Top brands boost mail as campaign effectiveness soars

The postal dispute might still be raging but the largest direct mail advertisers have been more visible than ever on consumer doormats, with nine out of the top ten increasing their share of volumes year on year.

That is according to the latest figures from Jicmail, the data captured from a panel of a thousand households every month, which reveals the NHS, Tesco Clubcard and ROL Cruises were the top three direct mail users in Q3 2022, while Domino’s, Farmfoods and Specsavers led the door-drop rankings.

The study also shows there has been a significant increase in the amount of mail UK consumers are reading and looking at and putting on display in the home. This has been accompanied by an increase in mail effectiveness across seven of the twelve commercial effectiveness metrics tracked.

A greater proportion of mail was read (74% of mail items), opened (65%), retained (45%), put on display (4%) and taken out of the home (3%) in Q3 2022, than in the same period in Q3 2021. In turn, the average piece of business mail was interacted with 4.8 times, direct mail 4.4 times and door-drops 3.1 times over a 28-day period.

As the cost of living crisis deepens, consumers have been more likely to put the mail that matters most to them on display in their homes than ever before (pinned to the noticeboard or fridge).

Record amounts of mail were put on display in Q3, with appointment related information; loyalty reward statements, notifications and reminders (related to product and service renewals), and vouchers and coupons the most commonly displayed mail content in the home.

Mail on display in the home has a higher than average potential to attract consumer attention. And according to Jicmail’s Attention Pilot Study – released in October of this year – mail is a high attention media channel, and one of the most efficient at delivering time-spent with advertising.

Not only has consumer engagement with mail improved in Q3 2022, but so to have a host of commercial effectiveness metrics – metrics related to tangible commercial benefits to advertisers throughout the sales funnel.

Some 15% of mail prompted a brand discussion in Q3 – the highest rate recorded in two years. In addition, brand discovery prompted by mail was further seen with increased amounts prompting web visits, store visits, calls to the advertiser and mobile device usage. Increased product and service discovery drove improved conversion levels, with 3% of mail prompting a voucher redemption and 5% used to make a purchase.

In the face of upcoming changes to consumer duty regulations in 2023, the major high street banks have broadly kept their share of business mail volumes stable year-on-year. With business mail staying in the home longer than any other ad mail channel (8.6 days on average), it continues to have huge potential to deliver vital regulatory information to consumers.

Jicmail director of data leadership and learning Ian Gibbs commented: “As the cost of living crisis deepens, UK households are becoming more reliant on the mail channel to deliver a vital connection between consumers and brands.

“Loyalty reward statements and vouchers and coupons take on new importance when consumers are looking to make their household budgets stretch further, while notifications and reminders about upcoming service renewals are being scrutinised more than ever before to ensure that the best deal can be had.”

Jicmail engagement director Mark Cross added: “We have seen a persistent trend of improving conversion from high engagement with mail to desirable commercial behaviours including brand discussions in the home and online exploration.

“Across these challenging times, unlocking the value of these connections across physical and digital opportunities will be more important than ever and we look forward to supporting subscribers using Jicmail data in this quest.”