Doldrums for
Direct Mail
FROM PUBLISHING
TRENDS (NOVEMBER 2001)
In
the waning days of October, Publishing Trends paid
a nostalgia-filled visit to Chicago’s McCormick place,
this time to the 84th Annual Direct Marketing Association
conference to see how another troubled industry deals
with adversity. Next to the direct response business
— buffeted by ever-increasing postal rates and regulations,
an economy in the doldrums and now, anthrax — trade
publishing is a problem-free, booming business. But
ask publishers in the direct mail industry how they’re
faring, and the full impact of what Bob Wientzen,
President of the DMA, called the Post Office’s
annus horribilis, will be clear.
Signaling the true extent of the devastation, officials
are not even pretending it’s business as usual. Several
seminars were added to roster at the last moment, including
“Direct Marketing in Adverse Circumstances: Gaining
Consumer Trust in Your Mail,” conducted by a postal
inspector, and another USPS session with the
unfortunate title, “Direct Mail: Hit your target every
time.” The NY Daily News’ Phyllis Furman
reported estimates of as much as $7 billion in lost
transactions by the end of this year, because of 9/11
and specifically the anthrax scare. According to Media
Buyer’s Daily, that number could rise to $20 billion
over the course of a full year.
In his opening remarks at DMA, President Wientzen quoted
an industry poll which found that 20% of consumers are
“less inclined” to open their mail, though he claimed
the impact so far has been “negligible.” Including direct
and interactive marketing, sales in the US exceeded
$1.7 trillion in 2000, including $110 billion in catalog
sales and $28 billion in sales generated by the Internet.
And some are pointing to a surge of interest in email-based
marketing in this time of postal panic (see article
below). Still, the mood at the convention was wary,
with no official estimates on turnout. The DMA offered
prospective registrants free air fare or Amtrak tickets,
but even with that, some estimate that at most, half
the projected attendance will have come this year. (Last
year 13,000 attendees showed up in New Orleans.)
Those
who did find their way to the exhibition hall also found
George Bush père at the podium, giving
the keynote address on Monday morning. Greeted by cheers
and standing ovations loud enough to suggest a roomful
of staunch and newly converted Republicans, a well-prepped
Bush was bullish on the industry, noting that “I’m a
strong believer in the work of the DMA,” and telling
the crowd, “I’m married to a black belt shopper.” He
also contributed some of the most amusing remarks of
the show, as when he claimed that mum was the word on
any political pronouncements, because his sons George
and Jeb “don’t need that grief, and neither do I.” He
admitted that the press had been treating George better
than he himself had been treated, “And oh my golly,
how I hope they stay with him.” The elder Bush, however,
was happily turning the tables: “Now, if I don’t like
your question, to hell with you.” That brought the house
down.
Elsewhere, the agenda was solidly focused on business,
with the Internet an obvious topic of interest. According
to the DMA’s State of the Catalog/Interactive Industry
Report 2001, which was released at the show (it’s
$595 for DMA members), the Internet generated 13 percent
of all catalog sales in 2000, almost a 50% increase
from a year earlier. Seventy-two percent of catalogers
said that greater visibility was the top benefit received
from the web, and half of survey respondents reported
new business opportunities. In perhaps the best news
of the show, 70% of catalogers claimed the Internet
even bumped up their revenues.
©2001
Publishing Trends
