The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today said it will begin requiring its member companies—who represent some of the nation's largest and best-known consumer brands—to adopt e-mail authentication systems that help verify the authenticity of legitimate commercial e-mail messages.

The DMA Board of Directors voted to require all members using e-mail for communication and transaction purposes to adopt and use identification and authentication protocols. The Atlanta-based organization is not requiring its members to adopt specific authentication technology.

"E-mail authentication protects the integrity of responsible marketers' brands and improves the likelihood that legitimate e-mail—whether it is a marketing offer, airline ticket confirmation, or a financial statement—gets through to its intended recipient," said DMA president and CEO John A. Greco, Jr. "Consumers can have more confidence they are getting a legitimate, valid offer from a trusted source. Marketers get fewer false positives, increased deliverability and better protection for their brands against illegal use. It's a win-win for everybody."

As efforts continue to stem the flow of phishing and spam, the DMA has created several best practice documents and white papers that help marketers understand authentication protocols and improve delivery rates for commercial e-mails. These can be found on the DMA's websiteDMA's website.

The DMA estimates that legitimate commercial e-mail resulted in approximately $39 billion in sales in 2004, including about $9 billion in small business sales.

The DMA's authentication requirement becomes the latest addition to the ethical guidelines that DMA requires its members adhere to.