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Clean data, clear results!

By |2025-04-29T06:24:43+00:00April 29th, 2025|

April 2025 hasn’t been kind to marketers. Between economic jitters, tariff threats, and increased business taxation, UK companies are re-evaluating where they spend—and where they can see tangible returns. The latest IPA Bellwether Report for Q1 2025 confirms the squeeze, marking the first overall decline in UK marketing budgets in four years. While main media channels like out-of-home and audio have seen significant cuts (with a net balance of -6.7%), direct marketing bucks the trend. Budgets for the channel rose sharply to +9.0%, up from +5.6%—a clear signal that when the pressure is on, marketers are turning to what works. The Data-Driven Edge One of the key reasons for direct mail’s ongoing strength? Data hygiene. As marketers continue to sharpen [...]

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KEEP YOUR PECR UP

By |2024-07-09T08:46:49+00:00July 9th, 2024|

Our analysis of ICO’s enforcement actions over the past 12 months (July 2023-July 2024) reveals important trends in data governance and highlights the ongoing challenges organisations face in maintaining data privacy. It indicates a predominant focus on the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR): PECR: 55.56% Article 5(1)(f): 18.52% (Integrity and confidentiality of personal data) Article 5(1)(a): 7.41% (Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency) Article 12(3): 7.41% (Transparent information, communication, and modalities for exercising the rights of the data subject) Article 32(1)(b): 3.70% (Security of processing) Article 5(1)(c): 3.70% (Data minimization) Article 9(1): 3.70% (Processing of special categories of personal data) Trends and Observations: Predominance of PECR Violations: Over half of the enforcement actions were related to PECR. This underscores the ICO's focus [...]

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Print – the comeback kid!

By |2024-02-19T05:45:21+00:00February 19th, 2024|

In a time where the digital realm dominates our daily lives, print is making a strong come-back A new report from Sopro reveals that consumers are increasingly favouring print over digital, particularly for marketing communications. This is highlighted by a significant decline in the effectiveness of email-only campaigns and a doubled preference for postal communications among consumers over the past year. The study, which analysed over 75.2 million emails and gathered insights from more than 350 sales and marketing professionals, found a 22% drop in the success rates of email-only activities in 2023 compared to the previous year. That said, the majority of shoppers (67%) still welcome email contact, but it suggests that its impact is waning. Conversely, the preference [...]

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Ditching Saturday (and Monday and Friday) post could irrevocably damage the direct mail industry

By |2024-01-24T13:59:39+00:00January 24th, 2024|

The recent news of a potential reduction in the Universal Service Obligation (USO) delivery days by Ofcom has sent ripples through the direct mail industry. A leaked report earlier in the week suggested a move from six to five delivery days per week, effectively removing Saturday deliveries. Then this morning another story suggests that Royal Mail could move to a three-day week! It’s hard to keep up. But whatever, the outcome, the proposed plans will raise questions about the impact on direct mail campaigns. The Significance of Saturdays in Direct Mail Traditionally, Saturday has been a golden day for direct mail campaigns. A weekend delivery often catches recipients in a more relaxed state, leading to better engagement and response rates. [...]

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Streamlining Data Quality: The Rise of Fully Automated Data Cleansing Services

By |2023-05-17T11:45:39+00:00May 17th, 2023|

In today's data-driven world, businesses rely heavily on the accuracy and reliability of their data to make informed decisions. However, maintaining clean and error-free data is a complex and time-consuming task that can often overwhelm organisations. To address this challenge, a new solution has emerged: fully automated data cleansing services. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, these services streamline the data cleaning process, enabling businesses to enhance the quality of their data effortlessly and efficiently. The Challenge of Data Quality: Data quality is a crucial factor in ensuring reliable business operations, insightful analytics, and effective decision-making. Organisations often encounter challenges such as duplicate entries, outdated information, inconsistent formatting, and incomplete records. These issues can stem from various sources, including manual data entry, system [...]

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The Software Bureau adds Baby Mailing Preference Service to SwiftCore

By |2023-03-09T10:07:00+00:00March 9th, 2023|

The Software Bureau has integrated Baby Mailing Preference Service (BMPS) to its SwiftCore suppression data portfolio to give organisations specialising in baby related products and services more control over their direct marketing. BMPS, a not-for-profit service managed by the DMA, is a specific preference service which enables bereaved parents to opt-out of receiving baby-oriented direct marketing communications including mail, email, SMS and phone calls. Most parents and parents-to-be are happy to receive communications from relevant brands at this exciting time, but in the UK sadly one in five pregnancies fall victim to a miscarriage and almost 3,000 a year result in a still birth. The BMPS enables those affected by miscarriage and stillbirth the opportunity to stop unwanted communications at [...]

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We achieve ISO27001 recertification

By |2023-03-02T07:33:07+00:00March 2nd, 2023|

We are delighted to have once again been recertified for ISO27001, which we first achieved in 2019. ISO27001 is the international standard prescribing best practice for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). It provides a framework for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring and improving information management using a six-part process model. According to the latest ISO Survey less than one per cent of UK businesses (2,818 organisations) currently hold the award due to the complexity involved in adhering to the controls outlined by the Standard. The accreditation builds a culture of security protecting valuable data and information assets. Comments Martin Rides, Managing Director, The Software Bureau: "This is a great achievement, particularly since we are one of only a few organisations in the [...]

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