New research has found that 30 per cent of firms believe the promotion channel is ideal to encourage debate and interaction with potential clients.

The study revealed that almost a third of direct marketing companies use promotional activity to build relationships with customers.

According to marketing experts, companies should not disregard direct mail in favour of online promotions.

Even though firms, at times, seem reluctant to make the move, it has been found that offline marketing is effective at attracting people to web-based services.

New figures show that the number of firms choosing to add mobile promotions to their direct marketing mix is increasing.

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released more details that claimed it has gained almost 30 more members since February, highlighting how the emerging platform is continuing to grow.

A new global report from IBM indicates that advertisers are moving away from traditional press, radio and TV campaigns in favour of direct marketing strategies.

According to the research, 63 per cent of global chief marketing officers have said that they will increase online marketing spend.

New research by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council found that many direct marketing experts don’t believe that firms will cut their promotional budgets over the course of 2009.

The study found that half of marketers believe budgets are set to stay the same or be slightly increased in coming months.