Industry news

Direct marketing boosted by internet, says expert

The internet has injected a new lease of life into traditional marketing techniques, one expert has said.

According to the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM), firms are able to enhance the use of marketing practices such as leaflets and billboards by putting their company e-details on them.

Lisa Turner, marketing director of the body, said: "It's so easy to put an email address, a website URL or a mobile phone shortcode on a flyer, a poster or even on an ad on a bus or cinema ticket, a pizza box or the bag the cafe puts your lunchtime sandwich in."

In 2007 the Direct Marketing Association reported that the total value of direct marketing was £43.7 billion, up by 18 per cent from 2004.

The report estimated that sales worth some £125 billion could be attributed to direct marketing – made up from £72 billion of consumer spending and £53 billion of sales resulting from the marketing of business goods and services.

Founded in 1987, the IDM claims to be Europe's leading professional development body for direct, data and digital marketing and has trained more than 60,000 marketing practitioners.