Plea to Holyrood not to ban junk mail

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 09 Sep 2007, 17:18

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1439932007

NATHALIE THOMAS

BUSINESSES will this week urge the Scottish Government not to cave in to demands by campaign groups to ban junk mail.

The Scottish Direct Marketing Association (DMA), whose members include Lloyds TSB Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland, will attempt to persuade MSPs that junk mail and other forms of direct marketing make a substantial contribution to the Scottish economy when it publishes its first report into the state of the industry.

The association estimates that direct marketing adds Â£2.97bn to the economy every year. Direct marketing companies account for 90,000 jobs in Scotland or 3.7% of the total employment market, the report claims.

Yvonne Balfour, chair of the Scottish DMA and managing director of Navigator, a direct marketing firm in Edinburgh, said: "It [the industry] is generating a massive amount of income and revenue in all sorts of areas and employs a lot people."

Balfour added that Scottish businesses come under frequent pressure from campaign groups such as stopjunkmail.org.uk, who want to stop advertising leaflets and free newspapers for environmental reasons. Companies that advertise via the internet have also come under attack for bombarding consumers with unwanted e-mails.

But the association claims direct marketing creates a significant amount of business for Scottish companies.

"In Scotland, we are in a great position to grow businesses using direct mail as a technique," said David Metcalfe, head of wholesale banking at Lloyds TSB Scotland and board member of the DMA.

He added that DMA members adhere to a code of conduct. The industry is also introducing more green measures and is reducing the number of free leaflets it distributes, he said.

The association is predicting that the industry will continue to show significant growth over the next five years, with many opportunities particularly for technology companies.

Balfour said: "Over the next two to five years we'll see big changes in the media that is used and how we're using it."

IWW Fellow Worker · Post by **IWW Fellow Worker** » 09 Sep 2007, 18:17

It's sad that the future of the business is seen to be delivering crap no one wants and which we all know mostly ends up unopened in the bin.

Carla · Post by **Carla** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:08

Yep the companies should realise that they are wasting their time sending out crap

ROCKY · Post by **ROCKY** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:30

no crap=no jobs
beware what you wish for it may come true

Carla · Post by **Carla** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:32

There were never enough time to sort out and deliver the craps anyway besides RM are wanting us to deliver it for free which was one of the strings

gazzer · Post by **gazzer** » 09 Sep 2007, 19:34

yeh if it wasn't for all the crap we deliver there wouldn't be a job
how many items of mail delivered actually have stamps on them?

IWW Fellow Worker · Post by **IWW Fellow Worker** » 09 Sep 2007, 21:12

gazzer wrote:yeh if it wasn't for all the crap we deliver there wouldn't be a job
how many items of mail delivered actually have stamps on them?

Yes, we used to laugh at the Rusians for employing people to dig holes and fill them in again. Same principle.

BELIAL · Post by **BELIAL** » 09 Sep 2007, 21:14

IWW Fellow Worker wrote:
gazzer wrote:yeh if it wasn't for all the crap we deliver there wouldn't be a job
how many items of mail delivered actually have stamps on them?
Yes, we used to laugh at the Rusians for employing people to dig holes and fill them in again. Same principle.

But far more environmentaly destructive

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 10 Sep 2007, 13:21

gazzer wrote:yeh if it wasn't for all the crap we deliver there wouldn't be a job
how many items of mail delivered actually have stamps on them?

Strange as today I actually counted them - It keeps me the madman happy.

I had 45 for over 600 drop points.