Direct Mail Down Under

Over 90% of senior executives in the Australian direct mail industry believe that the country's new Privacy Act will impact on their businesses to some extent. This is according to the detailed findings of the first ACNielsen MailTrack survey of Australian direct mail online released this week.

The survey also reveals that over half (56%) of all direct mail activity 'down under' is aimed at consumers, and the remainder at businesses. Communications, mail houses and advertising agencies all appear to have a fairly even split of business between consumer and B2B. On the other hand, the overwhelming majority (95%) of present day activity from finance/insurance industries is targeted towards consumers, whilst (84%) of all list brokerage direct mailing is actually targeted towards B2B.

Gayle Cunningham, client service director at ACNielsen Media International, commented that 'The findings suggest that the Government appears to have succeeded in alerting companies to their responsibilities in relation to the new Privacy Act. Conducted less than three weeks prior to the introduction of the Privacy Act, the survey indicated that with 35% of organisations anticipating significant impact on direct marketing, there was considerable uncertainty for sectors of the direct marketing industry.'

'The survey also investigated emerging trends in the direct mail sector, with 60% of companies now involved in e-marketing', Cunningham continued. 'Our findings showed that 5% of e-marketing activity is targeted towards consumers whilst 43% is business to business.'

She concluded 'This is the first time analysis has been conducted by ACNielsen on the direct mail industry in Australia. The responses we received from 92 companies have provided valuable insights into current marketing trends and the information needs of direct mail practitioners across key direct mail sectors.'

ACNielsen MailTrack was conducted online during December 2001 amongst senior decision-makers from 250 Australian companies using direct mail.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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