The definition they are proposing is:
"Direct Marketing. Think of it as advertising that targets an identified audience with a specific proposition. This, in turn, harnesses the power of the brand, and product or service. What really sets it apart is the call to action which allows the effectiveness of every communication to be accurately measured, even in multi-channel campaigns. This makes it an ideal vehicle both for customer acquisition and retention, through online and offline channels."
In general I think this is pretty good but I have a few thoughts that may make it better.
- Instead of telling people how to think about DM, let's tell them what it is.
- The phrase "identified audience" is too general. All marketing is aimed at an identified audience. DM is targeted at an identifiable audience. In other words, it is marketing material that is targeted at a specific individual. This individual could be anonymous like when re-targeting a banner ad but because we are targeting based on a cookie we are targeting a specific individual.
- This may be a good opportunity to build some rigour into what a DM call to action must include. A place to start would be to say that a DM call to action is SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and timed)
I am really looking forward to seeing how this project evolves and to see what definition emerges.
1 comment:
Hi Skip
Thanks for your contribution. I think the points you have made are very valid.
I think the angle we're coming from is that by gaining consensus on what DM is we should be in a position to tell them what it is. The problem currently is the confusion over a basic definition. Check Google for instance or ring the DMA.
I know what you mean about identified audience but the difference between a DM audience and an ad audience is likely to be hard data not general demographics and critical the link to a specific call to action.
I've noticed a few campaigns proposing to be DM campaigns that have used more ad agency broadcast or PR methodology and claiming a subsequent google search is the call to action. This is an example of where the confusion is creeping in.
This misses your point about specific individuals.
I believe that while a DM agency can produce non-DM campaigns, and really good ones at that, our approach is different at the conception of a campaign. Its what should define us from ad or pure-play digital agencies.
This isn't intended to be narrow minded, protecting some sacred past but helping clients in particular see what difference they should get from a DM agency as opposed to another. It starts at conception and should start again with the results.
With consensus should follow an education programme aimed at business schools, MBAs and marketing training.
That should give our bit of the industry more traction in the board room.
Any thoughts?
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