GOVERNOR SENDS WELCOME TO DMA06 ATTENDEES

San Francisco, CA, October 16, 2006 — DMA06 kicked off this morning with a welcome from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In his welcoming letter, Schwarzenegger said California was honored to host the world’s largest gathering of marketing professionals. "Direct marketing is very important to the California economy, generating an estimated $214 billion in sales revenue and providing almost 1.2 million jobs for our residents. I applaud you and your distinguished member companies for selling a wide variety of products that are made or grown in our state and for doing business with local companies."

Charlene Zettel, director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, delivered the official welcome on behalf of the Governor, and spoke to the opening session crowd about the important work DMA does in promoting responsible marketing and building consumer trust. "Every day you face the challenge of reaching a culturally and linguistically diverse consumer market," Zettel said. "We, too, face the challenge of educating and assisting these same consumers."

"One of the ways the DMA is meeting its challenges is with a Strategic Plan that promotes responsible marketing and building the trust of your customers," she said. "You’re not just talking the talk, you’re walking the walk by taking customer trust to heart."

"Respecting consumer rights and upholding ethical standards is not only good for consumers, it’s good for business…building consumer trust is making an important investment that will be repaid many times over in customer loyalty," Zettel added.

In particular, Zettel praised DMA for its ongoing participation in the statewide identity theft summits sponsored by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Department of Consumer Affairs. "Both the Department of Consumer Affairs and DMA share a commitment to fighting identity theft and promoting personal information data security," said Zettel. "Working together, we’re battling identity thieves, hackers, spammers, phishers and pharmers. We’re fighting these scams today. And we’ll be alongside you fighting whatever the crooks cook up tomorrow."

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In 2006, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – will spend an estimated $166.5 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate an estimated $1.93 trillion in incremental sales. This year, direct marketing will account for 10.3 percent of total US GDP. Also, there are today 1.7 million direct marketing employees in the US alone. Their collective sales efforts directly support 8.8 million other jobs. That accounts for 10.5 million US jobs.