In today’s world of constant and instant communication our consumer’s attention is constantly being divided, be it text messages, emails, social and online messages, it can be hard to earn a portion of their time and attention among all of the digital clutter.  The ability to break through the digital clutter is one of the reasons direct mail should be an integral component of your marketing mix.

Direct Mail can be Highly Targeted. More and more consumers expect branded messages to be targeted to their specific needs and interests.  With Variable Data Printing and database marketing, direct mail messages can be extremely individualized based on a person’s demographics and past buying habits.  Personalized direct mail is more than just addressing the recipient by their name, it’s about sending them messages that directly relate to their likes and interests based on the information stored in your database.

Direct Mail is More Likely to be Saved and Seen Again. When compared to email and social media messages, direct mail is more likely to be saved in ordered to be viewed or read again.  While direct mail can often offer immediate sales increases, its shelf-life continues on long after the message is sent out as well.  According to a Print in the Mix study, 25 percent of direct mail messages remain in the consumers household for at least a month.

Direct Mail is Interactive. Interactive print offers consumers the ability to be easily transferred from your printed piece to your digital messages.  Using Quick Response codes, or QR codes you can bridge the gap between your content with one quick scan of the 2D code.  Once a consumer scans your code and visits your digital content they are more engaged with your brand and more likely to make a purchase or respond to your call to action.

Direct mail drives your brand’s message directly into the palm of the consumer’s hands and unlike digital messages, a printed message is not easily deleted, ignored and never read –as over 80 percent of direct mail pieces are read by the recipients.  Direct mail is targeted, interactive and measurable and can be a valuable marketing asset when included in your marketing mix.

Timothy Freeman
President
Print & Graphic Communications Association