Is letterbox a marketer’s best friend?
Next to actual sales, there’s nothing more important in brand marketing than loyalty. Keeping a customer happy, confident and engaged in your brand takes regular communication, a strong emotional bond and a lengthy presence in the home – which is where the letterbox comes in.
The printed media channels, that fill our letterbox, can do many things: inspire, engage, entertain, persuade, educate. But one of its key strengths for brands is keeping customers loyal. There’s something about a well targeted piece of direct mail, catalogue, magazine or even a brandzine that’s impossible to put down. They provide time-out from a trusted source and build a strong connection between brand and customer, a connection that can result in a customer choosing a single brand above all others for months and even years.
In a world where switching brands of anything from washing powder to broadband providers is increasingly simple, keeping your existing customers loyal or engaged is getting ever high on the ‘to do’ lists of marketers worldwide and with a captive audience sitting at home looking for content other than laptops and screens the letterbox is a welcome relief and opportunity.
Direct me to the mail
Mail is opened, 81% of Australians reporting they open and read their mail immediately and 74% pay complete attention when reading mail1. Additionally, mail prompts purchases with 74% going online to purchase and 47% going in-store2, as well as emotional triggers – 62% of 18-34 year old’s report receiving mail makes them feel important and 56% trust it.
Trust me I’m a magazine
Trust is a strong emotional driver for all printed media. Newspapers are the highest trusted media channel with Magazines a close second. In an era of ‘fake news’ awareness, print media channels hold a powerful media brand presence. Advertisers investing in trusted Magazine mastheads are more likely to be trusted by readers as they pass on the trust with the media brand onto the advertiser. Furthermore, magazines have the longest readership engagement with an average of 77 minutes compared to 15 seconds for website engagement and 1 second for digital banner advertisements. The opportunity to capture with digital and push to the longer dialogue through print media is strong with longer dwell time and therefore strong message and brand recall3. And recall is definitely linked to ROI. In 2018 Bauer Media Group reported for every $1 spent an incremental sales value of $1.96 was achieved4. However are all magazines created equal? What of custom publishing? Customers loyal to a brand are also loyal to a brand’s publication. Content rich printed pieces providing Australians something other than screens should not be underestimated whilst people are spending more time at home.
At em creative/digital we’ve been producing direct mail for clients for over 30 years; from postcards to catalogues, magazines to direct mail loyalty campaigns. We’re experienced in printed collateral, having bought tens of millions of dollars of print over the years.
Originally published by The Real Media Collective, written by Kellie Northwood for the VoPP In-Home Media campaign. Reproduced with permission. Notes: 1. Mail’s role in digital age, Accenture, 2020 2. Mail’s role in digital age, Accenture, 2020 3. IAB, 2019 4. BMG, 2018
