Direct marketing communications in the UK: A study of growth, past, present and future

In this paper the authors present a framework to aid visualization and appreciation of the dramatic growth enjoyed by direct marketing communications in the UK over the last 15 years. This growth has been fuelled by a demand ‘pull’ and a technology ‘push’. In terms of the former, market fragmentation and increasing individualism resulted in the demise of the mass market. Traditional communications media subsequently began to decline in effectiveness (while simultaneously experiencing escalating costs). Together these resulted in a demand for effectively targeted marketing communications. This demand was met by technological developments; in particular relational databases and desktop publishing (DTP) revolutionized direct marketing. Other, related developments, led to a growth in the depth and accuracy of information held on individual consumers. On the basis of the current trends evident within direct marketing media, the authors identify future prospects for the industry. These include greater integration of direct marketing within the communications mix, a trend towards direct response mechanisms, better targeting and subsequently rising costs. On this basis, successful direct marketers of the future will need to become more sophisticated in terms of encouraging dialogue with consumers and building relationships.