How One Millennial Really Feels About Direct Mail

time-mag-coverRaised on electronic devices, digital natives show a surprising affinity for “real” mail.

Unlike digital ads (she calls them intrusive and annoying), direct mail is personal but not “in a creepy way,” says Jordan Alfonso, a well-connected Millennial writing in Dealer Solutions. And that makes it a powerful medium for the younger crowd.

“One of the many things that direct mail has going for it, is that it cannot be clicked away,” Alfonso writes. “It has a shelf life of sorts. Usually when mail is retrieved, it is set somewhere visible so that all of the members of the household can rummage through it at their leisure.

“Consumers spend on average 25 minutes with their direct mail before they act on it (keep or throw away). I know in my household my dad would set it on the counter top and then pester me until I opened all my mail because he did not want me to miss anything important.

“In his mind,” she continues, “mail that was directly sent to me had the potential of being important. If no one claims the mail then at the very least it is sitting out in the open getting stared at all day, much better than for a split second on a pesky internet ad.”

That longevity is a huge plus for marketers. And given the amount of digital ad fraud and the huge increase in ad blockers, the case for direct mail is even stronger now.

Statistics show that young adults 24 years old and under are most responsive to direct mail, and I believe this is because they have to deal with so much digital mail that it has become nothing but noise.”

If your brand is looking to engage with a younger crowd, don’t overlook direct mail, Alfonso advises.

“If you don’t want to trust the opinion of an entitled, lazy, broke millennial, that’s fine, but the statistics don’t lie, and they need to be brought to the attention of those seeking to improve their marketing mix.”

Hilarious, and true.