Data and Marketing Association (DMA)
The home of direct and data-driven marketing standards. Born as the Direct Marketing Association, now the data arm of the ANA — and the lineage behind much of responsible list, mail, and data practice.
- Term
- Data and Marketing Association (DMA)
- Type
- Marketing trade body
- Founded
- 1917 (now part of ANA)
- Marketing focus
- Direct & data-driven marketing standards
Parts of speech & senses
- The Data and Marketing Association (DMA), formerly the Direct Marketing Association, is the trade body that set standards and best practices for direct and data-driven marketing; since 2018 it has operated as part of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). "Responsible list and suppression practices trace back to DMA standards."
What the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) is
The Data and Marketing Association (DMA) is a trade body with deep roots in direct marketing. Founded in 1917 as the Direct Marketing Association, it represented the practitioners of direct mail, catalogs, telemarketing, and later email and data-driven marketing — the disciplines built on reaching and measuring individual customers rather than broad audiences. It was renamed the Data and Marketing Association to reflect the field's shift toward data.
In 2018 the DMA was acquired by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), and it now operates as the ANA's data, marketing, and analytics arm. Its enduring legacy is the body of standards and ethical guidelines — around list practices, suppression, consent, and responsible data use — that shaped how direct and data-driven marketing is conducted.
Why the DMA matters to marketers
The DMA matters because so much of modern marketing is direct and data-driven, and the norms for doing it responsibly grew up under the DMA. Practices that practitioners now take for granted — honoring suppression and do-not-contact lists, ethical use of customer data, accountability for what's mailed and messaged — were codified and promoted through DMA guidelines. As marketing moved from mail to email to data platforms, those principles carried forward.
For today's marketer, the DMA's lineage is a reminder that data-driven marketing has long had a standards-and-ethics tradition, not just a technical one. Engaging with its successor programs under the ANA connects a brand to established best practice in data, privacy, and direct response — increasingly important as privacy regulation tightens.
DMA in the ANA era
Because the DMA is now part of the ANA, its work sits within the larger advertiser-side body. The ANA represents advertisers broadly; the former DMA brings the specialized direct-and-data heritage — standards, certification, and community for the data-driven side of marketing. For a marketer, that means the direct-marketing tradition and the broader advertiser agenda now live under one roof.
The practical point is continuity: the standards and ethics the DMA built didn't disappear in the merger — they became the data-and-analytics backbone of the ANA's offering. Understanding the lineage helps marketers know where responsible data-driven practice comes from and where to find its current standards.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin & history
The Data and Marketing Association traces to the Direct Marketing Association, founded in 1917 to represent direct-mail and direct-response practitioners; renamed for the data era, it was acquired by the Association of National Advertisers in 2018.
Etymology: source.
Usage trends
Search interest for this term over the last five years:
Common questions
- What is the Data and Marketing Association (DMA)?
- The trade body — originally the Direct Marketing Association, founded 1917 — that set standards for direct and data-driven marketing. Since 2018 it has been part of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).
- Is the DMA still independent?
- No. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) acquired the DMA in 2018, and it now operates as the ANA's data, marketing, and analytics arm — carrying forward its direct-and-data standards under the larger body.
- What is the DMA known for?
- Standards and ethical guidelines for direct and data-driven marketing — around list and suppression practices, consent, and responsible customer-data use — that shaped how the discipline is conducted.
Resources & people to follow
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Related training
Disciplines
Areas of marketing where data and marketing association (dma) is a core concern: