DM falls at the first hurdle … the dinner party test

Brand Republic 28-Jan-05, 07:00

Direct marketing is about more than just mailers and envelopes, but it is not easy to educate non-industry people about its scope and use of all media, writes Lucy Stafford, media director at Tri-Direct

If you've ever been sat at a dinner party and (even in the most educated of company), you mention that you work at a direct marketing agency, the majority of people immediately say "Oh you do direct mail", or worse, "junk mail", or they assume that you do creative or print and production. Rarely does anyone consider that you offer the media routes to market associated with direct marketing.

As a term, direct marketing has come to cover many very different agencies and services, so much so that there seems to be no definition of what the term now encompasses and "DM" is almost running away with us.

Say direct marketing to people with brand backgrounds and they think direct mail, and then maybe door-drops and inserts, or media that they term "below-the-line".

However, direct marketing is certainly more than just cold mail or below-the-line media. Indeed, it applies to all media, including what brand advertisers call "above-the-line" media such as press ads, radio, TV, cinema and outdoor. Interactive, new-media and online campaigns are also all perfect ways of developing direct communications and relationships with customers alongside the more niche direct marketing media such as direct mail, door-drops and inserts.

Most campaigns have some form of response element to encourage a direct communication between the consumer and the advertiser. Some companies are excellent at tracking the response and using the information gleaned to develop their marketing strategies.

In fact, more and more campaigns are moving towards brand response. In essence, these are direct response campaigns which, via the use of as many media channels as are relevant to that business, build the brand at the same time.

Direct marketing is also not limited to financial services companies and mail order catalogues. Direct marketing should be core to all companies whatever sector they operate in, because all of them need to get closer to their customers. The terminology with which you communicate with these different sectors may vary to take into account individual business objectives.

For example, a retailer may think direct marketing is not applicable to them. However, by demonstrating that footfall and revenue can increase as a consequence of direct marketing activity (and that a customer database and relationship can be developed), the case can be made for using it.

Measuring brand awareness is all very well but that does not guarantee sales. Audio equipment company Bose is a classic example of this principle. All of its advertising spend is concentrated on direct response to get return on investment. There is no budget assigned to brand building, yet the company was recognised as the coolest technology brand by Superbrands in September 2004.

In the future, all communications will be direct and the current perception that direct marketing is direct mail will be eliminated. In the meantime we need to educate the market and show that direct marketing is a process to market, not a piece of direct mail.

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