What can direct marketers expect in 2012? The London Olympics are bound to give our industry a boost but what are the trends to look out for? The DMA interviews members of its 12 councils, which between them cover the entire direct marketing spectrum. They’re all leaders in their fields, from email and mobile marketing to social media, door drops and inserts, and they all see channel integration as the key to success…

DMA Financial Services Council

Christopher Brooks, director at Lexden Group, explains how the financial services industry will have to really focus on long-term planning in 2012. He also highlights the rapid growth across the digital channels. Could plastic be the shortest lived currency thanks to Google Wallet?

DMA Inserts Council

CJ Court, managing director of All Response Media, discusses how targeting and localisation combined with digital printing is growing the inserts industry. Are digital based trading platforms the next big thing?

DMA Mailing Houses Council

Dathan Burden, operations director at DP Direct, highlights how price constraints are at the heart of the mailing house industry in 2012. He predicts that personalisation, advances in colour digital printing and the prominence of 2D barcodes to help track, trace and deliver will set the scene for 2012.

DMA Contact Centres & Telemarketing Council

Elaine Lee, director at ReynoldsBusbyLee, sees telemarketing offering even greater customer service for brands in 2012 as clients take an integrated approach via phone, SMS, email and social media. Will social media technology be delivered into contact centre software?

DMA Mobile Marketing Council

Jo Garcia, business development director at MassMedia Studios/Traction Platform, says that technology is at the top of her list in 2012. It is synonymous with mobile and near field, mobile commerce, connecting the virtual and physical world. Not forgetting consumers love of the ‘tap and go’ function brands will be working on both apps and mobile optimisation throughout the year.

DMA Response Management Council

Joanne Varey, managing director of Granby Marketing Services, acknowledges that marketing disciplines will be fighting for budgets in 2012 but the impact of social media is going to be big for response management. With integrated solutions driving the service, all touch points of the customer journey should be at the heart of campaigns.

DMA Agencies Council

Lucy Stafford, managing director of MindShare, is optimistic about advertising spend in 2012. She predicts that mobile marketing, social media measurement and video on demand combined with TV will grow. Have you considered the impact of more biddable formats of auctions and Google wallet?

DMA Data Council

Mark Roy, CEO of The Data Agency, suggests that in a recession companies must focus on efficiency. Legislation affecting the data industry such as cookies and data protection in 2012 will have a massive impact. Also a shift back to retention to provide a more targeted proposition will ensure competitive advantage.

DMA Door Drop Council

Mark Young, chief executive of The Leaflet Company, sees a challenging year ahead for the industry, but predicts a significant boost from both the European Championships and the Olympics. The integration with more online activity via QR codes, barcodes and coupons is also set to grow.

DMA Brand Activation Council

Richard Dutton, business development director at Arc UK, is feeling positive that from a brand activation perspective the shopper marketing and digital touch points will enjoy increased spend. The use of mobile is set to increase as well as a strong interaction with direct mail on the path to purchase.

DMA Email Marketing Council

Richard Gibson, channel relationship manager at Return Path, predicts that consumer interaction and engagement with emails will be the key focus for email marketers. The integration with social media platforms and content that is transactional on brand websites are set to grow in 2012. Have you linked your email campaign across the touch points?

DMA Social Media Council

Roger Warner, managing director of Content and Motion, highlights the quest for a social media measurement framework and suggests that the value for the ROI and effectiveness metrics will dominate 2012. He also predicts growth in the technology in the form of apps and platform development.