Journal of Interactive Marketing

Research on improved direct mail targeting has focused primarily on the segmenting of house/customer lists. However, continued expansion of the customer file requires acquisition of new customers. This article briefly described commercially available databases and then explores the linking of them to (necessarily) limited, individual-based survey data, to provide segmentation to enhance the process of efficient targeting of prospects (non-customers). Two methodological issues are also examined: the choice of a statistical model to be used to form a scoring equation during the linking process, and the treatment of missing values, a frequent occurrence in commercially available databases.

This study examines how consumer privacy issues have been perceived over time and across cultures through the analysis of media coverage of the issue in England and the United States over the past 33 years. A major cross-cultural difference was that Americans have expressed more concern about interactional privacy issues (such as intrusions into individuals’ lives through the receipt of direct mail and telephone solicitations). While the British have been primarily concerned with informational privacy issues (such as the collection and exchange of information about individuals). Other differences in coverage over time and across cultures are also presented, and implications for direct marketers are discussed.

There is growing concern among consumers that several marketing practices are invasions of consumer privacy. Specifically, this study addresses the issues of buying and selling names and addresses of consumers, the role of government in protecting the privacy rights of consumers, and the use of an automatic number identification system. A survey was conducted of 190 marketing professionals from the American Marketing Association, National Association of Purchasing Managers, and Direct Marketing Association to determine their beliefs regarding these issues. The results are compared to an earlier consumer sample to determine differences and agreements. The results are also compared statistically among the three professional associations.

Although there are a wealth of studies which examine the use of minority models (particularly African American models) in advertising, we found no research that addresses the use of black models in direct marketing vehicles, that is, specialty catalogs. We conducted a content analysis of 111 clothing and gift catalogs to determine benchmarks on the use of black models in catalogs. Generally, we found that black models in specialty catalogs tend to be used in similar proportions to magazine advertisements and less than the proportion of black models in television advertisements. The average proportion of black models in catalogs is roughly 4 percent. While this percentage does not reflect the proportion of African Americans in our society (12%), it is close to the proportion of black Americans that shop from specialty catalogs (7.5%). Other findings were that black models are shown with relatively high-price/value merchandise; medium-brown completed models tend to be used more than models who are very dark or very light in complexion; and nine percent of models on catalog covers are black. We compare our findings to those in the advertising literature and offer implications for direct marketing management and strategy.

This article describes a cross-cultural study of customer segments in the home shopping channel market. The data for this analysis come from 274 personal interviews conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. The findings reveal shopper motivation segments that do not differ significantly by country, providing a basis for common marketing approaches across national boundaries. These motivations include interests in product value, merchandise variety, demonstrations, confidence in merchandise recommendations, the recreational or entertainment experience, enjoyment of conversations in the shows, the convenience of item ordering, and enjoyment of the personalities who host the programming.

Issues of customer safety in the retail store environment are becoming increasingly serious. However, little empirical research has tested the idea that consumers’ shopping safety concerns represent opportunities for direct marketers. The study sample included 152 undergraduate marketing students, ranging from 19 to 47 years of age: 65 women and 87 men participated; six hypotheses were tested. Women were significantly more concerned about shopping safety than men (p = .0004). Shopping safety concern scores were significantly related to the perception that shopping by direct mail offers greater personal safety than store shopping (p = .0455). Safety concern scores were related to more often considering shopping direct (p = .0000). Marital status and shopping safety concern were significantly related (p = .0104). Whether a respondent had been a crime victim, or knew someone who had, was partially significant (p = .0821). Age and shopping safety concern were not significantly related (p = .1559). Implications for direct marketers are discussed.

This article explains the results of a survey of state regulators regarding enforcement of telemarketing laws in their jurisdictions. The article particularly examines the validity and efficacy of state registration requirements for telemarketers. The article also critiques the exemption for charitable solicitors found in most laws.