I have included the introduction to this stage of the latest study which is very relevant to our industry, in particular due to the authors credentials. I will be posting extracts of the study over the next few weeks which, I’m sure, will appear in the media over the next few months probably out of context but at least as interesting articles.

INTRODUCTION/FORWARD to the study.

We’ve all heard the expression that “Perception is Reality” and this second phase of the Sustainability tracking study certainly bears that out. When asked to rank communication methods by their impact on the environment, the widely held belief that digital media are “greener” comes to the fore. Predictably e-mail comes out on top and printed communication at the bottom.  Yet the facts aren’t anything like as clear cut. One recent study for instance showed that data centres account for nearly 2 per cent of the UK’s energy use (or about the same as the aviation industry), while another suggests that paper may be the only truly sustainable communication medium.

Genuinely independent comparison of the different communication channels is still difficult to find and varies country by country. For instance, there is a big difference if the energy comes from hydro–electric installations instead of burning fossil fuels. But the public perception is still based primarily on whether it’s something that they can see and feel.

It’s also interesting to see the how media coverage has a direct impact on consumer perceptions. About two years ago, there were calls in the media for plastic bags to be banned – usually accompanied by emotive pictures of wildlife whose death had been caused by one. This phase of the tracking study has seen the number of people perceiving plastic bags as the most “potentially damaging to the environment” product drop by 14% since the autumn of 2008. Admittedly there have been some initiatives by retailers, but the absence of media coverage has undoubtedly helped to change consumer perceptions.

This second phase of the tracking study also confirms some of the previous findings in that how you promote your goods and services – not just the way you communicate but the methods you use – can have an impact on consumers’ perception of your brand or company. If you continue to use paper based communications – which the research shows are often the consumers’ preferred method – then you need to explain why you’re doing it.

The paper industry is aware of its bad environmental image and is working on some simple messages for advertisers to use on printed marketing material. It’s not easy changing perceptions but maybe if the industry spent more time explaining why paper isn’t “bad” we could start to change the consumers’ view.

Alex Walsh

Associate Director of Membership Services

Direct Marketing Association

Note: ‘What beats recycling? NON PRODUCTION!’

It’s also a FACT that removing deceased and gone-away names prior to mailing saves money.  The chart below shows the MASSIVE SAVINGS which can be made by simply removing names which are known to be deceased or gone-away.

Data Cleansing Cost Comparison

With over 6 million people moving address every year and over half a illion people being registered deceased, your data can decay at a rate of about 7% per annum.  So on a data file of 100,000 names there could be as many as 7,000 un-deliverables!

Screening data prior to mailing also provides ADDITIONAL SAVINGS by deleting records not meeting the standards required to qualify for extra postal discounts under the new Royal Mail Sustainable Mail scheme, visit the Royal Mail website for more details.

W8Data will provide you with a clear and concise summary of your data, recommend the next steps and help you to make your data work harder for you.  Just call 01489 796559 or email sales@w8data.com for your FREE data audit.

“It is still a volatile market, but the green agenda is still very high on people’s list,” says J&G Environmental customer care manager Richard Spreadbury. “It’s all about the bottom line. The environment has a role to play in business.”

There are few businesses out there that can deliver cost savings to third party clients while providing an extra income stream to the printer under the green banner.

Philip Chadwick, PrintWeek, 29 April 2010. Marc Ryan, W8data,  4th May 2010

After all, it is effective way of increasing ROI and savings for the end user and it drives revenue for resellers. Despite this, 2009 was not the boom year for suppression that many had originally predicted and no-one has felt this more than the data bureaux battling it out on the frontline.

In order for us to weather the current financial storm, we need to understand why things have been so tough for those of us offering suppression services. Perhaps it’s because companies are more focused on surviving and have put good data strategy at the bottom of their boardroom agendas. Or it could be that data volumes have fallen to their lowest level for 20 years?

SPA, which was set up a couple of years ago to both promote and demystify suppression, has continued with its audit programme (both overt and covert) that have identified that clients and resellers have very different perceptions about where suppression sits within the marketing mix. The latest audits show that misunderstanding and confusion still prevail among those bureaux audited.

It was found that the staff responsible for compiling the royalty reports had insufficient help and best practice guidelines from suppression providers. It is therefore of little surprise to find that most of the bureaux audited were found to have mistakes (some large, some small) in their reporting.

SPA recognises that there needs to be greater uniformity in both terminology and practice from your data suppliers and that we need to strive to encourage a higher level of engagement when it comes to providing royalty reports. Ultimately, it is never too late to update and improve your suppression practices. As has always been the case, good data strategy will save you money, protect your brand and enhance you relationship with your clients.

By Colin Lloyd, chairman of the Suppression Providers Alliance

‘The magazine also became associated with free gifts – from pens and alarm clock radios to encyclopaedias – as it looked to lure new readers. However, Reader’s Digest has failed to shake off its image as a publication favoured by older people and in dentists’ and doctors’ waiting rooms. Despite attempts to modernise, including launching an online edition, its readership in the UK has fallen dramatically from about two million in the 1990s. “In many cases its readers have been, quite literally, dying off, and nobody has been replacing them,” said BBC correspondent Nick Higham. “And the underlying business, like lots of other magazines has struggled, as people bought fewer of them as they migrated to the internet. That has made life very difficult.” As reported on the BBC news channel, 17/2/10.

Could the records held by the company have been put to better use with more use made of data cleansing and suppression bureaus? Often overlooked as a method for reducing company cost, data cleansing should be initiated at the start of any costs saving exercise. It is criminal how much miss-directed direct mail falls on the door mat, residential and corporate. Apart from the environmental impact which is now a major topic of conversation the man hours spent dealing with the knock on effect, mail rooms, IT dept’s, etc is very  costly to business.

The benefits of clean data are all positive: cross departmental savings; increased personalization; improvement in brand perception; reduction in carbon footprint; increase in ROI. Adam Crozier, the former chief exec of Royal Mail, was a supporter of direct mail marketing, not a surprise you might say given his role and employer, but it has to be done well to yield effective results.

These meaner economic times are terrific for focussing the finance directors senses. It is a group responsibility to highlight the services and benefits data cleansing can have and one that should be maintained when the economy pulls through this downturn. Imagine the ROI when the consumer has funds to spend…

Direct marketing basics such as targeting and measurability are still viewed as pivotal to commercial success. As a marketer from a large retailer reports in the survey: “Direct mail still provides one of the highest returns on investment when carried out in a targeted and controlled way.”

And another marketer from the financial sector adds “DM is often overlooked as ‘expensive’. But in terms of offering measurability of campaign and marketing spend effectiveness, it is second to none as a channel for customer acquisition.”

Of course data cleansing provides a key role in the Direct Marketing process and will help to:

• Improve the brand image of any DM.
• Significantly increase the return on investment.
• Save money on postage and printing costs
• Help comply with the Data Protection Act 1998

Data Cleansing Service have long championed the importance of ‘getting it right’ when addressing consumers with offers and this fresh survey certainly supports that view. In addition there are, of course, the environmental issues to consider with poorly addressed communications.

There is also a very important issue identified by the research – and that is the fact that 55% would not contact the company to update or correct their data. The more affluent the individual, the less likely they are to do this, with 70% of those having a household income over £40,000 and 61% of homeowners saying they would not bother.

Other key findings from the survey are available on our website.