Mail is enhancing its effectiveness as working and living patterns have shifted during 2020.
Remote working – mainly from home – is part of the new normal, and physical mail is integral to that landscape. Recent research reveals the extent to which mail is anticipated, revisited, shared, trusted, retained and acted upon – now, more than ever.
Results reported from JICMAIL showed record levels of mail interaction in Q2 2020, during the first UK lockdown. Advertising mail exposure is increasing by 11% compared to the same period of 2019. Transactional business mail also saw growth at 7%, and door-drop media saw the highest growth of all three channels with a 15% increase.
The 'stay at home' message, echoed throughout the 2020 pandemic, has made reaching some channels more challenging. With more people at home, both exposure and receptiveness to engage have improved for door-drop media and direct mail. Household sharing of delivered items is improving by 2% for both direct and transactional business mail advertising. The greatest improvement was seen again for door-drop media, at 4% higher than in the same period of 2019.
It’s no secret that marketing budgets have come under more scrutiny than ever during the pandemic driven economic downturn. At the same time the nation’s thirst for online shopping has continued to grow unabated. This makes the measurement of digital effects and the correct attribution of digital traffic to offline channels such as advertising mail, all the more important as marketers look for an accurate read on advertising efficiency and effectivenes.
Ian Gibbs, Director and Data Leadership and Learning JICMAIL.
Following the lockdown in Q2 of 2020, Q3 saw a more seasonal return to typical exposure rates for advertising mail items. Doordrop media, as a channel, continued to grow by 2.1%.
Channel interactions were strong across these mediums, with 8.7% of all advertising mail driving traffic to advertisers’ websites in Q3 2020, up 6.5% from Q3 2019 and representing a 33% year-over-year increase.
| Visits to Advertisers Websites | General Online Visits for More Information | Prompted to Use Tablet or Smartphone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2020 | 8.7% | 5.8% | 3.1% |
| Q3 2019 | 6.5% | 4.1% | 2.5% |
| Year on Year Change % | +33% | +41% | +24% |
Source: JICMAIL item data Q2 2017 to Q3 2020 n=9,995 Q3 2020 mail items
Though mail interaction rates did not reach the same record-breaking levels seen during the first lockdown in Q2 of 2020, they have remained impressively high throughout Q3.
JICMAIL panellists record their mail interactions, from opening and reading mail to passing it on to someone else, putting it in its usual place, setting it aside to look at later, or taking it out of the home (among many other actions). This research enhances our understanding of the industry channel and provides valuable insights for companies seeking to utilise or build upon historical campaign results. JICMAIL captures the industry category and advertiser details of almost every mail item in its database of over 160,000 mail items.
The UK’s second lockdown period is covered in JICMAIL’s Q4 data, which will be released in February 2021. The data will help us understand changes across frequency, reach, and lifespan for advertising direct mail, business mail, and door-drop media.
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