The Meaning of Spam

Are spammers using unsubscribes only to confirm e-mail addresses? That question came up in July during Donnelley Marketing’s Consumer Privacy conference.

The issue was raised during a session conducted by Todd Simon, senior vice president of Omaha Steaks. Some consumers fear that when they click on the unsubscribe, “they are confirming their addresses” for unscrupulous e-mailers, it was suggested.

Simon denied that this is being done. So did Direct Marketing Association president H. Robert Wientzen.

“It’s not true,” Wientzen said during a later presentation. “Spammers totally disregard everything you send except for an order.”

Wientzen added that the FTC found in tests that “opting out does not increase e-mail spam.”

Nevertheless, Simon noted, Omaha Steaks insists that third-party marketers sign strict media-placement agreements to cover all potential problems.

But that brought up the issue of just what spam is. Is it fraudulent e-mail, as the DMA seems to think, or simply unsolicited bulk e-mail?

“Unsolicited means I don’t know why you’re sending me this e-mail,” said Laura Atkins, president of the SpamCon Foundation, during a session later that day. “If you don’t have permission and we have no relationship, then I get mad. You’re just sending to an e-mail address.”

Atkins added, “If the DMA defines it as fraud, it won’t help them at all.”

C. Win Billingsley, a privacy consultant, argued that “some unsolicited e-mail has value to me.” For example, he received an e-mail offering 50% off tickets from the Philadelphia Orchestra. “That’s not spam,” he said.

Billingsley said spam can be identified and defined using these three criteria:

• Transmission method and inclusion of a valid opt-out.

• The company’s operational policies. That is, are e-mail addresses harvested from chat rooms?

• Message content. Is it deceptive advertising? Billingsley said a message can be misleading “even if the transmission and operational policies are appropriate.”

Simon said that “consumers don’t get upset when they want what you’re selling.” But, he added, companies have to give the customer options, not only in terms of the channels they prefer but in the frequency of contacts. In addition, companies should have identical privacy policies for all their channels.

“Respecting consumer privacy is a service issue and a service differentiator,” Simon said.

He added, “Strong brands get a break, but only for a while.”