Following our agreement with DEFRA and the decision to partner with Planet Ark, it became obvious that the direct mail industry could no longer shy away from addressing the junk mail image. By failing to acknowledge this consumer term, I believe we would continually struggle to change perceptions of a media which may have merited such a title in its infancy, but which has now matured to become a sophisticated communications tool generating more than £25bn-worth of business each year.
So, can direct mail ever lose its junk mail tag? In many ways, I believe it already has. Despite some consumer dissatisfaction, there is a growing awareness of the difference between unsolicited mail and addressed direct mail. Consumers are also now understanding their rights and powers. Awareness of the Mailing Preference Service has improved dramatically, and it became apparent during the Planet Ark environmental campaign that consumers were acknowledging the difference between good direct mail, which was targeted, and bad direct mail, which was labelled as junk.
The launch of the next stage of our Planet Ark environmental drive, this time focusing on suppression, is yet another way of emphasising consumer choice. We still have a long way to go to rid ourselves of the junk mail image, but by continually highlighting to consumers the choices they have and the benefits of direct mail, I believe we will get there in the end.
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