The U.S. Direct Marketing Association is planning to start an “itinerary” program to help educate DMers who want to begin international operations.
Charles A. Prescott, the DMA’s vice president of international business development and government affairs, said the program will be aimed primarily at small- and medium-sized businesses.
As part of the itinerary package, the DMA will sponsor trips to overseas trade shows, like the International DM Fair in London. As part of the trip, Prescott said DMers would also get to meet with other marketers already operating in that particular country.
The program will extend across the other side of the Atlantic, as invitations will also be extended to foreign marketers to come to the United States and attend similar programs there.
Prescott said the DMA has generated much interest at the DM Fair in London, where it exhibited the first time this year.
The International DM Fair, which ends today, featured 325 exhibitors, including 38 international stands (12 from North America).
About 8,600 visitors attended the fair during its first two days. Fair organizers said traffic was down from last year on Tuesday, but exceeded 1998 levels on Wednesday, despite comments from several exhibitors that the floor seemed less crowded than previous years.
