committing budgets until the last minute, which has led to uncertainty and unease as well as a degree of short-termism. The result is too often quick fix, tactical messaging rather than strategic brand and relationship building campaigns. “This year we have seen smarter mail, with brands and SMP members drawing on their collective knowledge and expertise to produce even more responsive, creative, and impactful campaigns. Collaborating with various associations and businesses within the various print and mail related sectors, the SMP has seen a variety of different research and approaches that continue to change the way direct mail operates. Swanston says: “JICMAIL data and insight has become pivotal in shaping every facet of mail, influencing audience selection, format, and response mechanics. “QR codes not only allow the seamless movement from mail to online, but also enhance the ability to track campaigns in real time. Data has been the powerhouse driving campaigns, with many brands using it ever more intelligently to achieve powerful targeting and to drive greater personalisation.” Swanston explains: “This could be through retargeting customers with programmatic mail, delivering uniquely personal messaging based on customer behaviour or empowering customers to create customised brochures. We are also seeing a desire to produce more sustainable mail, with SMP members spearheading this movement through more sustainable inks, paper, and processes.” Value in Print As 2024/25 looks to bring some good news in regard to financial stability and market 47 January / February 2024 - Issue 346 www.printmonthly.co.uk “To empirically dispel this belief, Marketreach undertook a robust analysis of the carbon footprint of mail across its lifecycle. The independent study confirmed what we had always known – mail is a highly sustainable channel when the right choices are made. As well as communicating this to the market through a partnership with international media expert WARC, Marketreach created tools to help brands produce carbon smart mail.” Navigating Choppy Waters When it comes to printed mail there are just as many considerations regarding data and regulations as there now are in digital. However, as research shows, the benefits for brands and customers far exceed digital communications as a personalised piece of mail is far more striking than an email or pop-up advertisement. Experts in customer experiences, Quadient, has conducted research recently that reveals almost two-thirds of consumers are more likely to read a letter than an email. The company has highlighted that the UK government is backing digital technology more than ever, so is warning businesses against disregarding physical media. Quadient says that communications need to be made in the right way as research has found that almost half of consumers have been annoyed by receiving a letter that looked threatening or alarming such as final notices or medical results. “Depending on the reason for contacting customers, companies need to strike the right balance between using letters, or emails and other digital communication channels,” says Anthony Coo, product head at Quadient. “If somebody receives a letter from their solicitor or bank and is concerned it is about something hugely important, then it turns out to be an attempted cross-sell from a partner, they are likely to be irritated. In this instance, digital channels could be more appropriate.” Speaking about understanding the benefits of digital, Quadient says understanding the need for immediacy and ease of access with emails can better help when selling the individual benefits of direct mail. “Businesses need to play to the strengths of both letters and emails, it’s dangerous to assume your customers will want one or the other,” Coo adds. “For instance, businesses serving an older customer base may assume they won’t respond well to email – but this is not the case. People aged 55 and over are more appreciative of the instant, always-available nature of email. Overall, businesses need to think strategically about the different scenarios in which they contact customers, and which communi- ► Research shows that over 90% of mail is engaged with in some way or form as opposed to the open rate of emails at just 32% cation channel fits the job.” The continued changing landscape of various industries has meant many businesses and brands have continued to experiment with different revenue streams and ways of approaching customers. Gone are the days of tried and tested operations in which marketing companies can invest in established and strong solutions. The many disrupters and curveballs thrown at various industries over the last decade has meant printers and mail providers need to navigate choppy waters more than ever. Regarding increasing mail costs, Coo says: “The increased prices are likely to mean organisations look more closely at the type of mail they are sending in terms of both the content and the recipient. “With postage now presenting a bigger expense to businesses, they’ll look to ensure that every piece of mail is necessary and is delivered to the right address the first time around. This also means they’ll need to make sure they are using the best Royal Mail tariff and schemes for their business to reduce postage costs where they can.” “It has been a rocky year for all media channels,” says Swanston, adding: “Brands have been holding back from According to Relay42, solutions that are replacing third-party cookies include GA4 (70%), contextual advertising (66%), data clean rooms (64%), first-party data unification (63%), and identity management (61%) Factoid DIRECT MAIL
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