DMA Honored to Have White House Support for Our Self- Regulatory Program

February 23, 2012 — In a West Wing ceremony today, the White House gathered the leaders on the issue of privacy to launch the Administration’s “Privacy Bill of Rights.” The ceremony recognized executives from companies and associations that have led the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) and its Self-Regulatory Program, including the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

The event featured National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, Commerce Secretary John Bryson and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “The recognition by the Administration of our self-regulatory code of conduct represents a milestone for American businesses and consumers,” said Lawrence M. Kimmel, CEO of the Direct Marketing Association. “The Digital Advertising Alliance’s (DAA) self-regulatory program standards will help ensure America remains the innovative leader in the information economy while providing consumers control over their data choices. The DAA standards -- and the information they provide to consumers -- enable them to make smart, informed choices about the data they provide, just as nutrition labels do with the food they consume. Knowledge begets healthier outcomes.”

In a letter to DMA membership directly following the event, the CEOs leading DAA – Lawrence M. Kimmel, Chief Executive Officer, Direct Marketing Association; Nancy Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer, the American Association of Advertising Agencies; Bob Liodice, President and Chief Executive Officer, the Association of National Advertisers; and Randall Rothenberg, President & Chief Executive Officer, the Interactive Advertising Bureau – said the following:

"We are honored that the White House this morning has endorsed the work of the Digital Advertising Alliance and our participating associations - the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) - in creating robust self-regulation to protect consumer privacy rights and expectations in the advertising-supported Internet.

But today marks not the end of a journey, but the beginning of an important collaboration among government, business, and consumer organizations to assure that the free Internet - the most vibrant, diverse and decentralized medium ever created - can continue to flourish, in the United States and around the world.

Central to the value proposition of the Internet is trust. Consumers must trust that their personal data will be kept private and secure, as they surf the Web aboard myriad devices seeking news, services, and entertainment tailored to their very personal interests.

Also central to the promise of digital media is advertising. While brilliant technologists laid the pipes, it was the promise of profit that has drawn the entrepreneurial energy of millions of our citizens to the Internet. That's no surprise: America is a land of commerce, and advertising is the engine of commerce. American commerce, as Tocqueville noted, "attracts the attention of the public and fills the imagination of the multitude; all energetic passions are directed to it." We see those energetic, advertising-driven passions every day in our associations, not just in giant, brand-name publishing, advertising, marketing and retailing companies, but in the tens of thousands of small businesses, in every state, in every Congressional district, that have been built on the foundation of the ad-supported Internet. Today, the advertising-supported Internet represents 2.1% of total US gross domestic product, according to a landmark study by Harvard Business School Professors John Deighton and John Quelch. A total of 3.1 million Americans are employed thanks to interactive advertising.

When the DMA, ANA, 4A's and IAB came together four-and-a-half years ago to form what is now the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), we built our coalition on one big idea: Without trust, there would be no Internet advertising, and without Internet advertising, this great engine of economic growth and cultural diversity would likely turn into little more than an interesting curiosity. Joined subsequently by the AAF, NAI and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, we determined to build a meaningful self-regulatory mechanism that could be quick, flexible, and assertive - a program that could assure consumers that their privacy rights and expectations would be met by the major publishers, marketers, and agencies deploying advertising in digital media.

This is also a program that gives businesses clear ground rules, educates consumers how to protect themselves while taking advantage of interactive media's powerful capabilities, and will promote continual innovation.

We thank the Administration for supporting the power of business self-regulation. But most of all, we thank the members of the DAA and their constituencies, who are proving again that consumers ARE the economy, and that doing right by consumers will promote economic growth.”

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About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the world’s largest trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including half of the Fortune 100 companies.

In 2012, marketers — commercial and nonprofit —will spend $168.5 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 52.7 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate approximately $2.05 trillion in incremental sales. In 2012, direct marketing accounts for 8.7 percent of total US gross domestic product and produces1.3 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 7.9 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.2 million US jobs.

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