The DMA Releases The 2005 Postal & E-mail Marketing Report

2005 Edition Suggests a Confident Outlook Regarding Business Conditions

New York, August 3, 2005 — The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA) today released the 2^ND edition of The DMA 2005 Postal & E-Mail Marketing Report, which provides direct marketers easy access to essential data on promotional marketing uses of both traditional mail and e-mail. The report was conducted in cooperation with The DMA List & Database Council and focuses on 2003 and 2004 benchmarks.

“The evolution of e-mail as a direct marketing channel, coupled with new direct mail opportunities and challenges, have created unique dynamics that beg strategic direction,” said Ann Zeller, vice president, information & special projects, The DMA. “This DMA report provides significant trendlines from calendar years 2001- 2004 that direct marketers can use to gauge their own trials and efforts and provide direction for effective strategic planning.”

Compiled by The DMA Research Department, this report represents the “newest generation” of The DMA’s former Annual List Usage Survey, which covered “postal” mailing trends since the early 1980’s.

The 2005 Postal & E-Mail Marketing Report addresses mailing patterns in terms of volumes and frequencies from 2001 to 2003 and expectations for 2004. It also examines the balance of marketing to house and prospecting files, response results, and the reasons that drove increases and decreases in volumes and frequencies to each target group. In addition, the study provides insight into a broad range of list techniques used to improve up-front and back-end performance in both postal and e-mail campaigns.

A key goal of this research is to assist direct marketers to understand the developing dynamics of both postal and e-mailing practices and use the resulting data to strike a profitable balance between the two mail channels.

The 2004 survey identifies major issues facing the industry and tracks trends with respect to members:

Mailing patterns (i.e., mailing quantity, frequency, peak mailing time, etc.);
Use of outside and housefile names;
Response information;
Use of alternative media distribution options;
List rental/exchange practices information;
Marketing database strategies and uses;
Cross-selling and up-selling strategies; and
Customer service technologies.

The study results also show emerging trends in the different applications for postal mail and e-mail to drive and upgrade offline and online sales, cross-selling across product lines and retail and online channels, as well as to improve retention, increase purchase frequency, and reacquire former customers.

Print and CD-ROM versions can be ordered through The DMA Bookstore Online at www.the-dma.org/bookstore or by calling 800.344.8328. The price of the book, in either the print or online format, is $295 for DMA members and $495 for non-members.

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About The DMA

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading trade association for businesses and organizations interested in direct, interactive, and database marketing, which in 2004 generated more than $2.3 trillion in US sales, including $143.3 billion in catalog sales and $52.5 billion in Web-driven sales. In addition to catalogs and the Web, DMA members employ a wide variety of marketing media, including mail, e-mail, telephone, newspapers and magazines, interactive television, and radio, among others. Founded in 1917, The DMA today has more than 5,200 corporate, affiliate, and chapter members from the US and 44 other nations, including 55 companies listed on the Fortune 100. Reflecting the significant and growing role that direct marketing plays in today's advertising mix, The DMA's membership represents marketers from every business segment, including catalogers, Internet retailers, retail stores, nonprofit organizations, advertising agencies, financial services providers, book and magazine publishers, book and music clubs, industrial manufacturers, and a host of other vertical segments, as well as the service industries that support marketers.

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