Getting the recognition best DM campaigns deserve
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Vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK Rory Sutherland argues whether it will be direct marketing that saves the whale?
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24/02/2011
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Direct marketing is sometimes dismissed as above-the-line advertising’s dowdier sister, but its influence on social movements and new ways of doing business is huge.
Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK, and chairman of the 2010 DMA Awards panel of judges explains why he thinks the DMA Awards remain so important.
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“I know it’s a bold claim to say that DM “saved the whale”, but let me explain….. Unlike above-the-line advertising, DM is scalable. In conventional marketing, either you have a spare £5m to spend on a mass media campaign or you don’t. There is no in between. DM is accessible to all. Budgets of any size can afford to buy a direct marketing campaign.
“This is important because it means even challenger brands can afford to communicate one-to-one with their customers, or, in the case of charities, with their supporters. There is little chance that Greenpeace would have been able to afford a mass media campaign to raise public awareness of their cause. It was their use of direct marketing combined with PR that galvanised public support, raised funds and directed a social movement to take action in protecting whales from imminent extinction.
“Similarly, consider the likes of internet retailing giants such as Amazon and Ocado. Millions of UK consumers buy their groceries, CDs, books and suchlike online, saving them the chore of having to set foot in shops. Britons lead the world in the amount they spend online. We mostly attribute this trend to technology, but the business model of the Amazons and Ocados of the world is directly descended from the catalogue and mail order companies of the nineteenth century – the wellspring of the direct marketing industry."
“These are just two examples of how DM has contributed so much to society over the years, but for which it has received little credit" says Rory.
- With the An Post Direct Marketing Awards we are celebrating the very best of Irish direct marketing. In 2011 we are on a quest to reward excellence achieved through exceptional return on investment, outstanding results, inspiring innovation and cut-through creativity. If you think any of your campaigns is the stuff of legend check An Post Direct Marketing Awards 2011.
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