Aggressive/Obnoxious AOPA E-Mail Campaign Widely Distributed...
Reportedly To Many Addresses That Did Not 'Opt-In'
ANN has been monitoring reports of
a number of complaints from aviation-oriented email users who have
been getting one of three current email missives, from AOPA, trying
to get them to sign up for the organization's so-called
e-newsletter. AOPA uses an outside service (reportedly run by
friends of Fuller from his political days) that posts links to a
number of other stories on the web, with some occasional original
AOPA content and lots of ads.... and is putting QUITE the push to
get people to sign up for it... with aggressive, insistent (some
say desperate) campaigns. There have been three in recent memory...
spaced about a week apart... and we've seen all of them... in most
of ANN's email boxes... as well as those of our staff's private
addresses and some internal email addresses that are used in
specialized functions (and are NEVER used for correspondence).
We've heard similar complaints from others, who report getting the
AOPA campaign in a number of variations, often with a number of
duplicate submissions... and to addresses which they are sure they
are never offered AOPA permission to solicit.
Polite practice recommends a mass emailer to get permission to
send commercial email... and when that doesn't happen, the
Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail (popularly known as SPAM) tends to
take on pretty obnoxious proportions... though not necessarily
illegal as a result of the gutting of anti-spam laws last decade
by Congress (that was lobbied effectively by folks who use
these tactics for profit). However; once such messages are noted
and the sender is told to stop... it should and that becomes an
altogether different game... and at that point, the FTC and other
Federal agencies can be notified and may receive complaints that
can (though, not often enough) lead to prosecution.
The FTC has noted that, "Unsolicited commercial email -- 'UCE,'
or 'spam,' in the online vernacular -- is any commercial electronic
mail message sent, often in bulk, to a consumer without the
consumer's prior request or consent. The very low cost of sending
UCE differentiates it from other forms of unsolicited marketing,
such as direct mail or out-bound telemarketing. Those marketing
techniques, unlike UCE, impose costs on senders that may serve to
limit their use."
In the case of the AOPA spam campaign, ANN itself noted
receiving over 100 copies of this campaign and well into the first
round of this nonsense, we sent several email messages (and made a
few calls) demanding that AOPA and its email vendor cease such
activities... we have to deal with enough garbage as it is... BUT
the mail kept coming -- to ANN, to our staff, to PRIVATE addresses
that belonged to our staff -- and it became obvious that AOPA or
its vendors was using an impersonal list that harvested addresses
via a number of means, coupled with data collection that seemed to
suggest that such addresses might have an interests in aviation.
It's truly obnoxious... though not necessarily illegal... until you
tell them to stop the harassment... and when we continued to get
email after email... we made an official complaint... long after
warning AOPA we would do so.
Today (long after the first complaints), ANN received a
threatening missive from an AOPA lawyer in an apparent attempt to
intimidate us into silence... and (surprise!!!) less than a day
after they were notified (in order to elicit a response) that we
were publishing a Guest Editorial from another high-profile member
of the aviation community protesting conduct like this...
Hmmm... This is NOT the AOPA that ANN once admired, praised and
was proud to support... not by a long shot.
Aero-Analysis and Commentary: ANN continues to
get heavy feedback, of a decidedly negative nature, about AOPA's
aggressive marketing and never-ending, intermittable, greedy,
"fund-raising" -- it has been the source of thousands of complaints
and we agree that the organization is out of control in trying to
raise some cash... which normally wouldn't be THAT bad a thing (the
fund-raising) if the same organization seemed to be doing something
for it, rather than embarrassing the community with schemes like
the "AOPA Wine Club" and/or letting the FAA shove Aircraft
Re-Registration down our throats.
Worse... AOPA seems intent on
controlling whatever news and messaging it can within the GA
community... its feuds and virulently competitive attitude toward
Flying magazine (and other such outlets) are well-known, and even
ANN has been threatened before (even to the point of profane verbal
assault on a public ramp at Oshkosh), when they felt we were in
their way... AOPA's marketing and editorial groups have attempted
to convince sponsors to avoid private journalism outlets (in favor
of AOPA), tried to convince news sources to favor AOPA over other
outlets, and even limited outside press access to AOPA functions at
some of its events. Under normal circumstances, such tactics make
it difficult for private publications and news outlets to do
professional, successful business. There is a double-whammy here...
in that Flying magazine has to make a profit to survive... ANN has
to make a profit to survive... and AOPA doesn't -- it can waste as
much of its member's money (such as the reports of over $700K
wasted on the first iteration of the poorly produced AOPA Live
event) as it has to drive more business and attention its way and
away from private, professional publications and news outlets.
Ouch. I realize that this sounds a mite itself-serving (and part of
it is...) but when you're doing your damndest to produce the best
content you can, it sure is annoying to compete with an obnoxious
bully that uses overtly aggressive, even unprofessional, tactics
and has a huge supply of other people's money to do so -- and, oh
yeah, doesn't have to live within normal 'means.' Double Ouch.
And yes, we wonder how a so-called membership organization, one
that lobbies aggressively and attempts to influence government
policy and public opinion, can even paint itself, credibly, as
a legitimate news organization. The various conflicts of interest
and such are ponderous.
The previous leader of AOPA knew that this was not the job of
his organization and both valued, as well as recognized, the need
for an independent aviation press... and ran AOPA and its business
in a far less aggressive/obnoxious manner. Under that previous (and
much missed) management, AOPA succeeded, grew and flourished... to
reach membership numbers that the current leadership can no longer
boast. AOPA 2011 is out of control... its been rude, crude,
arrogant and greedy... and it has little to show for it -- while GA
slides into economic ruin. It needs to rethink its mission, it
needs to get back on track, it needs a change in leadership, and it
needs to prove that it can serve the needs of GA... or it needs to
be replaced. -- Jim Campbell, ANN
E-I-C
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