ACMA calls on catalogers to participate with Catalog Choice to execute consumer preference requests

Sites pledge of stewardship of the channel and continued commitment to sensitive and appropriate management of the catalog medium for future generations

Washington, DC-The Board of Directors of the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) announced today its unanimous decision to recommend catalogers actively embrace consumer mail preferences and enter into a merchant licensing agreement with Catalog Choice, consistent with their own policies and business models. “We have spent months investigating the issue of how to best address emerging consumer preference requests. We created a Task Force that has spent considerable time investigating Catalog Choice, speaking with their sponsors, and offering input on how Catalog Choice can best accomplish their goal of eliminating waste without damaging the value and viability of the catalog industry. Our conclusion is that Catalog Choice is sincere and focused on reducing unsolicited catalogs, waste that places a burden on catalogers and catalog customers alike,” said Hamilton Davison, executive director of ACMA. “Based on eleven months of work, the ACMA Board is broadcasting a public call for the catalog industry to actively execute consumer preferences. As an industry, we must be committed to doing the ‘right thing,’” added Stan Krangel, President of Miles Kimball Company and ACMA Chair. “Clearly the right thing is continued improvements in meeting the needs and preferences of the consumer with a clearinghouse approach beyond those already in place. The time has come for catalogers to embrace a relative newcomer that has gathered over a million members. The consumer has spoken and we need to deliver!,” continued Krangel.

In November 2007, ACMA formed a Task Force of members to be able to make a recommendation to ACMA members and non-members. Task Force participants included executives from Crate and Barrel, Cuddledown, Gardeners Supply, National Wildlife Direct, and ParadyszMatera. “We committed early on in the process to dig through the rhetoric, assess all the major participants in mail preference area, and come to a recommendation on how to deal with the building proliferation of preference services. While it is not feasible for catalogers to continuously draw consumer preference requests from dozens of different services-each with their unique data architecture and different data format and integrity-it was clear to us that new methods deserved careful consideration,” commented John Seebeck of Crate and Barrel and co-chair of the ACMA task force on consumer preferences. “Our company, Crate and Barrel is today joining with other leading catalogers to formally expand our working relationship with Catalog Choice. We call on our industry colleagues to do likewise. The history of consumer legislation is clear. Either we proactively manage ourselves or risk external management from Washington. Responding to consumer preferences is good business. It is also smart long term thinking for the sector,” continued Seebeck.

ACMA supports the Catalog Choice goal of eliminating unsolicited catalogs from American mailboxes. “Our members do not want to send catalogs to anyone that does not want them. It is wasteful of company funds, unnecessarily wasteful of resources and presents a hassle we do not want to impose on consumers,” said Jim Feinson, CEO of Gardeners Supply and a member of the ACMA Task Force. “The vast majority of catalog customers look forward to receiving catalogs through the mail. We respect and honor consumer preferences and seek feedback as to how, when and how frequently customers want to hear from us,” continued Feinson. “We have a variety of methods to do this already and are now adding a clearinghouse approach with demonstrated commitment to consumer and industry interests.”

ACMA is also producing a “best practices” paper to help guide its members on how to accomplish these goals while not derailing house file growth. “In this process, we have learned a lot about what works best. We want to share this learning with all our members to accelerate their individual progress and be in a position to practice continuous improvement. Clearly, some have concerns that acceding to preference requests will dampen sales velocity in an already very difficult marketplace. We have members that have been able to successfully navigate this paradox. One of the benefits of a trade association is to promote best practices to improve performance without each having to go to the expense and risk of inventing their own solutions,” added Davison.

“Based on how “Do Not Call” legislation gained overnight traction in the face of industry inaction, I am convinced that our fledgling association has been effective to head off a major industry crisis in the court of public opinion and has demonstrated leadership to tackle difficult and complex issues to achieve an outcome beneficial to the entire catalog sector. On behalf of the entire ACMA Board, I appreciate the hard work of the Task Force and commend their leadership in partnering with others to address the issue, Krangel concluded.”

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About the American Catalog Mailers Association: ACMA is a Washington-based not-for-profit created to advocate for unique collective concerns of catalog mailers in regulatory, public and administrative matters where the shared impact transcends individual company interests. We participate in rulemaking and other proceedings of significance where a single collective voice increases influence and effectiveness. ACMA advocates for the interests of catalogers only, not other types of advertising mail; membership is open to any party with significant interests in the catalog industry. More information can be found at www.catalogmailers.org.

To arrange an interview with ACMA’s Executive Director Hamilton Davison, please email croden@catalogmailers.org or call 800-509-9514. Mr. Davison can be reached directly via hdavison@catalogmailers.org or on 401-529-8183.