by richhthfc
30. July 2009 13:10
The Direct Marketing Industry, lead largely by the DMA, have been working hard to change the image of the industry so that it is perceived as an industry trying to help the environment. The most obvious example of where they are succeeding is in the creation of the new PAS 2020 standard, which in turn has been used by the Royal Mail as the basis for its mailsort discount scheme Sustainable Mail.
Consider, for a moment, the consequences of doing nothing regarding the environment: sending brochures to goneaways and deceased just from the brochure to get thrown in the bin; collecting address data so inadequately that it results in a postman marking it as undeliverable and sending it all the way back to you. The eventual consequence could be that legislation will be introduced in the UK similar to the new laws that have just been announced in Germany. The DM industry might eventually be forced to clean up under the government rules rather than have the opportunity to suggest its own best solution. From September in Germany, the new law there marks a change in paradigm from 'opt-out' to 'opt-in' for the use of personal data for marketing purposes.
This is just one more significant reason why it is so important to continue data cleansing. Using data8online you can address the main data challenges of PAS 2020 to help ensure that you comply with the standard. PAF Cleansing, Goneaway Suppression, Deceased Suppression and MPS suppression are the most obvious services to use. But we also have Stop Files that will allow you to import lists of unsubscribers to ensure that you remove them from other marketing lists.