DMA Awards: What do I know about direct marketing?

I know what you’re thinking. And I must admit, I didn't think I was the most obvious choice to lead this year’s DMA Awards judging panel either. After all, what does a bloomin' designer of fashion products and social housing projects know about the direct marketing industry? Well, a little more than I first appreciated.

It was this year’s campaign – What are you worth? – that first made me understand that what I do has far more in common with what you guys do than I first realised. I’m a creative person, a businessman and everything I do strives to make a real difference to the lives of others. Red or Dead, the fashion label I founded with Mrs H., succeeded because we understood the social and financial value of creativity. Sounds familiar?

I became involved with the DMA Awards for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the UK direct marketing industry is a great example of how strategic thinking and creativity can achieve real social change. It’s not just about selling products to consumers. As this year’s winning entries so ably demonstrate good direct marketing makes a real difference to the lives of mothers, holidaymakers, parents, commuters, homebuyers, music lovers… and even scientists!

Secondly, the Awards and the What are you worth? campaign champion the phenomenal achievements of the UK’s creative industries. We can take great satisfaction knowing that we’re world leaders when it comes to excelling at commercial creativity. We should take flag-waving pride in what we do.

Sitting on the Awards judging panel also quickly dispelled any preconceptions that I had about direct marketing. Please don’t groan, but I was one of those naïve people that assumed that DM stood for direct mail. The breadth and depth of the winning work I judged showed me the level of creative versatility and digital innovation that characterises today’s direct marketing industry. But then you knew that already.

When I judged the shortlisted winners for the Grand Prix I think I surprised a few of my fellow panellists with my focus on the results of the campaigns. I guess they assumed I'd be more interested in the quality of the creative work more than anything else. I'm known primarily as a designer, after all. Well, as I mentioned earlier I am also a businessman. I wanted to see - to borrow a phrase – the real difference it makes, how many people are affected, the return on investment it delivers.

The last point is particularly important at this point in time. This downturn has been the worst to blight the UK economy in living memory and there are no quick fixes. One thing we can do is to ’sing’ about our industries that are bucking the economic trend and are pulling us towards the distant light at the end of the tunnel.

As the winners in this year’s DMA Awards annual show, we should have every reason to put our faith in the direct marketing industry to step forward and lead the way.

By DMA guest blogger Wayne Hemingway