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2024: The Year of Do or Die

By |2024-01-08T11:54:55+00:00January 8th, 2024|

As we rang in the New Year the collapse of Communisis marked a less than auspicious start for the industry. Tom Preston-Werner’s famous quote: "You’re either the one that creates the automation or you’re getting automated” has never been more pertinent. In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, the direct mail sector, traditionally reticent to change, is now standing at the crossroads of innovation and tradition. The crux of this transformation is automation, a concept that is essential for the future of the industry. Automation in direct mail streamlines processes including sorting, addressing, and packaging. This mechanisation significantly reduces the time and labour involved, translating to lower operational costs and higher efficiency. By minimising manual interventions, automation also [...]

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Do I have your undivided attention? Maybe not… but your mail does.

By |2023-12-06T16:48:11+00:00December 6th, 2023|

Nearly two-thirds of people say that direct mail attracts their undivided attention, according to a new report from WARC and Marketreach. Exploring the impact of mail in an attention-scarce world, the study reveals how much attention people are giving their mail across different mail types, the value of this attention, and the role of mail in comparison to other media and within the media mix. The study is based on research by Marketreach and Blue Yonder involving 1,475 pieces of mail. The findings reveal that: 63% of people give their mail their undivided attention The average time spent with direct mail is 108 seconds The average piece of direct mail persuaded 16% of recipients to consider the brand, with 9% [...]

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2024: A year for data protection regulation reform?

By |2023-11-27T12:14:35+00:00November 27th, 2023|

Following its airing at the recent King’s Speech the much-discussed Data Protection and Digital Innovation Bill (DPDI) will have its ‘remaining stages’ in the House of Commons on 29 November. There are 21 possible amendments to the Bill all most of which have been referred to as ‘common-sense’ and it is expected to fly through parliament, meaning it is likely to become law early next year. The DMA supports the ratification of the Bill having been heavily involved in shaping many of its elements. Key differences to GDPR include: How personal data is defined Under DPDI information will only be considered as identifiable by a person other than the controller or processor if that other person obtains the information as [...]

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Cost of Dirty Data: The £900 Billion Annual Burden on UK Business

By |2023-11-14T10:23:03+00:00November 14th, 2023|

Dirty data is costing the UK economy £900 billion. The impact of unclean data is estimated to stand at 20% of an organisation’s revenue. In 2023 revenue of UK business is thought to total £4.5 trillion meaning that failing to keep customer data up-to-date cost £900bn. In terms of the impact of this on individual businesses, a single ‘inaccurate’ customer record is currently costs an organisation £81.11. Experian research reveals that 22% of customer records within the average database are inaccurate. This means that an organisation with a database comprising 500,000 customer records could be looking at a £811,000 cost to the business. The retail sector was found to have the highest associated cost of unclean data at £300bn, whilst [...]

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What’s going on? Everything you need to know about DPDI in the medium term

By |2023-10-11T07:13:36+00:00October 11th, 2023|

In the realm of data protection legislation, following the recent ICO Data Protection Practitioners’ Conference 2023, it is clear that the fate of the UK's long awaited Data Protection & Digital Information Bill (DPDI) is shrouded in uncertainty. Current Status and Delays As of now, the DPDI faces a challenging path towards becoming law. In his session at the conference, James Snook, the director of policy at the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology indicated that the bill might not receive Royal Assent until mid-2024, with no scheduled debates in Parliament until November 15. The bill is currently at the report stage,  which means it requires further deliberations in both the Commons and the Lords. The Looming General Election Factor [...]

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Keeping Pace with AI Ethics

By |2023-09-08T12:13:43+00:00September 8th, 2023|

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives, from voice assistants to recommendation systems and autonomous vehicles. Its transformative power has brought both remarkable advancements and profound ethical dilemmas. Recent calls from MPs urging the Prime Minister to pass new legislation for AI safety in the UK, before the EU takes the lead, have brought the spotlight back onto the importance of AI ethics and the critical role data hygiene plays in ensuring safe AI systems. The Call for AI Safety Legislation MPs are sounding an alarm, warning that the UK risks falling behind in the global AI race if comprehensive AI safety legislation is not put in place promptly. The European Union is poised to establish [...]

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Attention please! DM proven to be a high attention channel

By |2023-08-29T15:09:56+00:00August 29th, 2023|

A year-long, in-depth study conducted by JICMAIL has revealed that on average, a direct mail piece holds consumer attention for 108 seconds. Similarly, partially addressed mail commands attention for 64 seconds, while door drops maintain engagement for 46 seconds. This definitively positions mail as a high-attention channel. This is particularly true when amalgamating these new metrics with existing research that underscores mail as the most trusted form of communication, a compelling case emerges for integrating mail into the marketing mix. In addition, JICMAIL has collaborated with PwC to convert these attention-based metrics into an average cost per minute, specifically targeting various audience segments. This enables marketers to make direct, comparative evaluations between mail and alternative media formats. The study reveals [...]

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Data Breach Debacle: Electoral Commission’s 300-Day Delay in UK’s Largest Hack in History!

By |2023-08-10T08:42:57+00:00August 10th, 2023|

On the ICO website it clearly states that organisations suffering data breaches must report it within 72 hours of being made aware of the breach. Lets be clear 72 hours. That equates to three days, Not the 300 days it has taken the Electoral Commission to fess up to THE BIGGEST data breach in UK history. For those that have missed the headlines The Electoral Commission reported a breach on 8th August 2023 having discovered in October 2022 that hackers were playing fast and loose with its systems since August 2021. This includes unfettered access to the names and addresses of at least 40 million people registered to vote between 2014 and 2022. Oh dear. The eagle eyed of you [...]

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Those most likely to donate as a result of Direct Mail

By |2023-07-21T09:18:23+00:00July 21st, 2023|

A new study, The Future of Direct Mail 2023, reinforces the effectiveness of direct mail, with the overwhelming finding that 81% of people engaging with direct mail in some way. Almost two thirds were found to have purchased a physical product as a result of receiving a piece of DM, 43% took advantage of a discount or special offer that was promoted through the mail, 35% applied for a financial product whilst 25% donated to charity as a direct result of a call to action within a mail pack. With charity fundraising suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, understanding the impact of direct mail and who is most likely to respond is incredibly valuable. The report finds that, [...]

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Data processing security is key data concern for 2023

By |2023-07-11T13:01:31+00:00July 11th, 2023|

Our latest review of the GDPR enforcements undertaken by the ICO over the past 12 months reveals that data processing security and right of access are the most common infringements since July 2022. Almost a third (30 per cent) of the 30 recorded infringements this year pertained to Article 5, the principles relating to data processing and of these 21 per cent were for Article 5 (f) which specifies that personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security. Sixteen per cent contravened Article 15: Right of Access by the data subject and 15 per cent were non-compliant to Article 12 (data transparency) and Article 32 (security of processing). Last year the lion’s share of enforcements (61 [...]

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