WITH FCC ACTION, DMA AWAITS FTC REPORT ON ACCURACY OF NATIONAL DO NOT CALL REGISTRY

Washington, DC, June 18, 2008 — Direct Marketing Association (DMA) Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jerry Cerasale praised the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its decision to require telemarketers to honor National Do Not Call list registrations indefinitely, and expressed anticipation for the Congressionally-mandated Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on improving the accuracy of the DNC Registry. By making its ruling, Cerasale said, the FCC is now consistent with not only Congress’ mandate in the Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, but also the FTC’s pledge last fall to retain numbers on the registry indefinitely.

“Congress was very concerned that the National Do Not Call Registry be accurate — a goal that is even more vital now that consumers' numbers remain on the registry permanently rather than for five years,” said Cerasale. "According to data that DMA members have provided, the registry is far from accurate. The FTC is currently reviewing procedures to improve accuracy, and the DMA pledges to work with the agency in an effort to make the registry as accurate as possible.”

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About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and 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 to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents nearly 3,600 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 50 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2007, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $173.2 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $2.025 trillion in incremental sales. In 2007, direct marketing accounted for 10.2 percent of total US gross domestic product. Also in 2007, there were 1.6 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported nearly 9.0 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 10.6 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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