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Direct Mail Beating E-mail for Young Adults
September 1, 2010
By Ethan Boldt
In a very recent study titled
Finding the Right Channel Combination: What Drives Channel Choice,
ICOM, a division of
Epsilon Targeting, surveyed over 2500 U.S. and 2200 Canadian
households, specifically targeting consumers in the 18-34 year-old
demographic. The study found that these consumers overwhelmingly
preferred—by two to three times—to learn about marketing offers via
postal mail and newspapers, rather than online sources such as social
media sites.
Examples among merchandisers include 62 percent of this age group
preferring personal care product offers coming in the mail while only 22
percent prefer online. Food products? 66 percent want the offline
approach versus 23 percent for online offers. Over-the-counter medicine?
53 percent versus 21 percent.
Insurance and financial services sectors followed the same trend, with
this age group preferring offline by 43 percent to 21 percent for the
former and 44 percent to 19 percent for the latter.
The one exception was travel, where 18-34 year-old Americans actually
preferred offline offers by a 42 percent to 34 percent margin.
"A key takeaway from this research is that marketers targeting coveted
18-34 year olds who are tempted to invest solely in social media could
be missing a significant portion of their audience," said
Warren Storey , vice president of ICOM.
"For example, a consumer goods company that relies heavily on a female
audience, especially moms, could fall short of expectations if it uses
only the social media channel," Storey said. "Companies need to employ a
multichannel approach to gain maximum engagement with their customers."
Indeed, a widespread belief is that virtually everyone has a Facebook
account, but it's not even close. A full 45 percent of U.S. men and 35
percent of Canadian men do not have any social media accounts, while 36
percent of U.S. women and 31 percent of Canadian women do not.
Even the edge online had over offline began to erode in 2010: trust.
Thirty-six percent of U.S. respondents, across all ages, trust the mail
more than email—up from 29 percent in 2008. And while only 19 percent
said online information can't be trusted in 2008, that percentage
increased to 25 percent in 2010.
Lastly, most folks believe they're getting hit more from the e-mail
sector than direct mail. "The finding that only 25 percent of
respondents perceive they're getting more postal mail compared to a year
ago, while nearly three times that amount say they're getting more
e-mail, is telling," Storey concluded, "and signals to marketers there
is an opportunity to gain key consumers' attention and interest by using
the direct mail channel."
POSTMASTER GENERAL SAYS COUNTRY NEEDS AND WANTS A STRONG POSTAL SERVICE
As it takes focused steps in a 10-year action plan, the Postal Service will "bump up value" through innovation, service, quality and information to "levels you never imagined," Postmaster General John Potter pledged at the National Postal Forum.
"You're going to see these changes in packages, advertising mail and First-Class Mail," he said. "As these changes roll out they're going to make mail even more attractive."
"Mail will continue to have a great deal of value for businesses and the American people in 2020," Potter said at the NPF, the mailing industry's annual educational event and tradeshow. "An organization delivering 150 billion pieces of mail in 2020 is more than any other post in the world today and will be a very large business."
Confident that the country needs and wants a strong and viable Postal Service, Potter outlined major steps to provide more flexibility in the marketplace, allowing it to better respond to changing customer needs and compete more effectively.
The Postmaster General said the Postal Service will not lose sight of its mission — "to serve you today and every day into the future. I am convinced the Postal Service and mailing industry have a strong, bright future ahead."