Forum: Can British DM still learn from the US?

Marketing Direct 02-Oct-07

As the US DMA07 convention* starts, we ask what's new for UK DM to discover.

DAVE ALLEN, CEO, ACXIOM EUROPE

YES - More than ever, marketers are accountable for delivering results, so innovation is crucial. The US continues to lead on a number of fronts.

Take data collection. In Europe surveys are the main method, but in the US they compile data from other sources. We could learn from such practices and how to convert them into commercial products.

The US is a leader in DM technology too. It is no coincidence that most marketing automation software comes from the US.

US credit card companies conquered the UK in the 1990s, with segmentation, modelling and customer insight techniques, and these are now the benchmark. We've improved, but the techniques emanated from the US.

STEVE BARTON, PARTNER, LITMUS BLUE

MAYBE - It depends upon the area of direct marketing you are considering.

In terms of direct mail, Britons could learn from the US about mass production techniques, such as printing technology. However, the US could also learn a great deal about creativity from the UK.

I understand that best practice for digital DM is in the US, and declines as you move east. That makes us a distant second.

Britain wins in terms of mobile marketing, but the US is ahead in terms of innovations such as word-of-mouth marketing.

It's a volume thing. You don't need to be that creative when communicating to 300 million rich people.

*DMA07 runs from 13-18 October in Chicago

CHRIS MORRIS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRANSACTIS

NO - Time was when DM was all paper based and the Americans had invented all the good ideas. Innovation happened there. Savvy UK marketers debriefed them on the best ideas and implemented them over here.

But times have changed. The British have had to work harder to make models work in what is a smaller market. There are several UK companies with no equivalent model in the US. Data integration and digital are areas where the UK is no longer behind the US.

Online leaders such as Google and Facebook still prevail but UK entrants such as Friends Reunited and Bebo are catching up. I still read the US DM trade press, but I'm impressed far less often now.