The DMA To Participate At FTC Workshop On Telemarketing To Be Held June 5-7
NEW YORK, June 4, 2002 - The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announced today that it will appear during the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) three-day public workshop dealing with proposed amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule that were announced on January 22, 2002. The DMA will be participating in each discussion.
"We believe that our guidelines for industry self-regulation are sufficient and effective," said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president, government affairs, The DMA. "We believe that marketers should have the freedom to provide a valuable service to customers, while respecting their privacy. Our guidelines ensure that."
"Our Telephone Preference Service, which has over 4.5 million people registered nationwide, is proof that industry self-regulation does work. There's no need for a national do-not-call registry - especially one that would require marketers to finance the list," Cerasale added. "The direct and interactive marketing industry is an important component of the American economy. The FTC should not be placing the burden of the cost squarely on our shoulders."
Panel discussions will focus on a wide range of topics including:
- Proposed National Do-Not-Call Registry - safe harbor provisions, implementation and compliance
- Predictive Dialers - zero abandonment and the costs to consumers and marketers
- Caller Identification devices - state of new technology and the transmission of information
- Deceptive Practices Provisions - disclosures and prohibited misrepresentations
- Prison-Based Telemarketing - regulation issues and costs vs. benefits
The DMA is the leading trade association for businesses interested in interactive and database marketing, with nearly 5,000 member companies from the United States and 53 other nations. Founded in 1917, its members include direct marketers from every business segment as well as the nonprofit and electronic marketing sectors. Included are catalogers, Internet retailers and service providers, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, retail stores, industrial manufacturers and a host of other vertical segments, including the service industries that support them. According to a DMA-commissioned study, direct and interactive marketing sales in the United States exceeded $1.86 trillion in 2001, including $118 billion in catalog sales and $30 billion in sales generated by the Internet. The DMA's Web site is
www.the-dma.org, and its consumer Web site is www.shopthenet.org.###
***EDITOR'S NOTE: A DMA Corporate Communications representative will be on-site at the FTC Workshop from June 5-7. For more information or to schedule an interview with an executive, please contact Natalie Greaves at 212.790.1507 or ngreaves@the-dma.org.