Data Health Check

The objective of address improvement is to ensure that the mailing database conforms as much as possible to the Post Office standard BS7666 standard, thereby attracting the maximum possible discounts, and reducing the amount of gone-away returns.

The file is converted to a standard format, then run against the Post Office Address File (PAF). Our aim is to at least ensure a correct post code and post-town, and improve the overall quality of the addresses to BS7666. The file is then output in any format as requested.

Definition of PAF
PAF is a registered trademark of the Royal Mail (part of Royal Mail Group plc and stands for Postcode Address File. It is a database containing all known addresses and Postcodes in the United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle Of Man (over 26 million addresses, 1.71 million Postcodes). It includes Small User Residential, Small User Organisation and Large User Organisation details.

Areas excluded from PAF are the Republic of Ireland and some of the delivery point information in a small part of Northern Ireland. British Forces Post Office addresses are not held on the PAF.

BS7666
The BS7666 part 3 specification provides a nationally consistent means of structuring address-based information.

The BS7666 specifies a standard format for holding details on every property and street. The standard does not differentiate between commercial or residential properties, between occupied, developed or vacant land, between urban or rural or between addressable properties and non-addressable entities such as communications masts.

NCOA
The National Change of Address file (NCOA) contains over 9.5 million records comprising new and old addresses. The file stretches back from early 1994 to the current month and is compiled from Re-direction forms submitted to the Royal Mail. Statistics indicate that around 50% of movers take up the Mail Forwarding Service.

Even after the householder's contract for forwarding elapses, the historic entry will remain on the NCOA register for use within this service.

The Royal Mail excludes those who opt-out from receiving third party mail, temporary moves, and those associated with bereavements and hospitalisation.

The NCOA file is updated monthly with over 100,000 new redirections.

GAS
The GAS file was originally compiled in 1992 when unique agreements were set up with the UK's individual local authorities. They supply their negative data or names and addresses, which make up the core element of the file.

Further to this, the file is enhanced by gone-away information provided by large-scale, third party users or direct marketing that provide confirmed data.

Updated quarterly with up to 750,000 records, the GAS file contains over 13.5 million names and has been the market-leading suppression file for several years.

Expression (Previously NSF)
The NSF brings together a range of data sources from a consortium of five data providers, including Claritas UK, Hays Commercial Services Marketing Technology, The Royal Mail, The REaD Group and Tri-Direct It was conceived and governed by The Direct Marketing Association and includes such information as:

Notifications - Non-assumed gone-aways from the REaD Group's File and from the Royal Mail* re-direction service.
Postal returns - a record of returned mail.
The Electoral Roll - flags records that do not match data from the previous year

Containing over 21 million suppressions the NSF is updated quarterly.

(*It must be noted that the Royal Mail only provides a suppressed address for the NSF, whereas the NCOA file will provide you with the new forwarding address. )

USS
The Universal Suppression Service is a new and unique data hygiene service designed to support the direct marketing industry. The service comprises 'Gone Away' data from some of the UK's largest mailers and pooled to create a feature rich and flexible suppression tool.

Data is sourced from postal returns, confirmed 'Gone Aways', historic suppression files, Royal Mail redirection data and deceased data from postal returns, client notifications and redirections. The actual type is recorded separately as is the number of times it has appeared on the database, the sector it was sourced from and a data indicating when it first appeared.

Mortascreen is the largest and most comprehensive source of both recent and historic data currently available. The file contains over 6 million deceased records and is updated monthly with around 45,000 new records. These records are obtained from a number of sources to ensure the best possible coverage without compromising reliability. Sources include leading funeral providers, insurance companies, probate records and Mortascreen's own registration scheme. Mortascreen covers over 85% of all deaths in the UK with over 92% of all records being fully verified. Data is added to the file on a daily basis, and output monthly

With over 1,500 deaths every day it's vital that marketing databases are kept up to date to ensure cost-effective campaigns and to avoid the negative publicity that mailing the deceased can create. Mortascreen picks up on average 100% more matches than other deceased files and provides a one-stop solution to deceased screening requirement.

Bereavement Register
Launched in 1999, the Bereavement Register is a free service to Consumers to limit the amount of direct marketing to bereaved households. TBR is compiled by a freepost scheme with Internet and telephone registration also available.

The bereaved family have the opportunity to register the death via key distribution points such as local authority death registrars, hospitals, hospices and funeral directors.

Updated monthly with up to 40,000 records, TBR contains over 1 million names.

Deceased Register
The Deceased Register which is owned by Active Media Ltd is compiled from freepost cards issued by local Registrars in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to the bereaved at the time of death is registered. Deaths must normally be registered within 5 days and in many cases the forms are returned and data available within a couple of weeks. The Deceased Register has operated with the full approval of the General Register Office since 2001.

Of the circa 580,000 deaths in Great Britain, the combined force of the Mortascreen and Deceased Register files will account for 80% of annual deaths in the UK with the intention to increase this to around 90% within the next twelve months.

Mortascreen and The Deceased Register combined forces in early 2003.

De-duplication
To avoid multiple packets to the same person, duplicates should be removed from a mailing list, or matches found between different lists. Matching can be either done at a family level (ie. one pack per surname per household) or at individual level (ie. one pack per unique individual per household).

MPS
The MPS was established in 1983. It is a compiled list of individuals who would prefer not to receive unsolicited direct mail. It is compiled from written requests sent to the Mailing Preference Service (MPS), which are then added to the file.

What does it stop?

Registering with MPS will stop most unsolicited consumer advertising material addressed to individuals personally and delivered to their home address by post.

Advertising from companies with which consumers have done business or charities from which they have requested information or to which they have donated in the past will continue to be delivered. If this mail is not wanted anymore, it can only be stopped by contacting the individual company or charity directly.

MPS cannot stop unaddressed leaflets, items addressed to "The Occupier", "The Householder" or a business, nor free newspapers and inserts in magazines and bills. Some local mailings may also not be stopped.

It may not stop mail from overseas: organisations will often base themselves overseas in order to avoid legal and self regulatory restrictions.

Our Free Data Health Check Report is not only easy to understand but gives you vital information fast.

Please find below an example of a FREE Data Health Check report.

(Please move your mouse over the Green text and

icons for more detailed information)

DATA HEALTH CHECK

Client details:	Example Company
No records:-	32,721

Address Quality to BS7666 before PAF = Fair
Address Correctly conforms to BS7666	19,274	58.90%
Address failed at the postcode	3,232	9.87%
Address failed in the locality details	6,074	18.56%
Address failed in the thorofare details	2,053	6.27%
Address failed in the building details	1,951	5.96%
Foreign address	137	0.41%

Address Quality to BS7666 After Paf = Excellent
Address Correctly conforms to BS7666	29,864	91.26%
Address failed at the postcode	707	2.16%
Address failed in the locality details	647	1.97%
Address failed in the thorofare details	378	1.15%
Address failed in the building details	1,016	3.10%
Foreign address	109	0.33%

Duplication Level
Certain duplicates at personal level	25
Certain duplicates at family level	693

Official Exclusions
Address matches to MPS	1,809

Redirections, Deceased and Gone-aways
Royal Mail Redirections available (NCOA)	1,614	(or can be suppressed as NCOA Gone-Aways)
GAS	884
Expression (Previously NSF)	297
USS	615
Mortascreen now includes Deceased Register	191
Bereavement Register	13
Experian	25
Axciom Purity	50

Please Note:
Numbers given can alter, depending on Suppression file updates and De-dupe level chosen.

When requesting a suppression run we recommend the client supply if possible a full forename and prefix or gender.

If the above is not supplied then matching will be performed on Initial and Surname at the full address which can result in ambiguities, particularly on deceased suppressions.

For example, if a client supplies us with Mr J Bloggs and there is a Jonathan Bloggs registered on the Mortality files at that address, the clients data will match to the Mortality file as a true match, even if deceased clients real name was 'Mr Joe Bloggs'.