Who will be the first FEDMA Holmen Paper European Direct Marketer of the Year?

Press release

Brussels, 16.03.2009

Europe has long been in need of a prestigious award that honours individual persons who have done exceptional things for the direct and interactive marketing industry!

"There are an abundance of awards honouring campaigns, agencies and advertisers. When FEDMA decided to launch the FEDMA & Holmen Paper European Direct Marketer of the Year Award, we wanted to create an award that acknowledges individuals who have pioneered pan-European campaigns", said Marketing & Membership Director Jørgen Nygaard Andreassen of Brussels based FEDMA.

Chairman of the judges panel, Michael Leander Nielsen, added; "there are people out there who every single day are making a difference, promoting, educating, informing and practising pan-European direct and interactive marketing. They deserve credit. Being a successful direct marketer on a national level is difficult, but understanding how to create and execute campaigns and initiatives successfully on a pan-European level, is outright hard." - jury member Juris Ozols, board member of the Latvian DMA and director of Marketing House, said: "True - and in some countries, like the Baltics and many Eastern European countries where direct and interactive marketing is not yet fully developed, we see people who are struggling every day to convince marketers that there are other ways to market than traditional advertising (brand and mass media display advertising). People like that deserve credit for pioneering the field." Johan Lindqvist of Swedish database owner PAR AB pointed out that direct and interactive marketing involves sophisticated data handling. "Through the FEDMA & Holmen Paper Direct Marketer of the Year Award we also hope to acknowledge people who understand that successful direct marketing often starts with a good list, an understanding of your prospects and customers - and their differences from country to country."

The FEDMA & Holmen Paper Direct Marketer of the Year Award was created by FEDMA to provide the direct and interactive marketing industry in Europe with a means of recognising the achievements of an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the direct and interactive marketing industry. An award will also be given out to an entry level executive who has shown exceptional excellence in creativity, marketing strategy, one to one dialogue marketing techniques, and who has set the example for others to follow.

Mr. Tommy Wiksand, sales director at Holmen Paper commented: "It is an honour for us at Holmen Paper to be the main sponsor for of the awards. DM is an important end use area for Holmen Paper's products. We see it as a good opportunity to lift up good examples of XLNT and interactive marketing."

Richard Thomas, Director of Marketing for Jet Republic, silver sponsor of the award, said: "We are proud to support this FEDMA initiative. We view Direct Marketing as an important and effective part of our integrated marketing campaigns. It allows us to engage with customers in a new way and raise brand awareness. We applaud FEDMA for providing guidelines on data protection and data integrity in the industry, as well as for creating unique opportunities for the exchange of ideas."

The award ceremony will take place in Madrid, 7th May 2009, in conjunction with the International NextMarketing conference and the Spanish IMAN Awards (6-7th May).

For more information on the awards and nomination process, please contact Jørgen Nygaard Andreassen (jandreassen@fedma.org / +32 2778 99 28), or visit www.fedma.org/awards09.

Ends

About FEDMA

FEDMA, the Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing, represents the sector in all its forms at European level. FEDMA?s objective is to protect and promote the European direct and interactive marketing sector by creating, through representation, self-regulation and information, acceptance of and confidence in direct and interactive marketing within a healthy commercial and legislative environment in which the sector can profitably operate and develop. Representing the interests of over 18,000 companies, FEDMA is the single voice dedicated to building the business of cross-border direct and interactive marketing, both through its vast network of businesses within and beyond Europe, and by representation within the EU institutions and other international bodies. All our members enjoy a wide range of services.

For further information please visit www.fedma.org

Please click here for a complete list of direct marketing associations in Europe and elsewhere affiliated to FEDMA.