Where is DM heading in 08

While there is no Direct Marketing crystal ball, the annual DM Conference in Chicago last October provided some clues for the year ahead.

In the US, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have lost their homes due to the subprime phenomenon, the Direct Marketing world looks very positive.

Recent Direct Marketing gains in the US, have been fuelled not only by email and mobile marketing but also by Direct Response TV (always a greatly underutilised channel in our part of the world). There has even been modest growth in the old fashioned channels of direct mail and telemarketing. (Remember them?)

Of course, the big drama is online. Marketers from nearly all sectors are exploring the social media landscape. It is all part of an effort by astute direct marketers to be where their prospects and customers are when their audience is ready to engage.

US Direct Marketing spending growth - 07 (actual) versus 08 (projected)


% Growth in 07% Growth in 08
Catalogues 4.0 4.2
Mail 5.2 5.2
Internet 23.1 21.3
TV 7.0 7.3
Total 6.1 6.3
(includes some channels
not listed)

Total advertising in the US this year is expected to go up by 7.5% to $528 billion with the Olympics and the US elections creating a spike. At the same time, DM is expected to grow by 6.3% to $114 billion.

Regarding direct response TV, US forecasts are suggesting:

• That while long-form direct response television spots have traditionally been used to sell household items,
• Other industries, such as the insurance and reverse mortgage fields, are now embracing longer spots, and
• They are taking advantage of its ability to provide more information than a 30-second commercial.

With the move to online, agencies and marketers need to understand digital media options and how to design for the medium.

The Mobile Marketing Association in the US says that by the end of 2008, some 89% of brands will use text and multimedia messaging to reach their audiences. Nearly one third of advertisers are planning to spend more than 10% of their marketing budgets online.

In B-to-B, the prediction is that there will be much more integration across the customer buying process. Integration may not sound new, but during the year ahead it may well get the attention it deserves in business markets.

In the past, the problem has been siloed management of the customer relationship throughout the life cycle. This is how it has worked:

• ‘Corporate Communications’ conducts its awareness campaign
• Direct marketers generate leads
• The call centre nurtures the leads
• The sales force takes over and the marketers lose complete touch
• All the while, brand value is eroded due to the whole experience being disjointed for the customer.

Now, due to a more heightened awareness of the importance of a seamless customer experience, business marketers are moving towards more effective management of the customer relationship. And my reaction to that is: ‘it’s about time’.