2. Explain the meaning of 'direct marketing'. Why is it considered targeted means of advertising?

Direct marketing is one of the type of marketing. There are two main characteristics which differs it from other types of marketing or advertising. The first is that it attempts to send its messages directly to consumers, without the use of other media. This involves unsolicited commercial communication (spam, junk mail, etc.) with consumers or businesses. The second characteristic is that it is focused on driving

purchases that can be attributed to a specific "call-to-action." If the advert asks the prospect to take a specific action, for example call a free phone number or visit a website, then the effort is considered to be direct response advertising.

Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers, because in many cases its positive effect (but not negative results) can be measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends out one million solicitations by mail, and ten thousand customers can be tracked as having responded to the promotion, the marketer can say with some confidence that the campaign led directly to the responses. The number of recipients who are offended by the junk mail/spam, however, is not easily measured. By contrast, measurement of other media must often be indirect, as there is no direct response from a consumer.