Direct Marketing Seen Behind 23% Of UK Sales

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European Union regulators are deliberating tougher data protection rules and while that may be good for consumers, it would cost companies a significant amount of money. In an apparent attempt to bolster the lobbying arsenal of the marketing industry, the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has come out with a report claiming that 23% of the revenues generated by British brands are attributable to direct marketing.

Published today in Marketing Week, the study was conducted by research company Future Foundation on behalf of the DMA and involved executives from 600 corporations. According to the report, direct marketing was responsible for £700 billion worth of sales in 2011 out of a total £3 trillion.

Companies operating in the travel and leisure sector had direct marketing to thank for 32.1% of their sales, while the respective figures for retail & wholesale and financial services were 29.7% and 28.2%. In the case of telecommunications and utility companies, direct marketing was behind 22.1% of sales, business and professional services firms owed 19.7% of their revenues to it and its contribution to primary manufacturing and construction sales came in at 14.6%.

The DMA estimates that direct marketing investment in 2011 amounted to £14.2 billion and the trade body predicts an increase of 7% this year, meaning that expenditure is set to reach £15.2 billion. Growth will be driven primarily by investment in digital channels, with e-mail marketing spend forecast to reach £2.5 billion, an 11.9% increase. Social media marketing budgets are projected to rise by 8.1% to £2.2 billion, while paid search expenditure is expected to increase by 6.3% to £516 million.