YES - TED TRUETT, MARKETING PREFERENCES PROGRAMME MANAGER, LLOYDS TSB.
"You don't want junk mail and stuff, do you?" None of us would be surprised to hear this from any front-line seller as they reach the marketing section of whatever application form we, as customers, are completing.
No client knowingly wastes money on irrelevant mailing - every piece of mail we send out is in the belief that it will be of value and interest to the recipient. But life is getting increasingly difficult, even for companies with tightly targeted direct mailing strategies offering wholly appropriate products. Everyone now refers to "junk mail" and language informs feelings, so, alas, the public argument may already be lost.
In most cases there is a knee-jerk reaction already conditioned within consumers so that we often say "no" without thinking. It's now only a matter of time until we reach that tipping point where influential opinion formers, perhaps from the world of politics or the media, elicit campaigns against the 'evils' of all unsolicited marketing.
The nature of the response is depressingly inevitable and the popularity of the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) gives a clear glimpse of the future. Those that make a living from direct marketing should be prodding their current practices with a big stick and getting ready for the death of speculative mailings.
It's only a matter of time.
MAYBE - LEANNE DOUGLAS, HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING, EURODIRECT
There needs to be much change in direct mail practice before the industry can convince consumers that it is an effective and valued channel.
Junk mail has become embedded in consumers' minds as a marketing evil in the same way as telemarketing. The latter part of 2006 saw Mailing Preference Service (MPS) opt-outs soar and if they came close to TPS sign-up levels it would seriously curtail the industry's reach.
However, this does not mean the situation cannot be reversed. Direct marketers have within their grasp powerful tools that allow them to understand and target the very consumers who are turning away from direct mail.
Direct marketers should be uncovering which consumer segments are engaged by highly creative and ambitious mail packs and those that see it as a waste of money. It is this understanding that can make or break consumer opinion on direct mail.
We cannot continue to recycle the argument that direct mail works. The ferocious press coverage of so-called junk mail last year has fuelled consumer discontent and telling consumers we know better than them will only accelerate this aversion.
Putting consumers first is only the beginning. Unless the industry changes the way it uses the channel, registrations to the MPS will not slow and direct mail will become an all too distant memory.
NO - KATE AMOS, COMMERCIAL DATABASE MANAGER, FINANCIAL TIMES
People are not as sensitive about mail as they are about their telephone numbers. While it's an intrusion to receive a telephone call at your home, mail is a totally different issue.
People still find it useful to get mail such as fliers through their door. There's a lot of fuss about it, but at the end of the day people can respond to mail offers when they want, without pressure or a hard sell.
Bad telemarketing is easy to do because all you need is a phone and a few staff, but a lot more time and money goes into direct mail, so it's worth making sure your data is clean to avoid offending people.
There is a chance that MPS registrations might rise as awareness increases, and people make the connection between the MPS and the TPS.
If figures do increase, I hope the industry would step in and stop it happening because the channel is so valuable to marketers. As long as it's controlled in the right way and people remember best practice, even if there's another big media row, I don't think there will be a crisis.
It would be a shame if the MPS increased to the extent that direct mail is no longer a viable channel.