DM industry prepares for Panorama attack on “junk” mail
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The direct mail industry’s effectiveness in reducing the environmental impact of direct mail will be questioned in the BBC’s Panorama tonight (4 July).
A preview on the broadcaster’s website poses the question “why hate junk mail?”.
The preview continues: “It invades our homes, dropping onto our doormats in its millions and costs the taxpayer a fortune to get rid of. It might be a menace in our mailbox but without junk mail, would our postal service survive?”
It is thought that the show will investigate the environmental damage of discarded direct mail and industry efforts to reduce the impact and the channel’s effectiveness.
Representatives from the industry will defend efforts to reduce waste, such as the Direct Marketing Association and BSi environmental standard called PAS 2020, and improvements in targeting.
It will also probe whether Royal Mail makes money from direct mail services. The postal operator’s role, or “addiction to”, as the preview describes it, scam mail - fake lotteries, prize draws and unsubstantive health cures - is also investigated.
It is not thought that anyone from Royal Mail was interviewed for the show. It has, however, issued a statement defendeding itself against accusations that it profits from scam mail.
A spokesman says: “Royal Mail is determined to do all it can to root out scam mail. We very much understand the upset and disquiet that scam mail can cause households across the country, including vulnerable people.
“We do not want our postmen or women handling or delivering mail that causes harm. We have made significant progress in our efforts to root out scam mail as we intensify our drive against it.”
Royal Mail is working with the Metropolitan Police and Serious Organised Crime Agency on Operation Sterling in a bid to stop scam mail at source.
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Readers' comments (14)
Martin Ballantine | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 12:10 pm
Hope they ask the Reader's Digest about their bizarrely worded, OTT, designed-to-f-with-your-head (especially if you're older) prize draw mailers. Should be some way of exposing and shaming these postal inanities.
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Chris Barraclough | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 12:18 pm
Panorama must be desperately short of stories if this the best they have. Nothing exactly new here, is there?
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Paul Foster | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 12:31 pm
Nothing new maybe, but...
Poor targeting of direct marketing campaigns continues to give the industry a very bad name.
It is so simple to clean and target direct mail, there is no excuse for this ongoing problem.
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John Asbury | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 12:31 pm
I think the most interesting message in this article is:
'without junk mail, would our postal service
survive'
What need do we have for Royal Mail to survive?
We can already file our tax returns, receive bank statements and so much more through the internet, why could our postal service not be 'Royal email', a secure email inbox with the sole purpose of addressed post.
It would be greener, quicker, cheaper and arguably safer than Royal mail, and much easier to manage junk mail without harming the planet!
It will be very interesting to see how this develops..
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Barry Phelps | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 1:12 pm
Totally agree with martin something should be done about Readers Digest draws, they infer one thing but mean something totally different!
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Anonymous | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 2:15 pm
And about time too! I'm fed up with getting crap through my door which I haven't asked for, nor have any interest in.
The only opt out for DM that I have ever seen has been on Plusnet's correspondence, and good on them!
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Anonymous | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 2:39 pm
I've heard of a product called "return to sender". It's quick and easy and helps cut down on junkmail, and removes your name and address from mailings.
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Anonymous | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 3:50 pm
Personally, I get a lot more of the indiscriminate "door drop" mail than true Direct Mail, which is targetted & addressed.
Door Drop is the un-addressed junk mail - of which I get several pieces (usually 3-10) per week compared to 1 or 2 per month of DM
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Anonymous | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 4:40 pm
Direct mail isn’t as bad for the environment as people think. It has a 0.9% contribution to UK landfill compared with newspapers (9.1%) and magazines (2.3%). Source: DEFRA Waste Strategy for England (2007)
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Eric Austin | Mon, 4 Jul 2011 4:43 pm
Yup - agree with Chris B.
Having been involved with Direct Mail for over 30 years, it's actually good to see it having a bit of a renaissance in recent times.
And why would that be?
Well, probably owing to the fact that clever marketers are truly using and integrated approach, where Direct Mail can be so powerful
I don't think the argument about Royal E Mail holds too much credibility ... what do we get more of? Spam E Mail or Junk Mail?
Fortunately it is the consumer who decides what works best and, guess what? they still love Direct Mail as well as all the other channels of distribution!
I just hope that the Panorama programme is 'Well Balanced' ... but somehow I doubt that!
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