

• DMA’s Mail Preference Service—4 million• DMA and Postcom have gathered a DNM

Coalition that uses DMA’s state lobbyists’ information

Direct Marketing Association

Telemarketing Issues• DNC—discussed• Inbound call and upsell• Call center outside US

– Must tell where you are– DMA wants only if asked– Must immediately switch to an American– DMA wants able to have American call back

• Wireless• States—can’t call your customers in

Indiana!

Direct Marketing Association

Interactive Issues

• E-mail marketing—keep it opt-out• Do-Not-E-mail

– Worked with FTC to try to prevent such a registry

– Utah & Michigan have DNEM registries for kids e-mail addresses for items kids can’t buy

– 3 cents per address sent to be scrubbed every 30 days

– Is mail next?

Direct Marketing Association

• AOL and Yahoo charging for guaranteed e-mail delivery– Nothing to worry about?– DMA is neutral as long as a free channel

remains open– One supplier member favors the charge

• We’ll send marketing messages as free e-mail• We’ll go after invoices and bills in the US Mail

now and go into the guaranteed e-mail delivery

Direct Marketing Association

Online Ad PlacementAffiliate Marketing

• 3 US Senators ask Ad Associations:– Do your members’ know where their on-line

ads are seen and by whom?

• FTC is concerned that marketers do not know or claim not to know that their ads are “supporting” fraudulent and porn sites

Direct Marketing Association

Establish the Parameters• It is your brand

– Once trust is lost, it is difficult to gain back

• Establish the parameters of where your ads will be placed

• Get it in writing• Monitor it• It is YOUR brand!

Direct Marketing Association

Taxes• No seller becomes an unpaid tax

collector for a state where they are not located– Think of car rental taxes—usually out-of-staters

• States have not simplified– 7,000+ jurisdictions– No uniform definitions– No single audit, registration or payment

procedure– $15 billion uncollected is not true!

Direct Marketing Association

Tax on Postage

• State simplification project allows taxing delivery charges (postage)

• If paid directly to USPS, states cannot tax

• If paid to your printer or mailing house, who entered the mail on its permits, then sales tax applies

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• Expensive to fight state-by-state • Far from guaranteed victory• USPS should change how postage

can be paid to avoid this problem• DMA to MTAC—GET IT FIXED

SOON!

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International Issues

• Coalition of International DMAs meet every year at DMA Annual Conference

• International Department involved in the privacy, postal and tax issues abroad

Direct Marketing Association

THANKSI hope I haven’t put you

to sleep or, worse, frighten you

Remember, my soon to be PhD son says,

“Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!”

Direct Marketing Association

You have my permission to contact me

Jerry Cerasale202.861.2423

Jcerasale@the-dma.org