Direct Marketing Thrust H. Robert Wientzen, president-CEO of The Direct Marketing Association, in an interview with btobonline conducted by Philip B. Clark, concluded that despite the current economic downturn, direct marketing showed stronger gains than some other advertising sectors due to its growing mainstream adoption. Wientzen went on to point out that "B-to-b marketers [were] projected to spend $102.5 billion on direct response advertising [in 2001]. That's a 4.3% increase over [2000's] b-to-b spending. Looking forward, over the next five years, b-to-b ad spending is forecast to increase 7% annually." He said, "B-to-b direct marketing remains a large contributor …

According to The U.S. African American Market, a new research report published by Packaged Facts, the buying power of African Americans in the United States is expected to increase nearly 30% to $682 billion in the next 5 years.