List Factory turns 20 today. We started in 2006 with a data warehouse, a conviction about behavioural data, and a mild disagreement with most of the industry’s predictions. A lot has changed. A lot hasn’t. Here’s what two decades of Australian transaction data actually taught us — in no particular order, and with no particular mercy.

The 20 Observations

1. Demographic targeting misses intent.
2. Direct mail was declared dead in 2006. The funeral was poorly attended.
3. “Big data” was a buzzword term for a while.
4. Privacy regulation hurt the irresponsible. It validated the rest of us.
5. Every decade gets a new word for “talking to the right people.” The data requirement never changes.
6. The best acquisition model you’ll ever build starts with your own buyers’ transaction history.
7. Postcode is not a personality.
8. Garbage in, garbage out was true in 2006. It’s still true now — just with faster garbage.
9. Response rates don’t lie. Demographics often do.
10. In 2006 they said digital would kill direct mail. In 2026 they’re saying AI will kill marketing. History suggests the truth is more boring and more useful: the tools change, the need for accurate data about real human behaviour doesn’t.
11. Direct mail volumes declined. Direct mail is still effective after 20 more years.
12. “Omnichannel” is what we call “use more than one channel” when we want to appear smart for saying it.
13. The data that’s hardest to get is usually the data that works best.
14. Age is not intent. Income is not intent. What someone bought last month, or the cause they donated to 6 months ago is intent.
15. The clients who tested direct mail “one more time” usually continue to use it.
16. Compliance isn’t a burden. It’s a moat.
17. If your email open rate is the only metric you’re watching, you’re watching the wrong thing.
18. A model trained on transactional behaviour predicts. A model trained on demographics describes. These are not the same thing.
19. Years of transaction data and different data sources is not an easy thing to build. It is however a record of how Australian consumers actually behave.
20. We’re still here. We’ve still got your data.

Twenty years is a long time in any industry. In direct marketing — where channels, tools, regulations, and fashions have all shifted dramatically — it’s a lifetime. What hasn’t shifted is the fundamental question every marketer is trying to answer: who is most likely to respond? The answer was behavioural data in 2006. It still is. If you’d like to talk about how that applies to your next campaign, we’re here.