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Online opportunities for direct marketing

October 29, 2003 |

Of the multitude of channels that come under the umbrella of direct marketing, new media are the fastest growing and still offer the most potential for effective long-term growth.

Of the multitude of channels that come under the umbrella of direct marketing, new media are the fastest growing and still offer the most potential for effective long-term development and growth. In 2002 alone, marketing expenditure on new media rose by 16% to £525m, an ever growing portion of the £11.9bn invested in DM as a whole.

This increasing confidence by clients to invest in channels such as email and SMS is also reflected in new research from the Direct Marketing Association’s census, which indicates that email and Web addresses now appear on 80% of newspaper, 64% of magazine and 62% of regional press ads.

But this growth is by no means guaranteed, and marketers need to be fully aware of the legislative and logistical pitfalls of new media. 2003 has been dominated by talk of legislation set out in the EU Directive for both email and SMS, requiring marketers to seek opt-in by consumers if they’re planning to communicate with them via these channels. This is at odds with existing laws for traditional direct mail, which can be sent on an opt-out basis.

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