The only marketing study of what consumers do and what marketers think they do, shows more people opening and reading direct mail especially from known names.
The 10th annual fast MAP Marketing Gap Tracker confirmed the enduring appeal of direct mail.
This is the only marketing study which tracks both consumer and marketer opinion and highlights the gap between what consumers are doing and what marketers think they are doing.
Since 2005, it has been tracking changes in consumer response to marketing initiatives and promotions and monitoring whether marketers are keeping pace with these changes.
- The good news is that more people open and read direct mail now – 82% – than last year (78%)
- And 36% will read mail from any company not just the ones they know: 6% more than last year.
What prompts people to open their mail? Since the launch of the study back in 2005, there has been no change in the top three reasons why people open and read mail.
- Contact from known brands and companies which is up 4% year-on-year to 55%
- Personally-addressed items at 52%, which is up by 5% from 2013
- Information about products or services of interest at 46%, up by 6%
Marketing departments should also be encouraged by the fact that 1% more people open mail because of the design, colour or because it looks interesting. And consumer’s enthusiasm for supermarket mail shots has increased year on- year yet again to 45%.
This was in response to the survey question: “When you receive advertising mail from the following types of companies which would you be likely to open straight away?”
Travel and holidays, home/garden/furniture/clothes and banking and credit card mailings have also increased their popularity since 2013.
The full report is available from http://www.theipm.org.uk