Direct Marketing Commission - Enforcing Higher Industry Standards

As Chair of the Direct Marketing Commission (DMC) I am pleased to announce some revolutionary work in self-regulation in direct marketing.

The Commission enforces the DMA Code of Practice, which applies to over 1000 DMA members and helps to protect consumers and create a climate for innovation and investment. Complaints to the DMC are relatively few in number but they are often an indicator of a problem with wider impact that needs to be addressed. In recent cases our intervention based on one or two direct complaints ended practices that had actually generated over 1,000 complaints to the Telephone Preference Service, the ICO and others.

The DMA Code we inherited was over 170 pages long. It contained extracts from legislation, industry-specific rules and packets of best practice. And it was structured based on a series of sub-sectors of marketing like mobile marketing, direct mail, data collection and telephone centre operations. It proved “more is not better”. It was hard to read, let alone follow. It made little sense for consumers and chunks of it were of little relevance to us as the enforcement arm.

You can view the new DMA Code of Practice here. It is wholly outcomes-based and anchored in the principle that businesses must put customers first. It focuses on four core themes:

Respect for privacy
Being honest and fair
Treating data with care
Taking responsibility to deliver what you promise

The Code rules run to only five pages. The whole document including annexes and glossaries is just twelve. It is simple, clear and strategic in nature. It gives enforcers scope to apply good judgement. It is a framework that is inclusive: spurring businesses to commit, not scaring them off. It is also a framework that should have meaning and relevance across the marketing spectrum for member and non- member companies alike, raising standards to the benefit of consumers.

The Code is not a stand-alone. As part of this exercise the DMA has updated the guidance it gives members on laws, compliance and responsible and effective marketing right across the board. The DMA Guides detail how members can achieve the outcomes set out in the DMA Code.

No Code or piece of legislation is a “cure-all”. There are challenges to address the collection and use of data, with the permissions people give to sharing of information and with preference service schemes that allow us to manage what we receive. We want self-regulation to be a valuable and effective part of the mosaic of consumer empowerment and protection alongside the ICO, Trading Standards, Citizen’s Advice and others who work to educate, inform and protect.

I think it is hugely to the credit of the direct marketing industry that they have invested in this Code, in the legal and other compliance advice they give and in the Commission as an investigative and adjudicatory body. I think the importance of industry setting and giving meaning to standards will matter more and more in a digital world in which state agencies may not have the remit or capacity or processes to deal with every risk and challenge.

I hope you find the Code stimulating. Just having the confidence to use those seven words shows how very different it is!

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Adopting the DMA’s new code of practice will be central to the industry’s efforts to address customer concerns about one-to-one marketing such as data sharing, according to the trade body’s executive director Chris Combemale.

Speaking at the launch of the new DMA Code, which covers all data-driven marketing activity, Combemale said that it will change the industry’s mindset:

“We’ve taken a new approach to self-regulation that recognises the need to focus on principles that go above and beyond compliance with the law. It’s perfectly easy to follow all of the details of regulation and yet fail to meet the expectations of the customer, such as how you use their data.Gonflables Noël

“Our Code centres on five principles to inspire the industry to serve each customer with fairness and respect. Marketing with customers not at them is imperative to fostering trust and achieving commercial success.”

The DMA is now encouraging other businesses to adopt the code, which comes into force in two weeks on Monday 18 August.

According to Combemale failure to do so will come at a cost to UK plc:

“The hero principle of ‘putting your customer first’ demonstrates the evolution of our industry. Each marketer and organisation should see one-to-one marketing as an exchange of value between its business looking to prosper and its customer looking to benefit.

“Data fuels the digital economy, so earning customer trust is a commercial imperative. Brands must make every effort to ensure that they always collect and use consumers’ data in ways that they expect and benefit from.”

The DMA developed the Code after an 18-month consultation process with industry stakeholders, including practitioners as well as government regulators Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Ministry of Justice and Department of Culture, Media and Sport also provided input.

The DMA Code will be enforced by the industry’s independent watchdog, the DM Commission.

The DMA Code is backed by a series of channel-specific ‘guides’, which cover recommended best practice and compliance with regulations.

More than 1,050 corporate members of the DMA, which includes the industry’s top agencies, adhere to the DMA Code as a condition of membership.

The DMA Code and guides are available via the DMA’s website: www.dma.org.uk

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