Council for the Defense
The information industry, which has struggled against an increasing flow of negative publicity and restrictive legislation, may finally gain a unified voice.
Upward of 20 companies, including data compilers, marketers and information repackagers, have been invited by the Direct Marketing Association to join a senior-executive-level council. A series of exploratory meetings was attended this summer by senior management and in-house privacy experts from several companies.
Although a full list of those invited to join is not available the potential members include Acxiom, American Express, American Student Lists, Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, Lexis-Nexis, The Polk Co., Time Warner and Trans Union.
Most DMA councils hold monthly forums and send out newsletters. Participants in this one would meet three or four times a year to exchange noncompetitive information, discuss industry trends, sponsor research and recommend advocacy positions to in-house DMA staff. They also would explore a public relations campaign.
Another difference between this and other DMA councils is the high cost of membership. The two dues levels are $11,000 and $22,000, with companies urged to pay according to how important they feel it is to have a consolidated voice, according Michael Faulkner, the DMA’s senior vice president for councils and affiliates.
In the past, says Faulkner, companies acted independently when they felt their interests were threatened. “But the new group comes as a result of the snowball effect of increased attention,” he says. “The strategies of the [companies] as they have been practiced up until now do not work anymore.”
The budget for the group will largely depend on the number of sponsors. “We would want a minimum of 10 participants,” says Faulkner.
Fewer than that would mean significantly higher shared expenses, and the risk of being branded a DMA-endorsed mouthpiece for a few select companies. Moreover, the council may not be started at all if the companies don’t support it.
To many in the industry, the new council would provide a welcome voice. “There is a lack of understanding by some marketers about the data industry,” says Jennifer Barrett, a company leader for Acxiom Corp., Little Rock, AR. “We have talked about the need for the information industry to be more proactive, and to explain our role in the whole marketing chain.”
Both Barrett and Jan Davis, group vice president and general manager of Chicago-based PerformanceData, are concerned about state legislation encroaching on the information industry’s ability to gather data. Barrett acknowledged the DMA’s efforts in this area, but wants to see a more full-time mechanism devoted to monitoring state legislation and commenting on it.
Davis also sees a general public image campaign as part of the new council’s duties. “We realize that changing public opinion is time-consuming, expensive and hard,” she says. “But it is the root cause [of state legislation], and if we don’t consider it we are ignoring a way to turn the tide.”
But the full scope of the council’s activities will not be determined until the membership roster, and therefore its budget, are set. The deadline for responses from the companies solicited was mid-September.
