Smith quit the Prospect Shop in January with no job to go to. Her decision is thought to have been sparked by differences over the business's strategy.
The move came as a shock to the data industry because Smith built The Prospect Shop from a start-up in the list industry to a data managment firm and broker with a turnover of more than 拢3m in just three-and-a-half years. However, it was widely expected that she would resurface with her own independent list firm.
RSA Direct will offer strategic targeting advice for UK and international mailers alongside traditional list brokerage and management services.
It will focus on bringing new properties to the list market and revitalising sales on mature products.
Smith, who has more than 15 years in the business behind her as a former managing director of Mardev and The Prospect Shop, said: "RSA Direct will approach data sourcing and sales from an independent perspective. We will cover consumer, business-to-business and international markets. Flexible, consultancy-led arrangements that put the client's best interests first are the way forward."
She will be joined by two former Prospect Shop colleagues -- Liz Pickering, a business-to-business specialist, and Tracy Gibson, who has worked with business-to-consumer data.
Gibson, who has also worked at IBIS, Mardev and DMI, beileves there is strong future for B2B mailers working across media channels.
"As business mailers are coming out of recession, they are looking for data sourcing skills that can span email and telemarketing as well as direct mail. There has to be a more integrated approach to data," she said.
Pickering, a consumer specialist who has worked with most of the UK鈥檚 largest mailers, said: "Many of the bigger mailers are increasing their volumes after a seeing customer acquisition fall last year. Testing is back in fashion."
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