Hot industry topics

Opt-in or opt-out?

On 24th May, the government published Waste Strategy for England 2007. This outlines the vision for sustainable waste management. Amongst other stakeholders, businesses are being called upon to take more responsibility for the environmental impact of their products and operations by increasing the use of recycled materials and by introducing waste reduction measures.

But what does this mean for direct mail? Defra are keen to develop a service which allows consumers to opt-out of receiving unaddressed mail. In response to the scheme, the Direct Marketing Association has made clear to Defra that they are happy to work with them to find the best route to implement the strategy within the industry. This has increased focus on the opt-in/opt-out debate. The report appeals to businesses to "explore the scope for an opt-in mechanism" for direct mail. The DMA comments that they will "continue to champion marketers' commercial freedoms, within the bounds of existing consumer protection mechanisms".

The DMA support voluntary means such as the Mailing Preference Service rather than legislation as a way of controlling direct mail. They argue that an opt-out scheme could be detrimental to both DMA members and consumers. The Royal Mail's ability to offer a competitive price to the consumer could be challenged with the removal of revenue generated by direct mail. Furthermore, a number of jobs in the direct mail market could be threatened. As well as encouraging the recycling of direct mail (agreeing to raise recycling levels to 70% by the end of 2013), the DMA will also provide it's members with the tools and information to tackle environmental issues.

A key method to reducing waste is by better targeting of addressed direct mail. Through regular suppression with products such as QuickAddress Batch with Suppression, your database can be cleaned against those subscribed to preferences services therefore enabling effective profiling and segmentation. In addition, profiling information such as Lifestyle data can help you to target campaigns more effectively.

The DMA will be holding further meetings with Defra ministers and similar bodies in Scotland and Wales in the coming months.