Direct Marketing Association Letter to Its Members Urging Them To Reject Catalog Choice Opt-Outs

Subject: ACTION ALERT FOR CATALOG COMMUNITY

ACTION ALERT!

TO: THE CATALOG COMMUNITY ON THIRD PARTY SUPPRESSION LISTS
CC: Related Industries
FR: John A. Greco, Jr.
ACTION: "JUST SAY NO"
DATE: November 30, 2007

We are sending this important message to our members in the catalog channel to alert you to a critical issue. DMA catalog segment members have been approached by organizations who want you to accept their mail suppression lists. We urge you to refuse to use their service and "Just say No". We strongly urge you not to accept third party non-authenticated mail suppression lists. The DMA Mail Preference Service (MPS) is the Official Mail Preference Suppression Service for the catalog marketing community and has been for 36 years. DMA's MPS is the only mail suppression service recognized and endorsed by the United States Postal Service! The DMA believes it would be a significant mistake to cooperate with these organizations. Consider the following facts when you are contacted by third party mail suppression;

* Third party lists are neither verified nor authenticated
* There is no assurance regarding the accuracy or security of the data
* There is no promise that the consumer data will not ultimately be used for marketing purposes
* These organizations could change their policies overnight
* Vendors, such as Catalog Choice, have made it clear that their priority is to eliminate catalogs as a marketing medium ­ it is not in your interest to further their efforts!

DMA's MPS accepts only authenticated and verified names and addresses and the consumer knows that their information will not be sold or leased to anyone. Consumers and catalog marketers are assured that we can deliver on our promise to honor general and individual opt out requests as required under longstanding DMA guidelines. The DMA does not and will not accept third party mail suppression lists and neither should your organization! Note: An enhanced and more robust MPS will be unveiled and briefed at the December 17th Catalog Summit (details below). The new MPS will have additional capabilities such as automatic company and brand suppression choices. Moreover in the near future, new technologies will enhance our authorization and verification capability. We urge you to join us on Monday, December 17, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. eastern standard time for an important catalog segment planning summit in person, at our New York office or via conference call. (Registration is required whether you are joining us in person or by phone.) The Summit will be held at: DMA New York Office 1120 Avenue of the Americas 13th Floor New York, New York 10036 To register, please contact our member relations department at 212.790.1500. Again, we strongly advise the catalog community to continue to utilize the only official mail suppression service of the catalog community endorsed by the USPS and DMA. Reject any list offerings from third party vendors which do not offer the experience, security and verification capabilities of the DMA's Mail Preference Service. Please "Just say No" when approached by third party suppression services.

Sincerely,

John A. Greco, Jr.
President & CEO