Direct mail is a powerful form of communication.  Multiple studies have shown that the printed word is perceived by many across the nation to be more official and important — just one reason why people prefer to continue to receive hard copies of their bills, credit statements and important financial documents.

From a business standpoint, this means that direct mail, newspaper and other forms of print marketing messages are often times viewed as a more trusted form of communication between a brand at its target audience.  Conversely, some digital media such as email and online ads have shown to be the least trusted, with only about 11 percent of people saying they “Fully Believed” the information received via email or online message.

Direct mail has had a 14 percent increase in response rates over the past decade; while email has seen a decrease in response by 57 percent (printisbig.com.)  This could be because email messages are deemed less trustworthy than other marketing or it could simply be because emails are being sent more and more frequently and less people are taking the time to open a brand’s messages.

Did you know that 78 percent of donations that nonprofits receive are a result of a mailing to potential donors from the nonprofit?  Additionally, according to Print is Big, direct mail brings in an average of a 1300 percent return on investments for brands.

Finally, in the DMA Statistical Fact Book report, it was shown that 18 percent of people between the ages of 22 through 24 would respond to a direct mail piece.  This statistic is up from last year’s report.  Perhaps it is because email inboxes are beginning to get too cluttered or it could be it’s because of the difference it makes to actually hold a message in your hand, either way, people are reading – and responding – to direct mail messages.

Timothy Freeman

President 

Print & Graphic Communications Association