Andy Wood, MD, GI Insight You Asked Given the political, geographical and cultural differences between European countries, how can a level of pan-European consistency be achieved in marketing?

Marketers (and direct marketers in particular) wishing to address Europe as a homogenous whole, have to realise that the continent remains a collection of very different cultures and societies, with differing tastes, priorities, mores and, most importantly, legislatures. The main differences between countries that have to be addressed and overcome fall into several categories: attitudes to direct marketing; marketing saturation; online penetration; legislative differences; and analytical considerations.

Attitudes to Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is at a very different stage of development in different European countries. Pitney Bowes research last year revealed that attitudes to direct mail split into a polarity between a sceptical and developed UK/German market, as opposed to a less developed and more enthusiastic market in France, Italy and Spain. This probably has nothing to do with a fundamental attitude difference on each side of the Channel, but more likely reflects that the Brits and Germans have come to view well-targeted direct mail as much more the norm, and expect it every time round. The Mediterranean countries are still much more used to generic campaigns, and so well-targeted, highly personalised activity still stands out more and impresses a greater proportion of recipients.

Direct Marketing Saturation

There is also a noteworthy gap between the number of pieces of direct mail received by each household in the different countries of Europe. For instance, UK households receive 8.4 pieces each week, compared with Italian homes that get 7, which over a year-long period makes for a difference worth mentioning. Recognising the disparities in overall exposure saturation to any direct marketing medium is critical to pan-European campaign construction. Saturation levels will inevitably influence response rates in each country, and a consequent weighting of the volumes targeted in each geography is essential if consistent response volumes are to be generated. In fact, in order to build these compensation models, research needs to be bought or commissioned which drills down to a far deeper level than the figures mentioned here. At the very least, the data on sector differences by country is required (i.e. average weekly receipt of direct marketing from the relevant business category, such as banking, insurance, retail, mail order, publishing, credit card, leisure, etc). At present, there is no single reliable source for such intelligence, and so commissioning such input needs to be built into campaign planning.

Internet Penetration

Pan-European campaigns also need to take account of country differences regarding internet connection and usage. It is now widely recognised that an increasing proportion of responsive campaigns use traditional and online media in a mutually supportive way. The reach of direct mail is often used, for instance, to stimulate online responses. As a result, insight and intelligence is required to establish the balance between online and offline to suit how ‘connected’ each country’s population is. How long people spend online is equally critical. To put things in the pan-European context, users across all countries average 16.5 usage days per month. But there are a good number of countries that have usage days below the European average, and where direct mail activity needs to be adjusted upwards to compensate.

Legislative differences

Differences in legislation or its varying degrees of implementation are another factor that stands in the way of achieving effective pan-European direct marketing campaigns. A good example of this uneven playing field is the level to which different countries are implementing the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications. The Directive requires firms to actively seek the positive permission (sometimes called ‘opt-in’) of non-customers to be emailed, where the company has gathered their email addresses through competitions, promotions or other methods. According to research from law firm Osborne Clarke, the UK is one of the worst enforcers of EU digital marketing law. Media Logistics is the only company in the UK to have been financially penalised for breaching anti-spam law. By contrast, the same laws have been invoked on 500 occasions in both Austria and Germany, 77 times in Greece, and 50 times in Italy. Furthermore, punishment in the UK is among the most lenient. Britain’s maximum penalty is £5,000, whereas in Sweden it is £385,000. In France, the penalty is £2,600 per email, while in Denmark there is no limit. The danger of not being compliant with local implementation standards is not simply a financial risk however. Companies who have not complied are putting their carefully built brands at risk, by putting out the message to consumers that they apparently don't care about legislation designed to protect their prospective customers' privacy. This effectively puts them in the category of junk e-mailers, and associates them with a rising tide of spam, and growing consumer concerns over the security of their personal records

In conclusion, pan-European campaigns face a number of challenges, spanning country differences over direct mail responsiveness, targeting uplift, internet penetration and analytical restrictions resulting from postcode geography differences. All can be overcome. However, if any one of these obstacles is not recognised and accommodated at the first post, then attempts to realise pan-European economies will fail.

GI Insight