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2024: The Year of Do or Die

By |2024-01-08T11:54:55+00:00January 8th, 2024|

As we rang in the New Year the collapse of Communisis marked a less than auspicious start for the industry. Tom Preston-Werner’s famous quote: "You’re either the one that creates the automation or you’re getting automated” has never been more pertinent. In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, the direct mail sector, traditionally reticent to change, is now standing at the crossroads of innovation and tradition. The crux of this transformation is automation, a concept that is essential for the future of the industry. Automation in direct mail streamlines processes including sorting, addressing, and packaging. This mechanisation significantly reduces the time and labour involved, translating to lower operational costs and higher efficiency. By minimising manual interventions, automation also [...]

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Do I have your undivided attention? Maybe not… but your mail does.

By |2023-12-06T16:48:11+00:00December 6th, 2023|

Nearly two-thirds of people say that direct mail attracts their undivided attention, according to a new report from WARC and Marketreach. Exploring the impact of mail in an attention-scarce world, the study reveals how much attention people are giving their mail across different mail types, the value of this attention, and the role of mail in comparison to other media and within the media mix. The study is based on research by Marketreach and Blue Yonder involving 1,475 pieces of mail. The findings reveal that: 63% of people give their mail their undivided attention The average time spent with direct mail is 108 seconds The average piece of direct mail persuaded 16% of recipients to consider the brand, with 9% [...]

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2024: A year for data protection regulation reform?

By |2023-11-27T12:14:35+00:00November 27th, 2023|

Following its airing at the recent King’s Speech the much-discussed Data Protection and Digital Innovation Bill (DPDI) will have its ‘remaining stages’ in the House of Commons on 29 November. There are 21 possible amendments to the Bill all most of which have been referred to as ‘common-sense’ and it is expected to fly through parliament, meaning it is likely to become law early next year. The DMA supports the ratification of the Bill having been heavily involved in shaping many of its elements. Key differences to GDPR include: How personal data is defined Under DPDI information will only be considered as identifiable by a person other than the controller or processor if that other person obtains the information as [...]

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Cost of Dirty Data: The £900 Billion Annual Burden on UK Business

By |2023-11-14T10:23:03+00:00November 14th, 2023|

Dirty data is costing the UK economy £900 billion. The impact of unclean data is estimated to stand at 20% of an organisation’s revenue. In 2023 revenue of UK business is thought to total £4.5 trillion meaning that failing to keep customer data up-to-date cost £900bn. In terms of the impact of this on individual businesses, a single ‘inaccurate’ customer record is currently costs an organisation £81.11. Experian research reveals that 22% of customer records within the average database are inaccurate. This means that an organisation with a database comprising 500,000 customer records could be looking at a £811,000 cost to the business. The retail sector was found to have the highest associated cost of unclean data at £300bn, whilst [...]

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In the mood for giving: How well-being sparks generosity through direct mail

By |2023-10-31T17:06:16+00:00October 31st, 2023|

A new academic study from the University of Massachusetts and Georgia Institute of Technology has found a connection between donor well-being and their generosity, suggesting that designing direct mail campaigns that makes people feel happy will be an effective way to encourage donations. The concept explores the concept of “preheating,” by replicating the warm glow often associated with post-donation moods. While psychologists are familiar with this idea, the study is the first to identify the impact of this on charitable giving. Using natural language processing tools the sentiment of communications donors sent before and after they made a donation were analysed. The researchers detected a reliable and statistically significant mood boost in communications sent up to about an hour before [...]

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Direct mail effectiveness soars!

By |2023-10-03T09:17:46+00:00October 3rd, 2023|

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing channels, email and social media often hog the spotlight. However, the continued resurgence of mail is also hitting the headlines.  In Q2 2023, the effectiveness of the mail channel reached its highest point in a year and a half, with an impressive 31 percent of mail driving positive commercial outcomes for brands. Mail's Remarkable Resurgence One of the most striking findings of Q2 2023 is that mail's effectiveness as a commercial marketing channel saw a year-on-year growth of nine percent. This growth propelled the proportion of mail items prompting actions among consumers to its highest level. This surge in effectiveness reaffirms that mail is far from obsolete in the digital age. A Comprehensive Customer [...]

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Unleashing the Magic of Mail

By |2023-09-25T12:24:44+00:00September 25th, 2023|

We are all now coming round to the fact that there's something timeless and magical about direct mail. You just have to scan the recent news headlines to see that mail’s resurgence is not a flash in the pan. According to JICMAIL its effectiveness recently reached its highest point in a year and a half, with an impressive 31 per cent of mail driving positive commercial outcomes for brands. It is also now the most trusted form of marketing by consumers and commands attention for c.2 minutes across a lifespan of 28 days in the home. Its therefore unsurprising that Marketreach has breathed new life into their "Magic of Mail" campaign, aiming to showcase the incredible attributes of physical mail [...]

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Keeping Pace with AI Ethics

By |2023-09-08T12:13:43+00:00September 8th, 2023|

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives, from voice assistants to recommendation systems and autonomous vehicles. Its transformative power has brought both remarkable advancements and profound ethical dilemmas. Recent calls from MPs urging the Prime Minister to pass new legislation for AI safety in the UK, before the EU takes the lead, have brought the spotlight back onto the importance of AI ethics and the critical role data hygiene plays in ensuring safe AI systems. The Call for AI Safety Legislation MPs are sounding an alarm, warning that the UK risks falling behind in the global AI race if comprehensive AI safety legislation is not put in place promptly. The European Union is poised to establish [...]

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Attention please! DM proven to be a high attention channel

By |2023-08-29T15:09:56+00:00August 29th, 2023|

A year-long, in-depth study conducted by JICMAIL has revealed that on average, a direct mail piece holds consumer attention for 108 seconds. Similarly, partially addressed mail commands attention for 64 seconds, while door drops maintain engagement for 46 seconds. This definitively positions mail as a high-attention channel. This is particularly true when amalgamating these new metrics with existing research that underscores mail as the most trusted form of communication, a compelling case emerges for integrating mail into the marketing mix. In addition, JICMAIL has collaborated with PwC to convert these attention-based metrics into an average cost per minute, specifically targeting various audience segments. This enables marketers to make direct, comparative evaluations between mail and alternative media formats. The study reveals [...]

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Direct marketing spend at highest level since 2006

By |2023-08-02T10:08:51+00:00August 2nd, 2023|

The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has had a big impact on media spend, the latest IPA Bellwether report reveals. Main media budgets encompassing TV, online, radio and press have tanked, whilst direct marketing, events and sales promotions have soared, reflecting reactive change by UK businesses in response to the economic climate. Sales promotions achieved the highest growth rate (13.4 percent), its biggest uplift in more than two decades of survey data. This indicates that marketers are keen to support their customers by providing them value for money, through offers and deals. Events also performed well, experiencing an increase of 9.3 percent. The growth is attributed to a desire from brands to have closer, more personal relationships with their customers. Underpinning this [...]

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