On the surface, direct mail remains an important and valuable medium to deliver a message.
- 98% of consumers bring their mail in the day it is delivered.
- 48% of people keep their mail to reference later.
- We spend an average of 30 minutes reading our mail.
Below the surface, direct mail’s impact runs even deeper.
Studies have shown that the physical nature of direct mail creates “a deeper footprint on the brain.”1
Mail is personal for us; a USPS study reported 67% of Americans consider mail more personal than the internet.
That combination of personal and physical evokes the emotion needed to create lasting memories and associations between the message and the sender.
“Folks for years have predicted the demise of direct mail. I’ll believe it when Victoria’s Secret and Lands’ End stop flooding my mailbox every November and December with expensive catalogs. If direct mail didn’t work, why am I getting high priced brochures from Lexus and Abercrombie & Fitch every summer? Major corporations and institutional American brands know that same thing we do – mail matters. It moves numbers, drives customers, increases sales, and converts prospects. Better data and enhanced targeting have only increased the efficacy of mail.”
– Brett T. Buerck, CEO, Majority Strategies
Reports state that mail created “more brain responses connected with internal feelings, suggesting greater ‘internalization’ of the ads.”2
That means we are truly “receiving” mail, both in our hands and in our hearts and minds. Direct mail has a unique ability to break through and reach us to deliver an impactful message.
We like mail; we look forward to receiving it, we collect it as soon as we can, and we spend a great deal of time reading it.
- According to a USPS survey, 56% of people said receiving mail is “a real pleasure.”
- 55% of us look forward to seeing what mail we get.
- In over 80% of households, we get our mail the first chance we have.
In today’s overwhelmingly digital world, remember direct mail.
Science has shown, those who receive your mail are likely to remember you, too.
Read about the science of delivering a message, the important role of repetition, and the mere exposure theory.
1 ”Using Neuroscience to Understand the Role of Direct Mail,” Millward Brown and Bangor University; 2 Ibid