Direct Marketing

There are two main definitional characteristics of Direct Marketing which distinguish it from other types of marketing or advertising. The first is that it attempts to send its messages directly to consumers, without the use of intervening media. This involves unsolicited commercial communication (spam, junk mail, etc.) with consumers or businesses. The second characteristic is that it is focused on driving purchases that can be attributed to a specific "call-to-action." This aspect of direct marketing involves an emphasis on trackable, measurable positive (but not negative) responses from consumers regardless of medium.