5.2m pieces of DM sent to the dead

It is estimated that 5.2 million pieces of direct mail will be sent to the deceased this December, according to suppression service Millennium, causing damage to a brand’s reputation.

The run up to Christmas will see an increase in direct marketing campaigns, catalogues and email marketing as businesses compete for consumers.

Jo Bell, commercial director of Millennium, which owns suppression data service Mortascreen, says: “It is absolutely vital that marketers regularly screen customer databases for deceased individuals, especially if mailing lists are used infrequently”.

Wasted direct mail risks damaging the environment and in turn the brand’s environmental credentials.

It also has impacts on targeting. Bell adds, is it essential that marketers apply regular suppression techniques with marketing budgets constantly under scrutiny.