Direct Marketing Association Announces Agreement with the Universal Postal Union

New York, NY, April 2, 2009 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today announced its agreement and signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Universal Postal Union (UPU). The Memorandum was signed earlier this morning by DMA President and CEO, John Greco and Edouard Dayan, general director of the UPU, at the International Bureau, UPU’s headquarters in Berne, Switzerland.

The agreement will enable both organizations to have closer collaboration in areas such as information exchange, training, research, environmental protection, and funding of UPU-targeted projects. During today’s signing, Mr. Dayan remarked that the agreement “focuses on one of the most important business opportunities for the Post: direct mail and direct marketing,” adding that the two are “closely related to e-commerce and to other electronic media, converging in order to fulfill the needs of the customers of the Post — many of which are represented by associations like DMA.”

DMA is committed to keeping every channel open and economically viable. According to the UPU, direct mail and postal products and services related to direct marketing made up at least a third of domestic letter post volumes worldwide, accounting for 38 percent in 2007.

“This is an important partnership for DMA and we are pleased to play an integral role. All marketing is becoming direct, continuing to develop and flourish in regions around the globe,” said John Greco, DMA president and CEO. “Direct marketing is ever-evolving and becoming an increasingly multichannel, data driven process favored by all types of business. DMA, together with the UPU, will continue to be on the forefront and lead the way for creating benchmarks, leveraging best practices, and increased effectiveness of the global multichannel marketplace through education, professional development and training, as well as networking and market making opportunities.”

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 more than 3,400 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2008, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $176.9 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 52.1 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $2.057 trillion in incremental sales. Last year, direct marketing accounted for approximately 10 percent of total US gross domestic product. Also, there are today 1.6 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 9.3 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 10.9 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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