Beyond the hype: what the DMA Value of AI report really tells us
Walking away from the launch of the DMA’s The Value of AI report earlier this month (16 June 2026), one thought stayed with me. For the past couple of years, much of the conversation has centred on AI adoption. Which tools are organisations…
Soft opt-in for charities: the guidance is now complete
The guidance picture is now complete. Here’s what charities should do next. When the ICO published its final guidance on the charitable purposes soft opt-in in April (2026), I wrote about what it meant in practice: fix your data capture, treat…
Direct mail and digital: why the either/or question is the wrong one
As a Platinum JICMAIL member, we follow their research closely. And the latest Q1 2026 results provide further evidence of what many of us have been seeing in campaign results for some time: direct mail isn’t an alternative to digital marketing.…
Data, discussions and a fantastic day at the ABTA Travel Marketing Conference
Last week (20 May 2026), our Head of Data Consultancy, Scott Logie, and I had the pleasure of speaking at the ABTA Travel Marketing Conference in Westminster and what a day it was. As an ABTA partner and event sponsor, PDV was proud to be part of…
Celebrating 25 years of PDV
It’s hard to believe that 25 years has passed since PDV first began delivering direct marketing in April 2000. On one hand, 25 years feels like a long time, while on the other, April 2000 feels like the recent past to some of us! This was the year…
Experian and the ICO
About a month ago, the disagreement between the ICO and Experian finally headed towards closure with the following sentence: “The Information Commissioner’s Appeal is dismissed.” This succinct statement was followed up by 57 closely written pages of…
Privacy Areas To Watch in 2024
There’s so much for direct marketing privacy professionals and practitioners to look out for in 2024. Towards the end of last year, the ICO told us they’d written to owners of some of the UK’s most visited websites where they could see that cookie…
Direct Marketing in the Maelstrom
I don’t often lament the fate of marketers. We have a lovely job and generally a lot of fun doing it. That said, with the cost-of-living crisis and the current economic turmoil, we might be forgiven for feeling like our job has become unnecessarily…
New Cars - who's going electric?
Two years ago, we asked our friends over at MyOffers to talk to their audience about the cars they drive and the cars they want to drive with some fascinating results. Before I start, I should share a couple of facts… The MyOffers audience…