Today, I was contacted by Dominos (UK) about an offer they are having at the moment. That in itself is nothing unusual and only a little annoying.

What’s unusual, and incredibly annoying, is that not only did they send something through the post, they also sent my husband a text message. Furthermore, what we received in the post was in an addressed envelope such that it looked like a normal, non-junk letter.

Oh, but it only begins there. I also believe they were in breech of the Data Protection Act 1998 due to the fact they kept my data for longer than the purpose it was given (ordering pizza).

This got me thinking. Why do companies continue to market their products in ways that feels more like harassment?

How many times have you found yourself frustrated by direct marketing? All those unwanted telephone calls, letters, emails and now text messages too.

I’m sure that, like me, you got fed up with direct marketing a long time ago and wish it would stop.

Now think, how many times has direct marketing got you to buy their product? I’ll take a guess here and say very few have.

The intrusive nature of direct marketing probably leaves you feeling like doing anything but buying their product. But let’s take this further.

Does direct marketing put you off dealing with that company again? I know that’s the effect it has on me, and while I know I have a shorter fuse than some, I am not unreasonable.

If this is how direct marketing leaves us feeling, why do companies continue to do it?

I have a theory. Marketers have been telling companies for so long that direct marketing works, that the companies now believe them.

Whenever I think of marketing companies, I imagine a group of evil monsters laying in wait for other, unsuspecting companies that they can trick into buying their marketing strategies, and that they would lie and manipulate data until the cows come home. And let’s face it – data can easily be made to look like something it’s not.

If you happen to work in the marketing industry and you are an honest person, please don’t take offence. You are a rare gem and I wish you every success. We need more people like you in the world (except if you use direct marketing strategies ).

It is my opinion, as a consumer, that companies would be far better off if they used marketing that does not target individuals, i.e. does not make someone feel singled out.

I’m going to get you to think again (sorry about that, I’m sure you did far too much of it at work today). Can you remember more from an advert on TV than you can from a direct marketing attempt (a telephone call, for example)?

I for one can remember far more from a leaflet sent through the door last week than I do from the text message and mail Dominos sent me today.

And why is that? It’s because leaflets are not aimed at me. The text message was, and it violated my privacy.

So, to any marketers out there, please, stop with the direct marketing already. It just doesn’t work.