DIRECT MARKETING OUTLOOK -- Mail Still Delivers Growth

BY MARK SMITH

Technology Editor

Marketers, it would seem, are every bit as intrepid as mail carriers. It will take more than a modest rate increase to keep the mail from going through, as the prevailing outlook for direct mail in 2006 calls for continued growth. Success will be database driven, with messaging getting ever more personal.

By the time the ball drops in New York's Times Square, more than $161 billion will have been spent this year on direct marketing in the United States, projects an independent study commissioned by The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). According to its "U.S. Direct Marketing Today: Economic Impact 2005" report, the largest portion of direct marketing advertising dollars