Manning Media International

Take nothing for granted when selecting international lists. What may be an industry standard in the United States may not exist abroad. Above all, ask as many questions as possible. Here are 12 items to check before you rent a multinational or local, in-country list, as presented by Mike Manning, president, Manning Media International, at Direct Marketing Days in New York this May. 1. Who is the list owner? Knowing the owner's identity will prevent renting duplicate files and allow you to confirm the owner's right to sell the data. If ownership cannot be ascertained,

In the United States, a mature market is the major blockade to finding new names, whereas overseas the challenge is not only finding lists but getting permission to mail to them. Business publication lists, says Stephen Eustace, team leader, international brokerage, at Acxiom/Direct Media in Greenwich, CT, are very good sources of names. The Business Week list, for example, gets used frequently, because 50 percent to 60 percent of the file includes home addresses, an optimal situation for mailing both consumer and business offers. What if you don't want to live by publication lists alone? You'll probably have to go off the beaten