John Griffiths

“I very much enjoyed attending and speaking at the Marketing in Direct event in Bucharest at the end of October. As someone who has been watching the development of marketing communications in Romania for some years it was a pleasure for me to attend a direct marketing event for the first time. I have been working in direct marketing for nearly 20 years now and was eager to talk to direct marketers in Romania to see how direct marketing is being used by clients.

From some of the conversations afterwards I learned that some comments I had made at the presentation were controversial – particularly the issue of whether email marketing replaces direct mail or replaces it. I believe that both will continue to be used together. Online marketing will not replace the more established offline channels. I also believe the testability of direct mail means that when implemented effectively, direct marketing has great advantages over other communications channels because it can generate sales directly and measurably using small quantities. I understand there are issues over data quality but these are best addressed by marketers building their own customer lists.

I found it very interesting to have so many representatives of the DM industry attending the event. It was my impression that through the workshops there were plenty of opportunities for networking and dialogue. This to me is one of the main benefits of an industry event such as Marketing in Direct. Yes via the speakers there can be knowledge transfer. But more important this kind of event is an invaluable opportunity for exchanging ideas where marketers can hear different points of view from within the industry. The high levels of interactivity created a stimulating learning environment.

I notice that there was a comment on the feedback forums about the advertorial product placements which took place during the day. I can confirm that at the many conferences I have attended that having a security demonstration during the day was a ‘first’ – I had never seen this before!

I am very happy to answer questions and to enter into dialogue about direct marketing issues. I wish Marketing in Direct all the best for the future – I made many friends at the event and hope that it won’t be too long before I am in Bucharest again.”