The EU-driven legislation designed to protect web-users from being tracked by cookies without their consent, comes into force in May. Companies with online services need to ensure compliance with the law as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has powers to penalise non-compliant companies after May.
Although he believes the legislation to be over-protective, Jonathan Erwin [...]

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Paul Seabrook (pictured) examines the latest fast.MAP survey results.
Websites – whether independent, comparison or brand-owned – together continue to be people’s main financial service research routes, each used by around three out of ten consumers, according to new research.
Also revealed are people’s main reasons for selecting the financial brands they use – they include the [...]

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This year’s UK Product Of The Year Awards winners have been announced and the votes have revealed that consumers, feeling the financial squeeze, are giving up luxuries such as beauty products and takeaway coffees, in favour of multi-tasking products.
More than 9,000 consumers voted to determine the results of the 2012 Product of the Year survey, [...]

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The UK’s e-retailers are losing millions of pounds in sales by failing to respond to customers’ online requests for product and service information, new research has revealed.
The findings of a survey of 217 companies trading in ten different retail sectors, conducted on behalf of the UK Direct Marketing Association’s Response Management Council, show that one-in-ten [...]

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David Excell (pictured) discusses what it means to really understand customer buying behaviour
How well do you know your customers?
Not your customer base as a homogenised whole; your individual customers?
With minimal growth forecast throughout most of the industrialised world during 2012, never has it been more important for consumer-facing businesses to initiate direct marketing that delivers [...]

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Five big issues facing global companies
Dominique Turpin (pictured) discusses the business worries which he believes are currently keeping senior global executives awake at night.
Right now, of course, the health of the global economy and unpredictable exchange rates are top of the list of concerns keeping executives from sleeping soundly. But, in my conversations with business [...]

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Even in the digital age, the traditional, physical, tangible mailbox is an effective way to steer the customer journey, says Andy Wood (pictured).
Tales of the death of the mailbox as an effective outlet for reaching consumers have been greatly exaggerated.
Indeed, despite the fact we seem to be well into the age of digital marketing, it [...]

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Founder/chairman of ACTON International, US-born Jon Lambert (pictured) died of cancer towards the end of last year. He was an acknowledged international marketing expert and penned many excellent features for DMI over the years, particularly sharing his wide knowledge of the Asian market.
His daughter, Allison Lambert, told DMI: “He fought a hard, but swift, battle with pancreatic [...]

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Mobile-owning consumers in the UK, Germany and France prefer receiving SMS-based promotions as opposed to other mobile channels, new research published by the UK Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has revealed. 
The study, conducted by Toluna QuickSurveys on behalf of the DMA and report sponsor Velti, shows that 38 per cent of UK mobile owners prefer receiving [...]

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MEF, the global community for mobile content and commerce, has kicked off the new year by unveiling its predictions for 2012.
In 2011, MEF accurately forecast that the proliferation of smartphones would drive mobile consumer engagement – with a number of other predictions also coming to fruition.
MEF’s success in anticipating and addressing key industry issues, combined [...]

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