DMA Board Approves Online Behavioral Advertising & Mobile Marketing Guidelines for Interactive Marketing

San Diego, CA, October 19, 2009 — The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Board of Directors today announced the unanimous approval of recommended additions to DMA’s Guidelines for Ethical Business Practices for online behavioral marketing and mobile marketing, respectively.

“DMA, through its committees and self-regulatory process, examined and established a core set of guidelines for responsible and effective marketing practices in the ever-changing mobile and online channels,” said John Greco, DMA President & CEO. “The Board’s action codifies these guidelines into the official DMA membership requirements and actively demonstrates self-regulation to policymakers and legislators. Moreover, this action underscores and extends DMA’s overarching “Commitment to Consumer Choice” (CCC) objectives into the interactive marketplace which is increasingly important to companies and organizations looking to the Internet and its remarkable possibilities.”

DMA’s Commitment to Consumer Choice mission states that DMA members are committed to protecting individual privacy; to offering marketing preference choices to consumers and donors in ways that secure continued self-regulation and growth of direct marketing across channels. The new online behavioral advertising and mobile marketing guidelines were developed with this mission in mind.

The longstanding guidelines for online and mobile marketing were developed and reviewed through DMA’s Ethics Policy Committee, member segments, Councils, and government affairs experts. The guidelines will be enforced by DMA’s Committee on Ethical Business Practices through its casework process, as well as through complaint monitoring and other collaborative efforts to track compliance.

“Marketers are using the interactive marketing channels in new and exciting ways to engage with consumers in a positive way to meet their expectations for added control and preferences,” continued Greco. “We believe such innovation can be matched with strong self-enforcement to meet the concerns of today’s consumer in a secure and responsive marketing environment.”

Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA) Guidelines Summary

The Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA) guidelines were developed by the Ethics Committee to emulate and underscore the seven Self-Regulatory Principles that were set forth by DMA; the Association of National Advertisers; the American Association of Advertising Agencies; the Interactive Advertising Bureau; and the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Please click here to view these practical, self-regulatory guidelines.

Online Behavioral Advertising is defined as the collection of information from a particular computer or device (rather than from an individual consumer) regarding Web viewing behaviors over time and across non-Affiliate websites to use such information to predict user preferences or interests to deliver relevant ads to the computer or device based on the preferences inferred from such behaviors. Those that engage in OBA will need to comply with the new provisions, while online publishers and website owners are reminded to adhere to existing DMA online guidelines, and to inform users if OBA is conducted on their websites.

Highlights of the new rules include:

-When information is collected from or used on a website for online behavioral advertising purposes, visitors should be provided with notice (easy to find, read, and understand) about the third party’s policies for online behavioral advertising.

-Third parties should provide notice in one of the following ways:

through a clear, meaningful, and prominent link described in or proximate to the advertisement delivered on the Web page where information is collected;
on DMA’s approved website(s), such as DMAchoice.org or another comprehensive industry-developed website(s), that is linked from the disclosure that describes the fact that information is being collected for online behavioral advertising purposes;
on the web page where the information is collected if there is an arrangement with the website operator for the provision of such notice; OR
if agreed to by the operator of the website(s) on its web page disclosing notice and choice regarding information collected for online behavioral advertising purposes.

-OBA service providers who collect and use information from URLs traversed by Web browsers across websites must get a consumer’s consent before engaging in OBA and should include an easy method for a consumer to withdraw their consent.

The guidelines also include important provisions for information security and protection of children and health and financial information, among other things.

Mobile Marketing Guidelines Summary

The mobile marketing sections are meant to expand DMA’s existing guidelines for wireless communications. Mobile marketing encompasses both direct mobile marketing sent or received by a mobile device, or indirect mobile marketing that is accessed or pulled by the individual through the device or via a mobile-enabled website. The guidelines emphasize a need for prior express consent, whether the marketing communication is business-to-business or business-to-consumer.

Highlights include:

-Notice regarding consumer preferences should be provided in the privacy policy of the mobile marketer.

-Mobile marketers should use the appropriate suppression files (DMA Wireless lists, Federal Do-Not Call registry) to ensure they are not contacting those numbers.

-Guidelines are provided for location-based marketing messages, mobile subscription services and mobile premium-rate products and services.

-There are reminders to adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and to ensure appropriate prior express consent from parents and to provide opportunities for the parent to opt out.

To review the complete DMA Guidelines, please visit www.dmaresponsibility.org and click on DMA Ethics Guidelines. For questions or concerns, or to receive notices on compliance virtual seminars and compliance alerts please email ethics@the-dma.org, or call Serenity Edwards, Director, Corporate & Social Responsibility at (202) 861.2445, or Senny Boone, SVP, Corporate & Social Responsibility at (202) 861.2498. Member virtual seminars and toolkits will be offered in the coming weeks on these new guidelines. The effective date for enforcement will be May 2010.

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 3,100 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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