DMA Defines the Five Biggest Changes in Washington

Direct Marketing Association Executive Vice President of Government Affairs Linda A. Woolley last week pinpointed the five most noteworthy changes going on in the nation's capital that will have the greatest effect on direct and interactive marketers. During a presentation at a Direct Marketing Club of New York luncheon, she offered the following:

1. The Congressional Middle.
The body of moderate Democrats and Republicans in Congress is bigger than ever and can't be ignored. "This congressional middle will be more important as we go forward, particularly on direct marketing issues," Woolley said. "It's that middle base that we really want to work with and target our messages to."

2. A High-Tech President.
President Barack Obama is the first truly high-tech president that we've had, according to Woolley. "He fought for—and won—his battle to keep his BlackBerry, which is remarkable," she said. "And the technology infrastructure he used to win the presidency is emblematic of what we're going to see going forward, certainly in politics and advocacy and also in direct marketing."

3. Multichannel's Growing Importance.
As a result of the successful multichannel Obama-Biden campaign, more marketers finally are understanding the importance of multichannel marketing, according to Woolley. "Obama won this race across the board," she said. "We're seeing it in Washington, and so it will spread to [direct and interactive marketing] as well. Pay attention to multichannel messaging, and use it wherever and whenever you can."

4. Economic Impact of Legislative and Regulatory Proposals.
Because of the current economic situation in the U.S., everybody wants to know how legislative or regulatory proposals will affect jobs or the economy. As a result, when crafting messages for legislators or regulators, Woolley said she'll emphasize the potential economic impact for direct marketing. "This also means I'll be looking to you—people who are actually doing direct marketing and in the business world—to feed that information back to us, and to let us know what you think the economic impact will be of proposed legislation or a proposed regulation," Woolley said. "I'm really trying to encourage an open dialog here."

5. Importance of Self-Regulation.