AIM Releases Merge/Purge Guidelines

An Association for Interactive Media (AIM) council is releasing guidelines for e-mail merge/purge today. The guidelines form a suggested standard for the practice of purchasing multiple e-mail lists, combining (merging) them and eliminating (purging) any duplicate names.

“These guidelines signal the further maturation of e-mail marketing,” said Worldata/WebConnect corporate vice president Jay Schwedelson, who is co-chair of the Council for Responsible E-mail. “The problem now is that none of the e-mail list owners want to send their lists anywhere for e-mail merge/purge. So what happens is recipients get multiple versions of e-mail and there’s a lot of spam out there.”

The guidelines are as follows:

1. E-mail lists to be merged may only include e-mail addresses collected in a permission-based environment, except in the case of suppression files. Proof of where the e-mail addresses came from may be required to fulfill the request.

2. The merge/purge provider must have adequate security technology and procedures in place to protect all data from unauthorized access or use. Proof of such security technologies and procedures may be requested before data is transferred.

3. Provider may be required to provide documentation detailing its problem-dispute resolution process.

4. Upon request, the merge/purge provider must be able to show documented merge/purge capability, including examples of standard merge/purge reports.

5. A merge/purge provider cannot alter or make available any of the transferred data it receives without explicit written permission from the transferring party.

6. Before initial transfer of data to service provider, all parties should sign an agreement recognizing the proper ownership of data.

7. Following transfer of data, the data must not be matched, overlaid, enhanced or appended to any other third-party data for any purpose without signed written consent of the participating list owner.”

The guidelines are a starting point so that e-mail merge/purge can begin to take place, Schwedelson said. “The great thing is they have been approved by the leadership of both the traditional list and the new interactive space.”

The guidelines were designed to provide e-mail marketers “with greater mailing efficiency and list owners with safeguards to protect the integrity of their lists,” said a statement from AIM, a part of the Direct Marketing Association, New York.

The council–which includes member companies 24/7 Media, Bigfoot Interactive, Doubleclick and Experian IDG List Services—was formed to promote the most effective and ethical use of e-mail as a marketing and customer-service tool, according to AIM.