Letters to the Editor

Posted on October 15, 2004 by Chief Marketer Staff

WHY BEN? WHY NOT!

There are definitely several living direct marketers who belong in the Direct Marketing Association’s Hall of Fame and who are not — and it’s a real problem that merits discussion.

But what possible objection can anyone have to acknowledging mail order publishing and post office pioneer Benjamin Franklin as one of our own? (Loose Cannon, August; Curmudgeon-at-Large, Sept. 1)

Other “ancient” direct marketers inducted into the Hall of Fame post-1978 include Richard Sears (d. 1914), Montgomery Ward (d. 1913), John H. Patterson (d. 1922) and Reuben H. Donnelley (d. 1929).

They all deserve a place in our Hall of Fame, and Franklin does too.

As for worrying about what “others” will think about our inducting a guy who’s been dead 214 years, consider this: Ben Franklin is everybody’s idea of a good guy. Not only was he one of the few founding fathers who was not a slave owner, but also one of his last public acts was petitioning Congress to abolish slavery.

And, as icing on the cake, he’s on the $100 bill.

I think any other industry would give its right arm to be able to claim someone with Franklin’s credentials as a member.

Given our industry’s perennial PR problems, inducting Ben was a smart move as well as being historically sound.

Note to the Hall of Fame: Don’t let the nitwits get you down, but don’t rest on your laurels, either. There are at least a dozen living legends who deserve the nod right now. Get cracking. It’ll be 2005 before you know it.
Ken McCarthy
The “System” for Internet Marketing
Tivoli, NY

EURO PRIVACY REGS

Although Ray Schultz is on target with his concern over U.S. trends in privacy regulations (Direct Hit, Sept. 1), he is misinformed about the protections afforded individuals in Europe. As a longtime U.S. list broker in the German market, my first focus was to understand the data protection laws.

I will grant you that my experience is in the German and Spanish markets, not other European countries. However, the German law is the model for the EU Directive. Remember, European governments tend to have a social democracy, and the common good supersedes the good of the individual. Like The United States, Germany is a republic, with states’ rights coexisting with federal laws.

German law specifically notes the protections afforded individuals pertaining to the use of data by public authorities. With a more centralized economy, they do use individual data, but the data is aggregated to [give the individual anonymity]. Although data is permitted to be collected, the national socialist experience drives the implementation and interpretation of the law. In addition, the federal commissioner is protected from politics, given an appointment for a specific period of time, and [receives] a pension for life. In Section 6, “Inalienable Rights of the Data Subject,” an individual is given the right to information (Sections 19 and 34), and to correction, erasure or blocking (Sections 20 and 35). This right cannot be superseded by a legal transaction. Compensation is limited to 125,000 Euro.

When the government gathers personal data, it only can be collected if needed to perform specific duties of the agency collecting such data. The data must be collected from the individual with his knowledge, with few exceptions. Most exceptions are built around law enforcement and public safety issues. Each of the 16 states also have their own agencies.

Granted, the government can use data, but each use is limited and defined narrowly, and the purpose of the collection must be specified. Contrast this with U.S. laws which afford no credible protection against the government. We assume that government is beneficent, but I see the potential for systematic abuse. When Sen. Ted Kennedy is on a watch list and is denied the right to fly from DC to Boston, we can see the political ramifications.

Congress is now pursuing the implementation of a national ID card. I received an e-mail today from one of my U.S. privacy experts citing correspondence from Congressman Ron Paul’s office. I believe the odds of passage by November are probable. As our representative democracy is systematically dismantled by the corporate-congressional complex, I wonder if we are at the beginning of an evolution toward a new form of fascism, with the specter of terrorism and multinational corporations driving policies that will destroy our freedoms and enslave future generations in the name of security and globalization.
Joe Furnia
Intelitec
Granby, MA

CLEAN DATA

I want to thank you for the article, “Expectations and Reality Vary in Data Hygiene” (Direct Newsline, Sept. 1). Our service bureau handles files for domestic, international and Canadian mailers, so we find it very necessary to try to inform our clients about what the hygiene programs can and cannot do. Despite very clear-cut information that we provide to every client, it seems an insurmountable task to explain that “garbage” data going in is going to come out as garbage.

Although the output results are usually in better condition than the input, perfection is not an option. We are still working with computers, and I haven’t seen anyone thus far come up with software with logic so “fuzzy” that it anticipates every anomaly in a file.

I hope Direct’s readers take the article to heart. We work with the best software available to us and implement intensive quality control for the absolute best results, but we still end up going over and explaining bad records left in the output despite the careful discussion prior to running the data.
Susan Hewish
Senior Account Manager
Data Services Inc.
Horsham, PA

IS USPS TURNING BIZ AWAY?

Gene Del Polito’s Sept. 1 column is almost right on target. The postal service has many wonderful employees who know how to think out of the box, but unfortunately they also have some who don’t.

Two recent examples:

It’s been proven that affixing a repositionable note to the face of a mail piece lifts response. Instead of encouraging more people to use this technique and thereby raise mail volume, the USPS has asked for a rate increase for the sole reason that this works. The expense will mean an additional $5/M pieces for first class mail and $15/M for standard mail. That does not encourage mailers to try something new that could lift their response and cause them to mail more pieces.
Friend-to-friend mail. This new mailing class was tested two years ago and found to be very successful. One of my clients had a 25% response rate for a segment of the test. We have been waiting two years for friend-to-friend to be presented to the PRC for approval, but it’s stagnated.

How incredibly shortsighted. Referral programs or member-get-a-member programs often have been successful for marketers and here is another way for the postal service to increase mail volume — first class no less — and yet they will not.

It appears to me that the problems lie not in the marketing department but in the financial department. The USPS is confronted with short-term financial thinking that constrains new ideas which offer high value to the marketplace. The postal service needs additional revenue quickly. Turning these opportunities away is not a way to produce it
Richard Goldsmith
Chairman
The Horah Group
New York

CREATIVE ADVICE

As a veteran practitioner of the art of creating winning (and I stress the word “winning”) direct mail packages, I take issue with Jim Rosenfield (“Theoretically Speaking, Sept. 15) when he stridently declares that a fold in a brochure accomplishes the same thing in a direct mail package as a token.

He bases his claim on the fact that the goal of the involvement device is to (1) prolong the time people spend with the direct mail package; (2) subliminally suggest response; and (3) satisfy the reader’s right-hemisphere urge for tactile gratification.

While a fold in a brochure is a pretty heady concept, I would suggest that the object of the token is to get the reader’s sweaty palms on the Holy Grail: the order card. I would also suggest to Mr. Rosenfield that a far more productive device than a brochure fold for enticing the reader to dwell longer inside the package is a well-conceived, well-crafted, and yes — dare I say it — well-written four-page letter, one other relic of “the old days” that can still close the deal for an interested prospect.

But Mr. Rosenfield claims it’s theoretical poppycock, along with that other pesky concept…let’s see, what’s it called…oh yeah, testing! We’re warned — I’m sorry — informed at the end of Mr. Rosenfield’s article that he’s got a book coming out next year entitled “Re-inventing Direct Mail for the 21st Century.” Perhaps a more appropriate title would be “Re-thinking My Role as a Direct Mail Guru.”
Ken Schneider
Houston

PRAISE FOR THE MAVEN

Enjoyed Tom Collins’ comments in The Makeover Maven (Sept. 15). I have been in the HVAC — heating, ventilating and air conditioning — business for 41 years and never read such a concise review of an ad. Through the years I’ve attended several meetings on ad presentations, and Tom’s [critique] hit the nail on the head.

Nice job. Keep up the good work.
M.A. Krueger
Executive Vice President of a Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association
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