AZ Direct

What AZ Direct does

AZ Direct GmbH is a privately held German cross-channel marketing services company headquartered in Gütersloh, operating as a subsidiary of Bertelsmann Marketing Services within the Bertelsmann Group. The company sells data-driven marketing solutions that combine postal advertising (direct mail, direct-mail retargeting, partially-addressed Postwurfspezial mailings, list broking, and insert advertising), digital channels (email, display, social, addressable/CTV, digital-out-of-home, mobile), and managed marketing services to enterprise and mid-market buyers in Germany — with operational and data-protection footprint also in Austria and Switzerland. Its primary customer segments are enterprise and mid-market marketing buyers, e-commerce/webshop operators, CRM and data-heavy enterprises, and dialog-marketing-heavy verticals (telecom, insurance, financial services, debt collection, utilities, retail trade).

The company's product portfolio is anchored on the proprietary AZ DIAS audience targeting system, which operates on a database described as covering approximately 70 million German consumers and 40-48 million household addresses using over 600 anonymized profile characteristics (sociodemographic, psychographic, household, purchasing-power, geodata, and credit-rating). Underpinning compliance is the patented Data SecureTTP anonymization process, supported by ISO 27001 certification of both AZ Direct's own ISMS and the Arvato Systems-operated data center. Additional proprietary capabilities include the AZ PICK deliverability probability procedure, the Connector ID (C-ID) cross-Bertelsmann identifier operated under joint controllership with Bertelsmann Data Services GmbH, and the Direct-Mail Retargeting online-to-offline matching capability that links anonymous webshop visitors to postal addresses under GDPR. Address validation, address management, and the pan-European Street and Building Dataset are sold both bundled and via a dedicated self-serve web shop.

Commercially, AZ Direct operates a quote-based, per-campaign pricing model rather than published list pricing. Revenue streams include direct-mail and postal advertising services, list broking (rental/per-use basis), digital campaign execution via the Trading Desk, end-to-end marketing solutions and marketing automation as managed services, analytical services and customer insights, address management, and advertising-material production and lettershop. Go-to-market is primarily direct field/enterprise sales (with named sales managers and product consultants) supported by inside-sales lead capture, a Deutsche Post channel partnership for postal distribution, and a self-serve web shop for reference data. The company holds DDV quality seals for data processing/address publishing and list broking, is a Google AdWords partner, and is a signatory to the BVDW Code of Conduct Programmatic Advertising.

Name

AZ Direct

Legal name

AZ Direct GmbH

Website

https://az-direct.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AZ Direct GmbH is a Gütersloh-based, Bertelsmann-owned marketing services firm that sells data-driven cross-channel campaigns (direct mail, email, digital, list broking, and analytics) to enterprise and mid-market clients in Germany using its proprietary AZ DIAS audience targeting system and patented Data SecureTTP anonymization process.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cross-Channel Marketing Services

NAICS

Direct Mail Advertising (541860), Advertising Material Distribution Services (541870)

SIC

Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing Database & Contact Data Providers (B2B/B2C Lists) (BPAFAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Telemarketing & Telesales Services (Outbound/Inbound) (BPAFAKAC), Direct Marketing, CRM & Lifecycle (Email, SMS, Loyalty) (BPAFAAAJ)

Keywords

• Cross-channel marketing
• Data-driven marketing
• Address broking
• Audience targeting
• Direct mail advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Gütersloh

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Direct Mail & Postal Advertising Services: Revenue from selection, enrichment, printing, lettershop and shipping of direct mail campaigns, including fully and partially addressed mailings (Direct Mail, Direct Mail Retargeting, Postwurfspezial). Billed per campaign / per address record delivered.
2. List Broking (Address Rental): Revenue from broking access to over 2,500 German address lists (consumer and business addresses) with enrichment via 600+ AZ DIAS profile details; data is provided on a rental/per-use basis under GDPR and DDV Council Listbroker terms.
3. Digital Marketing Services (Email, Display, Social, Mobile, Video, DOOH, Programmatic): Revenue from cross-channel digital campaign execution via the Trading Desk, including email marketing with Germany's largest email reach, display advertising, social media advertising, addressable TV, CTV, digital-out-of-home and mobile marketing. Billed per campaign / per contact delivered.
4. Marketing Solutions / End-to-End Campaign Management: Revenue from holistic marketing solutions combining target group analysis, content creation, campaign management, marketing automation, lead management and performance tracking as a managed service.
5. Analytical Services & Customer Insights: Revenue from analytical services, target group analysis, customer profiling and Customer Insights delivered as consulting/analytics engagements.
6. Address Management Services (Adress Services): Revenue from address validation, address matching, address updating, address confirmation and Street & Building Dataset (international reference data for streets, buildings and markets in all European countries) used to qualify customer/CRM data and minimize returns.
7. Advertising Material Production & Lettershop: Revenue from production of advertising materials (printing and further processing such as stapling, punching, gluing, binding) and lettershop processing (labeling, envelope stuffing, mailing).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Core offering

AZ Direct sells data-driven cross-channel marketing services built around its proprietary AZ DIAS audience targeting system (covering ~70 million German consumers and 40 million households with 600+ anonymized profile characteristics) and its patented Data SecureTTP GDPR-compliant anonymization process. The portfolio spans postal advertising (Direct Mail, Direct Mail Retargeting, Postwurfspezial, Listbroking, Insert Advertising), digital channels (Email, Display, Social Media, Addressable/CTV, DOOH), address and reference-data services (Adress Services, Street & Building Dataset, AZ PICK verification), analytics (Analytical Services, Customer Insights) and end-to-end Marketing Solutions (target group analysis, content, marketing automation, lead management).

Product overview

AZ Direct, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann Marketing Services, sells a portfolio of data-driven cross-channel marketing products built around its proprietary audience targeting platform AZ DIAS (and its patented Data SecureTTP process for GDPR-compliant data analysis). The portfolio combines online and offline channels into coordinated campaigns and is organized into postal advertising (Direct Mail, Direct Mail Retargeting, Postwurfspezial partially-addressed mailings, Listbroking, Insert Advertising), digital channels (E-Mail Marketing, Digital Marketing/Trading Desk covering Display, Social Media, Addressable/CTV and Digital-out-of-Home), data and reference products (Adress Services, Street and Building Dataset, AZ PICK verification), analytics and insight services (Analytical Services, Customer Insights), and end-to-end managed solutions (Marketing Solutions with marketing automation and lead management, plus Filialaktivierung for retail branch activation). Together these modules let clients run from analysis through planning to execution across the full cross-channel mix.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AZ DIAS: The company's proprietary audience targeting system used for cross-channel marketing and customer insights.
• Data SecureTTP
• AZ PICK

Products and services

• Direct Mail Data-driven postal advertising using AZ DIAS audience targeting against 48 million qualified German household addresses; includes analysis of existing customer data, duplicate removal and enrichment with profile characteristics before each mailing. Target customers are enterprises and mid-market marketing buyers running fully or partially addressed direct mail campaigns in Germany.
• E-Mail Marketing Data-driven email marketing service claiming Germany's largest email reach (up to 70 million consumers reachable via AZ DIAS), enabling GDPR-compliant target-group-specific email campaigns. Target customers are enterprises and mid-market marketing buyers running email campaigns in Germany.
• Digital Marketing (Trading Desk)
• Beilagenwerbung (Insert Advertising)
• Analytical Services
• Customer Insights
• Adress Services
• Street and Building Dataset (Straßen- und Gebäudedatei)
• Direct Mail Retargeting Online-to-offline retargeting that uses GDPR-compliant data matching to link the online IDs of anonymous webshop visitors to postal addresses and send personalized print mailings; reportedly doubles conversion rates compared with online-only retargeting. Target customers are e-commerce, mail-order and webshop operators.
• Postwurfspezial (Direct Mail Special)
• Listbroking
• Marketing Solutions
• Filialaktivierung (Store Activation)

Quantifiable outcome

• Direct-Mail Retargeting conversion rates often double compared to online-only retargeting channels.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship / core, core and operational.

• Bertelsmann Marketing Servicesflagship / coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAZ Direct positions itself explicitly as a part of Bertelsmann Marketing Services, offering clients a complete service including campaign design, print production, customized lettershop solutions, shipping and response processing. AZ Direct also operates the Street & Building Dataset web shop on behalf of Bertelsmann Marketing Services.
• Bertelsmann Data Services GmbH (BDS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBDS and AZ Direct operate under joint controllership (Art. 26 GDPR) for generation of the Connector ID (C-ID). AZ Direct transmits name, address and contact details to BDS, which generates a unique C-ID and deletes source data; C-ID then enables participating Bertelsmann companies to assess overlap and exchange data on the basis of legitimate interest or consent.
• Deutsche PostcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAZ Direct is a partner of Deutsche Post for Postwurfspezial; AZ Direct optimizes distribution of partially-addressed mailings via microgeographic marketing while Deutsche Post handles physical distribution and automatically excludes advertising-refuser households.
• Usercentrics GmbHoperationalTechnology or IntegrationUsercentrics provides AZ Direct's consent management platform / cookie banner. It sets technically required cookies per § 25 (2) No. 2 TDDDG to record consent status, processes date/time of visit, device, browser, IP and consent profile under a data processing arrangement.
• Brevo (Sendinblue GmbH)operationalTechnology or IntegrationBrevo is used as the newsletter sending platform; handles subscription/unsubscription via double-opt-in and tracking pixels (open rate, click rate). Data processing under Art. 28 (3) sentence 1 GDPR with Sendinblue GmbH (Berlin).
• Google Ireland LimitedoperationalTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Tag Manager (cookieless) and Google Analytics are used on the website for analytics and tag management; AZ Direct has activated IP anonymization ("anonymizeIp") and is EU-US Data Privacy Framework certified.
• Arvato Systems GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationArvato Systems operates the ISO 27001-certified data center where AZ Direct stores and processes personal data; exceeds ISO 27001 requirements and sets market-leading security standards; acts as a processor bound by instructions.
• MEDIUM Werbeagentur GmbHoperationalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMEDIUM Werbeagentur GmbH (www.medium.ag) is responsible for concept and design of the AZ Direct website per the legal notice.
• Territory AgencyoperationalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTerritory Agency (territory.group) handles technical implementation and support of the AZ Direct website per the legal notice.
• Deutscher Dialogmarketing Verband (DDV)coreOthersAZ Direct is a member of the DDV in three competence centers (target group marketing, direct mail services, digital dialog) and a founding member of the Council Listbroker; observes Robinson lists and DDV quality seals for data processing, address publishing and list broking.
• Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW) e.V.operationalOthersAZ Direct is a member of BVDW and a signatory to the BVDW Code of Conduct Programmatic Advertising.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Deutsche Post Direkt: Direct German competitor in dialogue and direct-mail marketing; the same Deutsche Post with which AZ Direct partners for Postwurfspezial also offers competing address services, partially-addressed mailings and dialog marketing products, making it the closest like-for-like peer in Germany.
• Schober Group: German data and dialog-marketing specialist (now part of Dentsu) offering address broking, target-group selection, direct-mail and digital marketing services; competes head-to-head with AZ Direct's list broking, direct mail and audience targeting business in the DACH market.
• Doxee: Italy-headquartered customer communications management and document experience vendor with European direct-mail and digital communications products; overlaps with AZ Direct's cross-channel, document and lettershop offerings, especially for European enterprise clients.
• Arvato CRM Solutions: Sister Bertelsmann division providing CRM, customer service and dialog-marketing services to enterprise clients; overlaps with AZ Direct's Marketing Solutions and address services and represents both a sibling peer and an internal competitor inside the Bertelsmann Group.
• TS Direkt: German direct-marketing services provider offering lettershop, direct mail, fulfillment and dialog-marketing services; competes with AZ Direct's Direct Mail, insert advertising and lettershop services for enterprise marketing budgets in Germany.

Broad incumbents

• LiveRamp (formerly Acxiom): Global data connectivity and audience-targeting platform built on top of Acxiom's consumer data heritage; broader and more international than AZ Direct, but solves the same audience-targeting, addressability and data-monetization problem for enterprise marketers.
• Quadient: International customer communications management vendor (formerly Neopost) with solutions for document automation, customer journey orchestration and physical mail; comparable to AZ Direct's lettershop and customer communications capabilities, but with broader enterprise software positioning.
• Epsilon (Publicis): Large global data-driven marketing business inside Publicis Groupe providing audience targeting, addressable media, email and cross-channel orchestration; competes with AZ Direct's data, email and digital marketing services for enterprise marketing budgets.

Emerging players

• LettrLabs: German programmatic direct-mail startup offering API-based mail automation; competes for the same mid-market and e-commerce budgets as AZ Direct's Direct Mail and Direct Mail Retargeting products with a more software-native delivery model.
• Optilyz: Berlin-based programmatic direct-mail platform that lets brands automate and personalize physical mail campaigns; addresses the same online-to-offline / cross-channel marketing use case as AZ Direct's Direct Mail Retargeting, but from a younger, SaaS-led starting point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/directaz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AZ Direct