Though television is the leading advertising medium in Iran, direct mail is gradually growing in importance, according to Fardin Ghanbari, director general for direct mail at the Post Company of Iran.
His comments came at the Direct Mail Markets Development Workshop, held last month in Tehran by the Direct Mail Advisory Board.
Along with officials from Post Company of Iran, attendees also included representatives of the postal organizations in Armenia, China, CÔte d'Ivoire, India, Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Senegal and United Arab Emirates, directors of all Iranian provinces, and local advertising companies and customers.
According to the DMAB, Ghanbari said that volumes handled by Post Company of Iran achieved 46 percent growth in the past year.
Ghanbari noted a case of direct mail development from the southeastern province of Systan & Baluchestan, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. One of the smallest and poorest provinces in Iran, the local post office has managed to make the case for direct mail with local companies, and about one-fourth of all direct mail traffic that goes through Post Company of Iran now originates in this region.
Also at the workshop, Mazen Said Dakkak from the Emirates Post reportedly said work had begun to establish a direct marketing association for the Middle East. It would formulate long-term DM strategies, conduct research, coordinate efforts of marketers in the region and provide educational and training tools.
Other DMAB workshops in 2004 are planned for Senegal, China and Pakistan.
The DMAB, part of the Universal Postal Union's direct mail markets development program, consists of postal and industry organizations. Members include postal organizations from 30 countries as well as the Direct Marketing Association, Donnelley Marketing, the Envelope Manufacturers Association, the European Envelope Manufacturers' Federation, Firstlogic, Group 1 Software, Pitney Bowes, the Association for Postal Commerce and the Reader's Digest Association.
The DMAB's next meeting is Feb. 10 in Bern, Switzerland.
The group also said the Russian Association of Direct Marketing and the Russian Post are organizing the IV International Conference “Direct Marketing. XXI Century.” It will take place May 27-28 in Moscow. For information, contact Olga V. Kryuchkova at [email protected] or the RADM at [email protected].
