PRIVACY -- WHY NOW?

The presence of names and addresses on mailing lists -- and the commercial availability of those names and addresses -- has been questioned on a periodic basis by privacy proponents, the media and government officials alike going back to at least the late 1960s.

Today, the issue is more important to direct marketers than it's been in three decades. Why?

The Visibility of our Business. Over the course of 30 years, from the explosion of credit cards to the advent of personal computers to the new marketing realities in cyberspace today, the process of direct marketing has attained new heights of marketing success. With this meteoric success, the business has also faced scrutiny on numerous aspects of the privacy issue.

In 1995, direct marketing sales in the U.S. economy exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, generating employment for more than 19 million Americans.

From Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups, direct marketing has become big business in this Information Age. And the information management aspects of direct marketing in the United States are largely regulation-free.

This is no accident. Time and time again, direct marketing businesses and organizations have risen to the challenge, and demonstrated to public policymakers that this business is motivated in its concern for consumers, and their confidence in the direct marketing process. Direct marketing businesses respect consumer choice regarding information use in the marketing process.

Self-Regulation: Is it Effective? The Direct Marketing Association has enhanced this culture of respect for consumer choice for many years. Since the 1960s, DMA has administered a successful self-regulation program that has met with wide consumer and industry acceptance.

The presence of self-regulatory guidelines, the development of industry-wide Mail and Telephone Preference Service name-removal programs, and the continuing adherence to those guidelines by direct marketers, have helped to counter the efforts of some critics looking for broad government intervention.

Over the years, DMA has supported limited government regulation concerning the misuse of information in such areas as credit, cable and video, as they relate to direct marketing. In general, this targeted approach to regulation, combined with DMA's own self-regulation, has been an effective means of protecting millions of at-home shoppers.

Development of Online Media. We are all are fascinated by the Internet, and the potentials of commerce on the World Wide Web. While millions of consumers have been quick to embrace this technology, we have heard calls for regulation -- particularly from the traditional Internet community which laments the advent of online commerce.

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The Federal Trade Commission has held several workshops examining cyberspace, privacy and commerce -- but, thus far, has seen no reason to implement new regulations. Nonetheless, the workshops have been a platform for privacy advocates who seek controls on marketers, particularly where children are involved. And the FTC has also made it clear -- if industry does not acto to address consumer concerns in cyberspace, it will regulate.

Privacy zealots claim that all information management practices -- no matter what the media of marketing -- requires regulatory or legislative attention.

Consumers, however, take a very different approach. Consumer studies show that as much as three quarters of the population consider themselves "privacy pragmatists" and are willing to provide information to marketing organizations in exchange for perceived benefits. They also are pragmatic about participating in information exchange as long as they have the opportunity to opt out. The disclosure and use of in-house name suppression, and list cleaning technics using MPS and TPS files in a merge-purge offers a credible, effective response to consumer privacy concerns.

DMA has come foward with self-regulatory ethics principles for online notice and opt out, the sending of unsolicited advertising e-mail and marketing online to children to keep the direct marketing business ahead of the need for regulation, and to give the cyberspace medium the chance to grow as an effective vehicle for dialogue between marketers, prospects and customers.

Sensitive Information: Children -- Another area of concern that has ignited the privacy issue, brought to light by recent news stories, is children's safety issues in relation to databases.

As a marketer, information about children, including data which shows the presence of children in households, is an important component of any direct marketing campaign which reaches out to parents and children.

At the same time, children's safety is an issue everyone cares about.

As all responsible marketers know, it is imperative that databases which include information on children are kept secure and are used for responsible purposes only. Marketers are aware that since the direct marketing of products and services to children began decades ago, there has never been an instance where the presence of marketing information on children, somehow was used in a criminal act.

Recent events show, however, that the security of data, the usefulness of this information in the marketplace, and the absence of any kind of a connection to a crime, is not enough to stave off unnecessary legislative attention.

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The occurrence of a spectacular crime -- the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klaas -- has led her father Mark Klaas to launch "Kids Off Lists." This effort seeks to remove children's information from the nation's databases, unless parental consent is secured. Klaas believes this effort will enhance child safety.

Law enforcement officials are emphatic in their belief otherwise. In testimony before Congress, one police official noted that there is no evidence of a commercial mailing list ever being used to commit a crime against a child. Most child molesters, he reported, join youth organizations and groups, or use telephone directories or online pen pal sites to look for their victims. Commercial mailing lists, in fact, are a positive force in crime-solving, helping to locate missing and abducted children, and provide children with educational opportunities and resources.

Nonetheless, Klaas's effort has garnered some Congressional support. While the legislation has not progressed forward, thanks due in part to the input of law enforcement, the media attention given to Klaas, and to his continuing effort to link direct marketing to pedophiles and child killers, has been significant. The lack of logic in his arguments has not stopped the sensational headlines.

DMA has come forward with sensible ethics principles for marketing online to children, and has long had an ethics guideline for other media that requires marketers to take into account the age of children when marketing to them. However, scrutiny of children's marketing activity is as close as ever. Direct marketers need to ensure that their marketing programs to households with children provide responsive personal information protection practices.

A Call to Action -- There are several other "drivers" of the privacy debate: widespread access to public records, protection of medical and financial information, new telecommunications technology, among others. Each of them touch direct marketing in some way.

The common feature is that all these aspects of the privacy debate can be managed successfully if direct marketers are able to keep their house in order. The choice lies with each direct marketer.

The times require the utmost vigilance of the direct marketing business to keep consumer needs and concerns in focus. This kit provides a framework for action, so your company can lead on this issue, and keep the business growing. Take privacy action now!