In the past five weeks, the DMA’s new chief spokesman Robert Keitch has appeared on GMTV, the BBC’s Working Lunch and London News and was quoted in national newspapers about DM-related issues including Royal Mail’s postal strike.
Unlike three years ago, when a Daily Mail’s front-page headline ‘Junk mail revolt’ was typical of press coverage during August 2006, the coverage this time is balanced.
Keitch was ‘guest of the day’ on Working Lunch last Friday and appeared on the show two weeks ago to discuss the issues of data and consumer privacy.
The appointment two months ago of Keitch as spokesperson, a role he fulfils under the job title ‘chief of membership and brand’, was a calculated attempt by the DMA to rectify negative press coverage of DM, as well as improving the DMA’s standing in the marketing community.
A published on 13 July describes Keitch as having the "unenviable task of protecting the rights of junk-mailers" but is clear about DM's benefits, best practice and technology-led future. "To think ‘let’s just bang out a million leaflets’ is not justifiable any more," Keitch told the Times.
In the about green direct marketing, Keitch tells the journalist: "Let’s not forget that one person’s junk mail is another person’s treasure trove".
The DMA is also quoted in two, three-page articles in The Environmentalist magazine. "It's a publication that not so long ago we would have struggled to get into," said Rachel Aldighieri, the DMA’s PR manager.
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