DMA Chair Endorses Nominees, Pike Letter Asks “Am I In A Minority?”

In the latest salvo of the Direct Marketing Association proxy battle, DMA chair Kelly B. Browning sent out a letter endorsing the DMA’s slate of board members and seeking proxy votes. Board member Gerry Pike, who is mounting a counter-effort, e-mailed a message seeking feedback in the form of a survey, along with proxy votes.

The two efforts – Pike’s which went out Monday morning, and Browning, which was mailed Monday afternoon – are part of a struggle leading up to the DMA’s annual business meeting, which will be held on Oct. 18 during the organization’s conference in San Diego.

Browning’s letter, which bore the subject line “A Personal Message From DMA Chair, Kelly Browning”, did not mention Pike’s insurgent effort. Instead, the “Dear DMA Voting Member” message praised the DMA’s nominating committee for “proposing an impressive slate of multichannel marketers to join the 2010-2011 board.”

“…[T]his year’s new nominees represent the most diverse array of channels and markets ever, full reflecting what’s happening in marketing today,” Browning wrote.

Browning’s letter provided a link for recipients to download a proxy statement, as well as a fax number and e-mail address for returning it to the DMA.

Pike’s letter contained a series of questions, allegedly asked of Pike by DMA members. These include “Am I the only one who thinks DMA isn’t providing value? Are other members questioning the ROI of their DMA dues?”

Pike then offered several links to a “DMA Value Satisfaction Survey,” adding “You see [first name of recipient], I want to know something DMA Management doesn’t – your opinion.”

“I will soon publish the results,” Pike wrote. “I’ll share it with my colleagues on the DMA Board, so they’ll know membership thinking first hand.”

The survey itself asked members to rate the DMA’s value from “None” to “Superb” on nine issues: Networking opportunities; business development opportunities; educational programs; exposure to new technologies; effectiveness in representing their issues; business advice; responsiveness to their needs; value of DMA events and relevance of the DMA to their business.

Pike did not indicate when he would be releasing the results.

The link did not permit a recipient to complete the survey more than once.