Grey Direct’s Lawrence Kimmel Rallies Direct Marketers

Kudos to Lawrence M. Kimmel, chairman and CEO of Grey Direct, for speaking his mind and rallying the direct marketing troops to stand up and be counted – post haste.

“I’m frustrated,” writes Kimmel in the November 7 edition of DM News. “As direct marketers, this is our moment to shine. The world of advertising is in radical transformation. The pillars of the ad business — 30-second commercials, radio advertising, magazines, newspapers and even direct mail — are losing their effectiveness. Viewership, readership and response rates are declining while costs continue to rise. Consumers are rejecting conventional intrusion advertising en mass and gravitating to inclusion advertising: keyword search, e-mail marketing, targeted online communications. Marketers are demanding greater accountability and better ROI.”

“Yet it doesn’t seem as if direct marketers are doing enough to champion our cause. We are not leading the marketing community,” adds Kimmel.

You can say that again.

In my opinion, the direct marketing industry needs to invest in its own future – now – or else. Far too many of us are preoccupied with direct mail – placing an inordinate amount of faith in the long-term viability of this age-old medium – and view the Internet as more of a threat than an opportunity.

We’re not seeing the forest for the trees.

As an industry, instead of using new technologies and channels to leverage the strategies and principles of direct, we’re running the risk of getting beaten at our own game by not just those in advertising, but by any and all communications professionals who have a vested interest in marketing in the new millennium.

“Direct marketers hold marketing’s Holy Grail. The world just needs to catch up,” says Kimmel later on in this same DM News article.

I couldn’t agree with him more. But what’s frightening – and ironic – is that the world may be catching up to us faster than we are to it.

To read Lawrence M. Kimmel’s article (“DM Views: Reflections on the DMA Convention,” DM News, November 7, 2005) in its entirety, click here.

Be Sociable, Share!