New DMA Research Shows Direct Marketing Drives and Supports Branding Across All Marketing Channels

‘The Integration of DM and Brand’ Available Today

New York City, May 31, 2007 — The lines between direct marketing and brand marketing have all but disappeared, according to the results of a new survey by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The report, “The Integration of DM and Brand,” shows how direct marketing’s versatility and measurability have led marketers to integrate direct marketing tactics into all brand marketing efforts across multiple channels.

“Direct marketing’s scalability, measurability, and undeniable ROI has moved it to the forefront of all marketing, including branding,” reports Eugenia Steingold, PhD, DMA senior research manager and author of the new report. “The findings of our latest report show that direct marketing tactics designed to increase consumer awareness and action are ubiquitous — from URLs on all marketing materials, to 800 numbers, to calls-to-action in TV, radio, and print ads — and across every other type of marketing media.”

According to Peter Johnson, PhD, DMA’s vice president for research and market intelligence, “We began this report with the hypothesis that brand and direct marketers would differ substantially in their responses. But when we analyzed the data, we discovered that, for those marketers with more experience, the differences have faded away. Marketing experts are combining direct techniques into brand advertising — and in all media, too.”

In addition, Dr. Johnson pointed out that, “Our findings indicate an extremely active multichannel marketplace, where traditional direct marketing tactics are being put to work alongside the Internet and other ‘new’ media in ways that achieve enhanced results.”

The new DMA report examines how direct marketing and brand building are being integrated in today’s multichannel environment to increase response rates, sales, profitability, and brand awareness. The report benchmarks, among other things, current branding practices, direct marketing’s impact on brand marketing, measurement of brand campaigns, and the impact of brand marketing on direct marketing.

The following are some of the DMA report’s key findings:

· Overall, 56 percent of respondents utilize one or more direct marketing channels in conjunction with their brand awareness advertising.

· 50 percent report using Web marketing with response mechanisms; 48 percent use trackable offers; 43 percent practice list building; 45 percent include calls-to-action on Web pages; and 32 percent use response analyses and modeling.

· Email marketing is also commonly combined with a range of direct marketing tactics. For example, 52 percent of respondents use calls-to-action in their emails; 50 percent use targeting; 47 percent include trackable offers and response mechanisms; and 46 percent practice email list building.

· Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing (SEM) show significant utilization among respondents: 28 percent pair SEO/SEM with response mechanisms, 31 percent use SEO with targeting, and 25 percent use search engine data for list building.

· On average, respondents report that 64 percent of their marketing dollars are allocated to direct marketing, and 36 percent go toward mass marketing.

· Nearly 70 percent of brand marketers rate personalization as having a positive or strong positive effect on brand; and 64 percent rate targeting as having a positive or strong positive effect.

· Of those surveyed, 30 percent target their TV ads, 28 percent include a call-to-action and 26 percent include response mechanisms such as an 800 number or URL. These data support the observation that direct marketing tactics are effective even within traditional mass-marketing channels.

For additional information about or to purchase “The Integration of DM and Brand,” visit DMA’s online bookstore at www.the-dma.org/bookstore or http://www.the-dma.org/bookstore/cgi/displaybook?product_id=009422. The cost of the report is $295 for DMA members and $545 for non-members.

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 3,600 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 50 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2006, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $166.5 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated $1.93 trillion in incremental sales. Last year, direct marketing accounted 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.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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