Having a captive audience is half the battle when it comes to marketing. In a world where
there are plenty of distractions, your latest leaflet might struggle to cut through the noise.
But in the more home-centric world we are currently living in, consumers who might previously have been too busy to read the leaflets inside their favourite magazines, or
the flyers posted through their letterbox are now taking notice.
Despite the shift towards digital in many areas of our lives, print marketing remains a major contributor to the typical media mix, with advertising mail forming the third largest media channel in the UK, worth £1.7 billion annually. Though many businesses are cutting marketing spend in the current climate, a recent article suggests that those who halved their marketing budget took up to three years to catch up with competitors who carried on as normal.
With less competition for your audience’s attention, your campaign can achieve unprecedented cut-through. As many traditional advertising channels are currently compromised, from experiential marketing at events to out-of-home advertising on transport systems, it makes sense to bring your campaign direct to your customer in the form of printed inserts, drop drops and partially addressed mail. As we heed the research about improved market performance, here are the top areas of investment to consider for your next campaign.
Door drop
To the uninitiated, door drop campaigns use postcode targeting to identify groups of households that display similar characteristics to a brand’s current customers, thereby avoiding the use of personal information and staying GDPR-compliant. Campaigns can be in the millions,
or used on a much smaller scale, depending on the client. Get in touch to find out more
about our data cleansing services here.
JICMAIL reported that door drop frequency of exposure was up 15% year on year in the second quarter of 2020, with double digit improvements in mail lifespan. Increases in customer interaction and the sharing of mail also prove that engaging with a captive audience pays dividends. Whistl reported similar insights, with government and charity door drops specifically outperforming the market during lockdown and a furniture client seeing an 11% increase in online sales, despite the closure of its physical stores. For the same investment as 2019, clients
are seeing up to 45% uplift in media impressions from door drop. When budgets are stretched, being able to deliver clear results becomes top priority and, right now, door drop is establishing itself as a winning choice.
In the UK, our print industry is made up of a blend of catalogues, magazines and door drop campaigns, among others. In Europe, however, door drop is a way of life and millions of pieces
of printed collateral arrive in homes on a weekly basis, offering deals and discounts in the
hope of driving footfall to stores or ecommerce platforms. A typical tactic among rival supermarkets is for Brand A to flood the region where Brand B is opening a store with its leaflets and discount vouchers in the weeks leading up to Brand B’s first day of sales. This marketing manoeuvre is now being seen in the UK too, but there are still plenty of the
major retail players who are missing a trick when it comes to door drop - especially when
the benefits, as shown above, are so obvious.
Many might think that, with the vast majority of the population spending more time on their phones in the current climate, that digital marketing investment should be increased to reflect
this seismic shift. Though it is a valuable strategy, many online retailers have seen an increase
in ROI when linking their digital campaigns to a printed door drop option. Experts at Whistl have advised that one online fashion retailer saw a return of £4.45 for every £1 spent during their first test of the door drop channel and 76% of the transactions driven by the campaign were from new customers. Whistl also reported vast increases in the value generated from door drop campaigns as compared with Facebook ads, which might make many companies investing a large percentage of their budget on digital marketing finally sit up and listen.
The power of a physical leaflet in the palm of your hand is hard to ignore, even for young audiences. Mediatel reports that, despite online marketing being considered the most direct way to target Millennials and Gen Z, door drops received a 20% response rate in 17-34 year olds during lockdown. So for every audience category, the door drop results really do speak
for themselves.
Walstead works with The Leaflet Company, the largest door drop distribution specialist in the
UK, responsible for over 50% of all targeted door drop literature. We spoke to Jasmin Singleton, Account Director at The Leaflet Company who highlighted some of the reasons why door
drop continues to be successful, with 4.8 billion door drop items distributed last year.
Measurement
‘Door drop is an established, dependable and proven advertising medium. With its heritage alongside associations like the Royal Mail, local newspapers and local community delivery teams, a firm trust in the medium is at its core. Add in the tactile and intrusive nature of door drop, and it’s no surprise that 92% of people were driven online directly as a result of receiving mail.’
‘Whether you are running a national, regional or local campaign, highly sophisticated geodemographic targeting and audience profiling ensures that you are reaching the postcode sectors with the highest propensity of your target audience. It is no wonder 67% of people were prompted to make a purchase as a result of receiving door drop mail.’
‘Door drop offers access to a vast audience with at least one member of every household having to interact with the advertising itself. Research has shown that, on average, a door drop is interacted with 2.8 times once it reaches the home. Door drop’s tangible nature ensures high recall and action and record levels of mail interaction.’
‘Whether it’s redemption of vouchers, driving to a landing page with a QR code, or pushing for uplift in in-store and online sales, door drop is a highly measurable medium. With more people than ever spending more time
in their homes, a low access price, significant reductions for bulk bookings, huge creative opportunity, and proven, strong ROI, what are you waiting for? There really are only three key ingredients: the right creative, high-quality print material and industry-leading planning
and targeting.’
Trust and heritage
Targeting
Reach and engagement
Partially addressed mail
For a more targeted approach than door drop, many brands opt for a partially addressed mail (PAM) campaign. When an advertiser has a very niche target audience and/or low customer penetration within a sector, a PAM campaign has proved to be a powerful solution. PAM
works by targeting approximately 15 households at a postcode level, using existing customer postcodes to approach other potential clients in the area. Targeting software which utilises geo-demographic profiling might also be used to identify similar customer postcodes. The theory being that those with a similar customer profile are likely to be interested in the same products and services. Even better, this strategy requires no personal data, making it entirely GDPR compliant.
Though it’s a more expensive strategy than door drop, PAM also receives increased engagement. According to Royal Mail, 86% of PAM is engaged with, compared to 72% of door drops. PAM also has a wider reach, with 30% more households contacted than with direct
mail on the same budget. Whistl uses Waitrose as a particularly successful case study. The supermarket used a PAM campaign to deliver coupons to 300,000 homes and in doing so generated 1,144 new customers. Adding a discount voucher to a campaign, especially when
the nation is tightening its purse strings, is sure to encourage footfall. Consider a blend of
both door drop and PAM to derive benefits from both strategies and receive maximum ROI.
Inserts
Online shopping continues to grow in popularity, with a quarter of UK consumers doing 90%
of their shopping on the web. As a result, there’s never been a better time to consider a printed insert campaign. We all know the excitement one feels when you receive a package, so it stands
to reason that consumers would be more receptive to a piece of print if it’s delivered alongside something they’ve just bought. Targeting people when they are having a positive unboxing experience is a surefire way to win favour with your audience. During periods where seasonal shopping is at its height, inserts are a winning option, so it would be worthwhile considering
how to collaborate with a delivery service. Magazine and regional and national press inserts are another cost-effective way of getting directly into a consumer’s hands, especially while the combined regional press market remains strong and the new normal of working from home means that inserts are consumed more in a domestic environment. Having a voucher insert
inside a seasonal edition of a popular title is another winning strategy.
Ultimately, it’s harder to ignore printed marketing materials when they come as part of your favourite magazine or newspaper, within your Hello Fresh delivery or through your letterbox. Capitalise on your captive audience while they are willing to engage. Walstead can help with your next door drop, partially addressed mail or press insert campaign or offer tailored advice about how to utilise a blend of all three. Get in touch for more information.
In a world where there are plenty of distractions, your latest leaflet might struggle to cut through the noise
In the UK, our print industry is made up of a blend of catalogues, magazines and door drop campaigns, among others
Though it’s a more expensive strategy than door drop, PAM also receives increased engagement
Targeting people when they are having a positive unboxing experience is a surefire way to win favour with your audience
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In a world where there are plenty of distractions, your latest leaflet might struggle to cut through the noise
In the UK, our print industry
is made up of a blend of catalogues, magazines and door drop campaigns, among others.
Though it’s a more expensive strategy than door drop, PAM also receives increased engagement