A Whole Lot of Shake=up Going on

I don’t want to rail on the Direct Marketing Association, but as noted by one of the comments on my earlier posting titled “DMA/AIM – New Direction, The press machine has been cranking at DMA headquarters this week.   Several senior staffers were let go and there was a shuffling of the management team.  It will be interesting to see how the changes impact the associations relationship with the email and online community.

The DMA’s position has long been at odds with legitimate permission email marketing community, but my sense has always been that this has been a position embraced by old-time leadership. I don’t think they “got it,” and figured that old world concepts (mailing tons of direct mail pieces to everyone you could find that fit within your target market) worked in a new world.  They don’t! While I am encouraged by the change, I am also concerned.

One DMA announcement is that the CEO of another email company (who shall remain nameless), was added to the DMA ethics board.  I'm hoping that this person's take on permission alligns with the email community, and not with the old guard at DMA.  While I applaud the addition of an emailier  and hope that this appointment will help the DMA see the way the ethical email community is trying to help clients email the right way.

At heart,  I am a supporter of the DMA, have been a member for a long time, and owe an alligance to the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF) for getting me into the industry,  I hope they get it right!

Comments

[Ben Ice]

Is that a reference to a previous post? I'd like to buy a clue please.

I know the previously mentioned CEO, and feel the person will certainly bring more attention to the needs of legitimate emailers. I am encouraged by the differentiation that seems to be occuring within the DMA between legal UCE and just plain spam, but these are baby's first steps and are along way from walking without falling.

[Michael Wexler]

Actually, another emailer has also just joined the ethics committee... one with perhaps less flamboyance and reputation than the un-named CEO, but still a good head on his shoulders. Check your favorite source of press releases for the news.