How Advertising Mail Can Add Value to Digital Advertising Campaigns
Discover how advertising mail can enhance your digital campaigns by offering a tangible, personal touch that drives engagement and recall. This article explores the relationship between physical mail and digital channels, revealing how integrated strategies can increase response rates, improve ROI, and create memorable brand experiences
Effectiveness
Most marketers are aware that integrating traditional and digital channels has become essential for creating comprehensive and effective campaigns. Advertising mail, often not considered by media agencies, has proven to be a powerful complement to digital advertising. The rest of this article explores how advertising mail can add value to digital campaigns, focusing on how the two channels can synergise for superior outcomes.
What is advertising mail, like direct mail, partially addressed mail, leaflets and catalogues
Advertising mail offers a tangible, personal touch that digital advertising often lacks. In an environment saturated with digital messages, physical mail can stand out and capture attention more effectively. According to the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), direct mail has an open rate of 90%, significantly higher than email's average open rate of 20-30% (DMA, 2021)1. This high engagement level makes direct mail a valuable tool for capturing initial interest and driving further digital interactions.
What are the advantages of advertising mail?
One of the key advantages of advertising mail is its ability to enhance engagement and recall.
One of our studies in 2020 found that physical mail is 35% more likely to provoke an emotional response than digital advertising, leading to better brand recall2. The tactile nature of mail stimulates different parts of the brain than digital media, creating a multi-sensory experience that can deepen the connection between the consumer and the brand.
Advertising mail can effectively drive digital interactions by incorporating elements such as personalized URLs (PURLs), QR codes, and Near Field Communication (NFC) tags. These technologies create a seamless bridge between physical and digital experiences. For instance, a QR code on a direct mail piece can lead recipients to a customized landing page, where they can learn more about a product, sign up for a service, or make a purchase. Campaigns that combine direct mail with digital advertising see a 40% increase in response rates compared to digital-only campaigns3 (MarketReach, 2021).
Data from digital sources can be leveraged to personalise and target advertising mail more effectively. Using customer insights from website analytics, CRM systems, and social media interactions, marketers can create highly personalised mail pieces that resonate with recipients' preferences and behaviours. Personalised direct mail has been shown to deliver a 29% higher return on investment (ROI) compared to non-personalised mail (InfoTrends, 2019)4. By aligning mail content with the data-driven insights from digital marketing efforts, brands can enhance the relevance and impact of their campaigns to achieve epic results.
The importance of integrated campaigns for successful campaigns
Integrated campaigns that combine advertising mail and digital advertising are particularly effective in achieving superior outcomes. A coordinated approach ensures that messages are consistent and reinforced across multiple touchpoints. For example, a campaign might start with a targeted email, followed by a personalised direct mail piece, and then reinforced with social media ads. This multi-channel strategy not only increases the likelihood of message retention but also caters to different consumer preferences for receiving information.
A notable example of successful integration was the by John Lewis Christmas campaign. During Christmas, John Lewis sent out personalised direct mail pieces that included QR codes leading to exclusive online content and promotional offers. This approach not only drove significant traffic to their website but also resulted in a 27% increase in in-store footfall compared to the previous year5. The campaign's success underscores the potential of combining direct mail with digital channels to create a more engaging and effective marketing strategy.
How advertising mail can enhance a brand’s digital marketing efforts
Advertising mail can significantly enhance digital advertising campaigns by offering a tangible, personal touch that drives engagement and recall. By leveraging data for personalisation, integrating digital touchpoints, and creating coordinated multi-channel strategies, marketers can achieve superior outcomes. As the marketing landscape continues to evolve, the synergy between advertising mail and digital channels will become increasingly vital for brands seeking to stand out and connect with their audiences in meaningful ways.
About the author:
Patrick Malone is a Senior Media Planner at Marketreach, he works on projects promoting the use of mail in the advertising channel mix, and champions mail within the media industry. He has over 11 years experience in media, and has worked on leading brands both agency and client side.
Further reading
Data & Marketing Association (DMA). (2021). Direct Mail Statistics.
Marketreach. (2020). The Private Life of Mail. Royal Mail.
Marketreach. (2021). Mail and Digital: The Perfect Combination.
InfoTrends. (2019). The Future of Direct Mail: Personalized and Data-Driven.
John Lewis Partnership. (2021). John Lewis Christmas Campaign Report.
