Direct marketers are secure in their jobs, split on the impact of the do-not-call list, cautiously optimistic about e-mail marketing and disappointed about the World Series contenders.

Direct discovered this and much more in a series of on-site polls at last month's Direct Marketing Association annual conference in Orlando, FL. The “Beat of the DMA” polls, conducted with the help of Vente Inc., gauged DMers' opinions on a variety of subjects, including their own companies' standings.

In an online survey prior to the show, nearly half of our respondents reported having at least one round of layoffs, and one-third said their firms have a hiring freeze. But 42% said that not only didn't they have any staff reductions, they were looking to fill open positions.

They were somewhat more confident about their own jobs: Nearly six in 10 were sanguine about their personal job security, compared with just under 25% who had serious concerns about it.

But while companies may be hiring, they're not sending their employees around as much. Half the respondents said their 2003 travel budgets had been trimmed either significantly or somewhat from last year, while only 7% indicated they had been increased.

So what will turn the nation's fortunes around? Just over three in 10 said an increase in business-to-business spending, compared with 17% who cited a jump in consumer spending. Thirty-one percent feel it will take a new president.

Marketers were split, however, when it came to the 2004 elections. Four in 10 want to stay the course with President Bush, while 27% plan to vote for the Democratic nominee. Twenty-two percent haven't made up their minds yet, and 4% are supporting an independent candidate. And 6% say that, despite having nearly a dozen major candidates, no one running seems qualified for the office.

In a poll taken at Direct's booth at the show, marketers were split over the new federal do-not-call list's impact. A third of the respondents said the prospects lost wouldn't be good leads anyway. But while 54% acknowledge that marketers may be forced to target more efficiently, they also said the job loss within the industry would be huge.

Only 6% expressed a doom-and-gloom outlook, saying that the federal DNC list will prove disastrous, and would prevent consumers from getting calls they really want to receive.

In reaction to the list's implementation, 9% said they ceased all outbound telemarketing, while another 13% now limit it to existing customers. Twenty-seven percent report not making any changes to their activities, while 44% have never done it. Four percent didn't know how it would affect their business.

Count direct marketers among those eliminating themselves as viable telemarketing prospects: 60% have put their home phone numbers on a do-not-call list. Forty-five percent have never responded to a telemarketing pitch. Another 19% have done so — but only in reply to companies they've previously done business with before. Thirty-six percent report that they have answered general telemarketing solicitations.

Our survey also revealed that DMers use e-mail heavily — and some make purchases from it as well.

Sixty-three percent said they were using more e-mail than they were a year ago, while only 7% were sending less. Fourteen percent sent the same amount.

Were those using more e-mail doing so at the expense of other marketing channels? Well, 53% said no, but 22% had pulled money from print and mail expenditures. Only 3% took money from telemarketing, while 10% said their e-mail efforts had drained cash from other channels. The remainder either did not know, or did not use e-mail.

As for its purpose, just under a third of all marketers rely on it as a retention tool, while just 17% use it solely for prospecting. Twenty-nine percent send it for both prospecting and activities.

But the channel isn't without its concerns. Some 36% indicated that consumer burnout was the most serious hazard, followed by the 20% who cited Internet service providers blocking messages. Nine percent mentioned the lack of corporate support for e-mail marketing programs. Ten percent cited other challenges, while 24% said they either didn't do — or didn't know whether their companies did — e-mail marketing.

Marketers embrace the channel as consumers, too. More than three in four respond to e-mail solicitations, although 47% said they answer only those companies they've done business with.

Overall, show attendees were bullish about the DM industry — 55% said their company's revenue had increased within the last 12 months, compared with only 12% who said it had dropped. Twenty-seven percent indicated it remained level, while the rest didn't offer an opinion.

One-third said they didn't have any problem finding names for rental within the last year, while another 27% said the names are still out there, but individual lists are smaller. Twelve percent characterized the list universe as “slim pickings,” while 16% don't rent lists.

On the final day at the exhibit hall, marketers were asked how the conference compared to years past. Twenty-nine percent felt it was a more successful event that yielded several leads, while 26% claimed they obtained some promising prospects, but that it wasn't as busy as in previous years. Twenty percent said it was about the same as in the past.

About two-thirds of our final day survey respondents probably didn't spend a lot of time watching the World Series.

Forty-one percent of respondents had hoped the Chicago Cubs would win their first pennant since 1908, while 24% were praying the Boston Red Sox would finally break the “curse of the Bambino.” The New York Yankees were the team of choice for 21%, and 14% were Florida Marlins fans.