Direct marketing currently generates 10 percent of total GDP in the US, amounting to $ 2 trillion in incremental sales across all industries. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, expenditure on this sector comprises less than 1 percent of total advertising spend. This illustrates the room for growth to global levels of MENA direct marketing in the next five to seven years. Translated into figures, growth predictions for share of advertising spend are 6.7 percent in the next five years. The growth receives a further boost with Acxiom recently being ranked the number one advertising agency in the US. Acxiom is not a conventional advertising agency but rather a major player in data-centric customer relationship management and direct marketing (CRM/DM). “This is an incredible set of achievements,” said Yousef Hamidaddin, CEO of Acxiom MENA. “There is a growing tendency towards direct marketing because of its appealing measurability and reliability in proving conversion and recall rates. The AdAge ranking recognizes Acxiom as an entity that can offer direct marketing across every channel, which includes audience engagement and personalization through pinpoint targeting and actionable results.” Advertising Age (AdAge) magazine is the leading global source of news, intelligence and conversation for marketing and media communities. AdAge ranks 883 US agencies in its report. To be ranked by Advertising Age as the largest marketing/advertising/CRM company is a significant achievement for Acxiom, solidifying its industry position, which it has been building for the past 40 years. It also confirms the direction taken by adding new capabilities to keep up with marketer demand and an increasingly fragmented media environment. Yousef Hamidaddin added that Acxiom MENA helped clients make smarter decisions on their marketing spend that in turn lead to significant growth in profitability and market share. “The AdAge ranking will certainly provide us with an opportunity to create broader awareness of the depth of services that we can provide not only in direct marketing but with digital marketing solutions across a broad spectrum of channels.” A global leader in interactive marketing services and infrastructure management, Acxiom connects clients with their customers through deep customer insight, powering effective and profitable marketing initiatives and business decisions. The company's consultative approach spans multiple industries and incorporates decades of experience in consumer data and analytics, information technology, data integration and strategy formulation solutions for effective marketing across digital, Internet, email, mobile and direct mail channels.
