These questions have become even more important with the advent of the Internet. Finally, certain other types of information, such as medical data, financial records and information about children, clearly are more sensitive and deserve closer scrutiny as to how they are used, accessed and shared with others. For example, there has been general agreement among privacy advocates, industry leaders and government officials about regulating collection of information online from and about children, resulting in the Children s Online Privacy Protection Act in 1999. When Direct Marketers Use Information Direct marketers rely on public information as a vital source of data from which they can more accurately target offers to prospective customers. The more information marketers have, the more accurately they can target solicitations to consumers who may be interested in them.
Information is what helps make direct marketing useful and interesting to consumers.
As a result, consumers may enjoy receiving offers they may not have asked for, but are relevant to them. And the simple fact is that direct marketing works. Direct marketing has proven to be an extremely effective means for companies to sell their products. The industry employed 14 million people in 1999 and is projected to employ 17 million by 2004. Industry Response To Privacy Concerns Marketers, both online and off line, know that economic growth and future prosperity rest squarely on consumer confidence and trust, and increasingly that trust is centered on the protection of personal information.