At a DMA meeting in Edinburgh today the discussion was around creative and ethical direct marketing. A lot of pressure is potentially likely to bear on the direct mail industry because of the (unecessary) volume of paper it is seen to use, and it's a bit of a soft target for governments set on reduction targets given its inevitable association with, in an environmental context, the dreaded word 'waste'. The DM industry is being exhorted to examine ways in which it can be more environmentally conscious, and to view ethical measures in the way it produces mailers as an investment rather than a cost.
It strikes me that a lot of direct mail ends up being waste because it's rubbish even before it's assigned to the bin, which has to be the fault of the agency or whoever has produced it. An obvious envionmental step therefore is to make more use of research to ensure that the material that is being sent out is appealing and appropriate, by investing in some sensible pretesting ahead of the main production run.
Qualitative research is an excellent way to pre-test, and using Mindspace Online it can be done really easily and cost-effectively. Linking up even a small number of potential recipients and getting them to talk you through their thoughts is so, so valuable, and for a very small percentage of your marketing budget can make the difference between success and failure of a campaign.
And on an ethical note, online qualitative research is definitely the most environmentally friendly way you can do it.
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