Let’s be direct…
By Burn •
- Direct
Here’s a brain-scratcher for you; what is not invited but stays in your home on average for 4 weeks? No? OK, same answer, different question; what did 44% of people say they looked forward to and 88% of people say they paid more attention to during lockdown? Still no? OK, one last chance, same answer again; what surprising marketing practice do Amazon, Google and CostCo all have in common?
The answer is DM. Or for the younger readers out there, Direct Mail (actually that’s unfair, 24% of 18-34 year olds reported engaging more with mail in 2020, so they know what it is). And when you look at the statistics from the Royal Mail’s Market Reach, you can see why digital omnipresents Amazon and Google are taking advantage of the traditional paper-based channel to expand their digital empires:
- Engagement with DM is at an all-time high of 96%
- The average item of DM is interacted with 4.5 times
- 70% of consumers say that mail makes them feel more valued by a brand than email
But why is this interesting or important and worth writing a blog about?
Well, as a brand response marketing agency which is channel agnostic, when it comes to answering client briefs, we are always on the look-out for impactful statistics and trends which will help give our clients the extra boost they need to drive engagement, or awareness, or consideration, or purchase, or a combination of these. And it just so happens that in these new and strange times where nothing is as it was just 9 months ago, DM seems to be a channel on the rise, and one which we think many brands should be leveraging.
The reasons why DM seems to be having a purple patch are both Covid and non-Covid related. We are spending more time at home. Covid. As we work from home more, business mail gets re-directed. Covid. In a mind-bogglingly fast paced digital world, DM provides longed for tangibility and tacticity. Maybe both Covid and not Covid. Print also seems to be a surprising key driver of traffic to digital channels. Not Covid. The point is, Covid might have made print media more fashionable for media and creative agencies lately, but the likelihood is that DM is going to stay strong long after Covid has been and gone. Definitely longer than the 4 weeks that last DM pack stayed on your lounge coffee table for.
Now, while we are agnostic with regard to channel, media and pretty much everything else in marketing, we know what we are traditionally good at. And one of those things just so happens to be driving response through Direct Mail. We’ve won loads of awards for it. So if your emails aren’t getting those ORs and CTORs you’ve been hoping for, or your Social campaign isn’t delivering the CPA you promised to your boss, or your Outdoor just can’t seem to get people to stop and look, why not give good old DM a thought, and while you’re at it, give BURN a call. We’d be more than happy to have a conversation.
Sources:
EXPERIENCE IS EVERYTHING – Royal Mail Market Reach
MAIL MATTERS MORE THAN EVER – Royal Mail Market Reach
