It doesn’t seem that long ago that Robert Keitch and Mike Lourdan were jointly appointed to lead the DMA in line with its new strategy to help reinvent itself. But this seemingly great result has been shortlived and Keitch’s resignation just nine months later (March ’10) shook the industry. So why did Keitch leave? And what does it mean for the DMA?
Keitch explains that his decision to leave was just a simple case of him wishing to move on, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in setting the DMA on a steady course of change that will ensure it can continue to represent the interests of the direct marketing industry today and far into the future. However, after four years at the DMA, it’s now time for me to turn my hand to new challenges.
Despite Keitch’s comments, it’s inevitable that his sudden exit will cause uncertainty from both within and outside the association. No doubt the decision to appoint Keitch would have been scrutinous and lengthy, with both time and money invested to ensure that the right man got the job. In particular, Keitch’s longevity at the DMA must have played a factor in his appointment, and yet we find him walking away at a time of significant metamorphosis.
Historically, the DMA has been dogged with the reputation of being overly bureaucratic and inward thinking difficult spots to shake off, radical new strategy or not. Perhaps there was an element of this that lead to Keitch being dissatisfied with the new role? Those in the industry will inevitably come to their own conclusions. Heather Westgate, managing director at TDA, for example, can see the silver lining to Keitch’s exit: His departure has broadened the opportunity for change it opens the door for the organisation’s senior team to conduct a more thorough review of its strategic direction. How this strategic direction manifests itself remains to be seen but delays and stagnation in strategic developments are real possibilities. And while Keitch attempts to reassure that he has laid the way for ‘a steady course of change’, how often does radical change involve a steady path, and where will this path now lead?
The industry is torn about which direction the DMA needs to take to demonstrate its value as the leading trade association. Most agree that the biggest challenge is how the DMA repositions itself as relevant in the current marketing climate. Paul Godwin, planning director at Positive Thinking, suggests that, in particular, the DMA must show its relevance in the digital world, The DMA needs to embrace digital as a key part of its offering… the difficulty is going to be convincing the digital community that [the DMA] has something of value to offer them.
As a body firmly rooted in old-school direct marketing, it’s imperative that the DMA embraces digital on a holistic level. While there is evidence of digital activity, for example the organisation’s recent joint venture with Kyp to promote its products and services via digital solutions, and its soon-to-launch initiative MobileSafe, it seems that some digital dots remain to be joined together. Pockets of the DMA absolutely recognise that digital channels play an important role in the direct marketing mix. You only have to look at the DMA Award categories, and some of the recent Gold winners, to see that. But on the whole, it seems that some areas of the organisation have been slower to truly embrace this, comments Westgate.
Perhaps the reason for this digital disjointedness stems from the belief that the organisation’s centre of gravity is hopelessly offline as Mike Welsh, CEO of Publicis Dialog suggests, with a notable lack of digital represenation on the DMA’s councils. This, according to Godwin, is the crux of the matter. He agrees that current membership of the DMA councils is probably not best placed to represent the newly defined industry, and suggests that the DMA’s approach to digital-specific councils, for example the Email Council and the Mobile Marketing Council, inadvertedly portrays that digital is somewhere outside the mainstream, whereas digital represenation should, in fact, be a part of every council, such as retail marketing, B2B, and so on.
The debate over whether the DMA best represents the industry is also felt with regards to its involvement with the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS). Many observers feel that there is a conflict of interest for the DMA in this issue, which is undermining its claims to truly represent the best interests of the industry. The CTPS rules threaten to impose draconian restrictions on any B2B brand using telemarketing, and the DMA has stated its intention to campaign for the rules to be repealed or amended. However, progress on this issue has ground to a halt. Meanwhile, the DMA is continuing to derive an income stream from managing the TPS service (including the consumer arm), leading to suggestions that the association may not be pursuing its efforts against the CTPS with total commitment.
To further convince the industry of its value, the DMA must continue to ask its members what they need and improve its channels of communication. The DMA is completely out of touch with the issues keeping awake the marketing directors I work with, comments Welsh, who believes that this has been a live issue for a few years now. James Smirthwaite, director of SOS Mail, agrees, The DMA has disappeared from our radars… In my opinion, it needs to start talking with its clients and work with them through these difficult times.
Perhaps the association’s misgivings about ‘putting itself out there’ stem from its past media and legislative ear-bashings, and its frustrations at constantly defending itself? Hugh Bishop, chairman at Meteorite and a member of the Agency Council, encourages the DMA to shake off this reluctance. He suggests that the DMA needs to get in front of key business people with a coherent interesting argument about the power and future of response-driven marketing and be a bit more proud and not apologetic.
Executive director of the DMA, Chris Combermale, points out that Keitch’s efforts at raising the DMA’s public profile over the last year is evidence of increased interaction with the industry. However, communication on some of the DMA’s achievements, such as the creation of PAS2010, the first environmental performance standard for the industry, seems to have been switched off.
Richard Lloyd, general manager at InfogroupUK, encourages the DMA to be more vocal about its accomplishments: Getting word out there is the single most important thing that you can do to transform the trade’s perceptions. Communicate with your stakeholders… and make absolutely sure you shout your successes from the rooftops.
If the DMA is to continue to be the voice of the industry, it needs to be proactive in its approach to innovation; represent newer DM techniques and technology, and interact with its members about what they need. If it does that, says Chris Wilson, chair of ABBA and managing director of Earnest, and get some forward-thinking and dynamic leadership to make it happen, then it’ll be a highly valuable part of the marketing community. Ultimately, the task ahead for the DMA is a big one; not least finding someone to fill the gap left by Keitch, and hope that this time they stick around for a bit longer.
