When I was deputy editor of erstwhile trade title Precision Marketing, I once asked a cheeky question of the Direct Marketing Agency (DMA): ‘How many direct marketers does it take to change a light bulb?’ The answer was an equally scathing ‘far too many’, suggesting it took several committees months to decide anything. It was a bad time for the DMA as it came under fire from many sides, not least from Brassed Off Britain, the BBC TV consumer programme which proclaimed ‘junk mail’ to be the country’s most ugly bugbear.
But fast forward a handful of years and the DMA has certainly turned a corner under the stewardship of new chief Robert Keitch. A streamlined management structure has been complemented by better communications with all stakeholders.
Keitch recently visited Eulogy! to deliver an overview of the DMA’s services and membership benefits, and our agency is now working more closely with the organisation as a whole. One of several trade bodies covering marketing and advertising – see also the Marketing Society (another one of our clients!), as well as the MCCA, IPA and ISBA – the DMA’s refresh shows just how central these professional bodies are for the thousands of people working in the sector.
It’s a similar situation in the PR sector with the PRCA and CIPR doing such sterling work. Trade bodies stop short of being a union, but still operate important training and legal services for members, as well as the sharing of ideas and best practice, and all-important networking events.
So, after all these years, I take it back. The DMA and other trade bodies like it are an essential part of the fabric of the industry in which so many of Eulogy!’s clients work.
