Wednesday, January 9, 2008

DMA's New Mail Preference Service


It's always bugged me that the Direct Marketing Association charged consumers to put themselves on a Do Not Mail suppression file, used by the industry to scrub lists of people who really don't want to receive direct mail. Yes, the fee was only one small dollar, but this fee rankled consumers who are sick of junk mail. I can't tell you how many articles I've read complaining about it.

And, believe me, direct marketers don't need more bad press...

Well, the DMA announced today that they've not only gotten rid of the $1 fee, but that they've enhanced the service.

DMA Unveils Free Online Service; Enhances DMAChoice to Meet Consumers' Needs for Choice in Catalog Mailings

In a nutshell, along with the elimination of the $1 fee, consumers can now opt-out of mailing lists by individual brand and ask not to receive specific catalogs.

“DMA’s Mail Preference Service, part of DMAChoice, is now the most effective and secure way for consumers to only receive the mail they want and to express their preferences for mailings they do not want — it’s all about relevance,” said DMA President & CEO John A. Greco, Jr."

What do we think of this? It's about time that our industry gives consumers a way to record their choices and preferences in terms of the types of direct mail they want to receive (or the type they really DON'T want). Now, marketers just need to listen and abide by these wishes.

RRW is all about respecting consumers' wishes, and we applaud the DMA for introducing this new service.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad they started this and stopped charging $1 -- I will check it out.

I have found other services that help too. proquo.com is great because its free. Then there is 41pounds and greendimes, but they have fees I think.

Suzanne Ortiz said...

Thanks for those services. I'll check them out!