direct marketing industry facts
It's Direct Mail, not Junk Mail !!
Lloyd James Group is proud to service the direct marketing industry. We are passionate about data and targeting and also care deeply about the environment and privacy. By clever targeting and by utilising proven data hygiene techniques we are ensuring minimum wastage and minimum environmental impact. We are active DMA members complying with all DMA recommended best practice requirements which go much further than current legislation requires. We are proud to be part of a responsible industry, an industry which suffers from lots of misguided criticism and we would like to make our website visitors aware of the positive aspects of direct marketing.
The industry:
- £125 billion of sales is generated annually as a direct result of direct marketing. Estimated sales have increased by 17% since 2004 with the internet now accounting for £52 billion or 42% of the total.
- 886,000 jobs are generated as result of direct marketing (just over 3% of the total UK workforce).
- 73% of all UK companies (with a turnover of £1 million plus) undertake some form of direct marketing (including political parties and the national press!). Of these, some 66% carry out direct mail activities.
- Many UK charities rely on direct mail to generate much needed awareness and funds for their causes.
The consumer:
- Many consumers enjoy the benefits direct mail brings in terms of convenience, value and choice
- 60% of UK consumers buy goods/services each year as a result of direct marketing. 30%+ have made 2+ purchases in the last 3 months
- Less mobile or disabled consumers can gain otherwise prohibited access to goods and services
- The DMA and its members support the consumer's right to say 'no' to direct mail and put in place the Mailing Preference Service to do just that. It is, however, important that consumers understand that by prohibiting direct marketing they will exclude themselves from hearing about a wide range of products, services and special offers in which they have a genuine interest
The environment:
- The DMA and its members are committed to the environmentally responsible use of direct mail
- In volume terms, research in 2005 showed that direct mail material accounted for approximately 2% by weight of household waste - less than 320g or the equivalent of half a bag of sugar on a weekly basis per household (source: CACI).
- The paper Industry estimates that direct mail (addressed and unaddressed mail, and loose inserts in newspapers and magazines) accounts for approximately 500,000 tonnes of paper per year or just 4.4% of paper usage - we use 12.5million tonnes of paper and cardboard every year in the UK (source: Confederation of Paper Industries)
- CEPI (Confederation of European Paper Industries) estimates that 95%+ of paper used in direct mail comes from recycled or managed resources.