So now the Speaker is gone. It’s great to find someone to blame, isn’t it? It’s a game the British media love to play and direct marketers know it only too well – after all isn’t it those pesky “junk mailers” who are responsible for global warming?
Let’s get them. No matter that, in the end, the environmental impact of banning addressed mail from marketers would actually be relatively negligible. Or are we talking about doordrops? Or is it free newspapers? Or is it CRM communications from companies most people are already dealing with?
Does anyone actually know what most people consider to be “junk mail”? Didn’t think so.
But let’s blame “junk mail” for everything from identity fraud to climate meltdown to causing back injuries on our poor old posties. Unless it’s something that we really really want like the latest catalogue from our favourite retailer – then it’s valuable information.
My point here is that, as an industry, we need to get out in front of the debate on these issues – whether through an association or just through our own corporate initiatives – before, once again, the finger gets pointed. A space just opened on the front pages and the summer heat is coming fast – and you know they’ll want to find someone to blame for that.
