DMA in DC Takes ‘DMAACTION’ on Capitol Hill

Contact: Susan Taplinger; 212.790.1589; staplinger@the-dma.org

Marketers and Fundraisers Visit Congressional Offices on ‘Hill Day’

New York, NY, March 14, 2013 — Yesterday, during Day Two (or “Hill Day”) of the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) DMA in DC conference, data-driven marketers and fundraisers met face-to-face with Members of Congress and their staff to discuss the issues impacting their bottom lines — and what needs to be done to ensure responsible access to marketing data.

Each year at DMA in DC, DMA offers this rare opportunity for attendees to make powerful connections and to get their voices heard on Capitol Hill; meet and work with the top data-driven marketing leaders from across the country; and learn the “art” of effective advocacy to benefit their organizations — as well as consumers.

Hill Day included meetings directly with the Congressional offices leading the debate over consumer data use, postal reform, preserving the charitable tax deduction — and more:

• Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
• Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs
• Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
• Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance and Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs
• Senator Dick Blumenthal (D-CT), Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
• Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Senate Finance Committee
• Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology, and the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member, Senate Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long Term Growth
• Representative Lee Terry (R-NE), Chairman, House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
• Representative Richard Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
• Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
• Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, US Postal Service and the Census
• Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade
• Representative Danny Davis (D-IL), Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Ways and Means

About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the world’s largest trade association dedicated to advancing and protecting responsible data-driven marketing.  Founded in 1917, DMA represents thousands of companies and nonprofit organizations that use and support data-driven marketing practices and techniques.

In 2012, marketers — commercial and nonprofit — spent $168.5 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 52.7 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States.  Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $2.05 trillion in incremental sales.  In 2012, direct marketing accounted for 8.7 percent of total US gross domestic product and produces1.3 million direct marketing employees in the US.  Their collective sales efforts directly support 7.9 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.2 million US jobs.

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