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How Direct Marketers Get You to Opt-In After Opting Out

Posted on Oct 26, 2007 by Tom Fragala

The Wall Street Journal did a piece today on how direct marketers get around the do not call list (and other opt-outs like the DMA's direct mail marketing database). Basically a marketer sends out a mailing (a "reply card") with a free offer to get information about something, perhaps like retirement or estate planning. In the fine print in the reply card, the recipient is unknowingly opting back in to receive telemarketing calls. Clever.

The blog site Valleywag expands on this, saying that large data brokers (it names Choicepoint) are sending out millions of reply cards. Why? Because Choicepoint has to comply with all consumer opt-out requests, which reduces the value of it's database to customers. By sending out reply cards, it gets huge numbers of consumer's to opt-in--and in increases opt-in rates by using its data to intelligently target the rate cards to the individual (based on demographics). When consumer reply to the cards, not only do they confirm that their address is up-to-date (ding!), you are opt-ing back in to receive all manner of marketing (ding ding!). Brilliant.

I wrote a related post about opt-in recently, which was about how businesses you already have a relationship with (i.e. a bank) can get you to opt-in again. I'm not saying this is illegal, just that it is something to be aware of. Especially, since this recently led to identity theft for me personally.