Louis Gordon’s recent article “Let’s Get Physical…with Direct Mail” in Landa did more than give us a groan-worthy audio virus. It reminded us of the realities of direct mail in what was supposed to be its post-mortem phase.
“We’ve all seen the obituaries – ‘Direct Mail is Dead.’ ‘RIP: Direct Mail.’ You might conclude that email, mobile marketing, online advertising and all their digital brethren have pounded printed direct mail marketing into submission. And if that weren’t bad enough, rising postal rates are the final nail in the coffin,” he writes.
Yet, as we reported an early as last summer, reports of print’s death are perhaps exaggerated.
And as Gordon, a self-described digital devotee, writes “…despite the global enchantment with all things digital, direct mail just refuses to die. In fact, the evidence shows that it actually seems to play an increasingly vital role for marketers.”
Not surprising at all, given these key fact about consumer engagement:
- A USPS study found that 56% the Millennials and Generation Z folks who are presumed to be purely paperless reported that receiving mail is a “real pleasure,” says Gordon.
- We know from a Millward Brown study that print engages the reader’s brain more deeply than digital, meaning direct mail has a resonance that digital can’t match.
Gordon points out that the improved digital printing technology makes personalized and variable data direct mail – shown to improve ROI – more affordable and flexible than ever for marketers. He’s right; Advances in press technology for those printers that have been able to make the capital investment is just stunning.
It’s easy to see why direct mail has really got a hold on us all. (Replacement audio virus complementary.)
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