New ‘Do Not Contact’ resource launched
Canadian consumers and businesses that want to stop receiving unwanted junk mail, faxes, spam e-mails and telemarketing calls now have another option.
Last month, amidst ongoing implementation of privacy legislation, www.yourprivacy.ca was launched.
In addition to information on privacy issues and links to privacy watchdogs and international groups, the site provides a national ‘Do Not Contact’ registration feature – Yourprivacy.ca will contact direct marketers on a registered consumer’s behalf and request to have their name removed. Proprietary ‘kill’ files from supporting marketing companies will also supplement Yourprivacy.ca’s database.
For $250, marketers can also have their lists cross-referenced against Yourprivacy.ca’s database to avoid sending unwanted communication. As marketers continue to ramp up their privacy enforcement efforts, Kevin Bell, Toronto president of yourprivacy.ca, says the use of such a list is fundamental if companies want to be respected and perceived as being privacy-conscious.
The Yourprivacy.ca list (which was active only one week at time of publication) was at fewer than 5,000 names. Bell’s objective is to hit 10,000 registered people by the end of the year – and 5,000 registrations per month next year.
The site will be promoted to both consumers and marketers through e-mail, radio, television and print ads, but nothing has been launched yet. The Canadian Marketing Association currently has a national ‘Do Not Call’ file, which is mandatory for members, so Bell says he initially plans to target non-members.
Next year, he adds, he hopes to add an opt-in list, which would provide a list of participating companies and various promotional offers that consumers can select to receive. Bell says this is the way businesses should be heading – giving consumers the choice of what they do and don’t want to receive.
www.yourpivacy.ca is an independent venture founded by Bell who is a database marketing veteran. Bell sat on the call center council for the CMA for seven years and is a DMA Toronto board member.
Lions Direct jury head appointed
The organizers of the Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival have announced that Daniel Morel, New York-based chairman and CEO of Wunderman Worldwide, will be the jury president of the 2003 Lions Direct jury.
The 50th International Advertising Festival will be held June 15-21, 2003 in Cannes, France.
Aeroplan extends reward capabilities
Montreal-based Aeroplan recently announced it would offer immediate reward and recognition programs to its 6 million members.
Using Ernex Marketing Technologies’ real-time reward capabilities, customers receive award miles and instant prizes right at the point-of-sale through its expanding network of participating merchants. In addition, effective last month, Aeroplan members can redeem their miles for non-air rewards including hotel stays, car rentals, and ski and golf packages.
Tattoo enlists ZAQ
As agencies continue to beef up their in-house technologies and analytics capabilities, Toronto-based direct agency tattoo direct + digital announced it has signed on Toronto-based marketing technology developer, ZAQ. ZAQ’s ZEGO interactive marketing platform will allow tattoo to support campaign delivery, tracking and reporting, and aid in customer segmentation and ongoing direct communications.
