Loose Cannon: How We Lost Moscow

The fact that the free flow of information in Moscow is limited shouldn’t come as a surprise. But it might startle readers to know that this particular Moscow is in the United States – and the restrictions being placed don’t bode well for direct mailers.

Come Jan. 1, bulk solicitations sent into the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus’s mail system will be unceremoniously dumped into recycling bins, according to a new policy.

In theory, the catalogs and other mailings thrown away will be those that arrive in bulk. In practice, once mailroom employees get a taste for tossing solicitations, it’s highly unlikely they’ll stop to consider whether or not a recipient has an established business relationship with a marketer.

Given the six-week heads-up, if the direct marketing community doesn’t at least attempt to counteract this, DMers will deserve to lose access to the Moscow market – as well as those at other colleges and universities.

The University of Idaho’s decision has been picked up by the wire services as a feel-good story. It’s not hard to imagine other campuses rushing to embrace this policy. This new rule is a win-win for administrators. It’s bound to be popular among students, as it gives them a chance to feel good about being environmentally conscious without having to actually do anything.

Those in charge of the purse strings will love it, too. As the University of Idaho’s sustainability coordinator Darin Saul said in a statement, “Delivering bulk mail consumes valuable staff time, increases fuel and equipment use, and increases the volume of waste that must be processed.”

Where’s the DM community’s side of the story? Where is the charm counteroffensive? Where are the marketers promoting discounts available to students through mailed orders? Why aren’t direct marketers setting up tent on the Moscow campus, actively promoting the ease of shopping -- whether for folks back home during the holidays, or on-campus inamoratas, or, I dunno, bribes for impoverished teaching assistants -- and so forth? (And…which entity is going to be the first to challenge this in the courts?)

Most importantly, where is the DM-community-sponsored debate or promotional event, held smack in the middle of the University of Idaho’s campus, which could be picked up by college newspaper wire services (or even national wire services), thereby spreading mailers’ message to schools across America?

College campuses yield good opportunities for engaging curious minds. Make the case for bulk direct mail strongly enough – or at least raise intriguing questions – and a future DMA Hall of Famer might be motivated to take a DM class or two.

If this happens, bulk mail solicitations would be classified as “academic material,” which would be a lot messier for universities to ban than so-called “junk mail”.

To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact richard.levey@penton.com