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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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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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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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Those most likely to donate as a result of Direct Mail

By |2023-07-21T09:18:23+00:00July 21st, 2023|

A new study, The Future of Direct Mail 2023, reinforces the effectiveness of direct mail, with the overwhelming finding that 81% of people engaging with direct mail in some way. Almost two thirds were found to have purchased a physical product as a result of receiving a piece of DM, 43% took advantage of a discount or special offer that was promoted through the mail, 35% applied for a financial product whilst 25% donated to charity as a direct result of a call to action within a mail pack. With charity fundraising suffering as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, understanding the impact of direct mail and who is most likely to respond is incredibly valuable. The report finds that, [...]

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The Renaissance of Direct Mail Gathers Apace

By |2023-07-04T18:12:32+00:00July 4th, 2023|

As you may have read in Decision Marketing recently, I was quoted as saying that direct mail was experiencing something of a renaissance; and that this in part was a result of more responsible targeting due to GDPR (which turned 5 at the back end of last month). You can read the article here: https://www.decisionmarketing.co.uk/news/gdpr-five-years-on-the-death-knell-for-lazy-marketing In case there were any doubters, my assertions have been justified by the latest set of JICMAIL results: mail effectiveness is soaring. Direct mail engagement and effectiveness reached their highest level in a year, with the Q1 2023 results showing that despite another challenging quarter for consumers, a greater proportion of mail was engaged with than at any point in the previous year, and a [...]

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Direct mail now more measurable than email!

By |2023-04-17T15:24:44+00:00April 17th, 2023|

Direct mail is now as measurable (if not more so, according to JICMAIL) than digital campaigns. For the first time JICMAIL has assessed how responsive UK householders are to direct mail incorporating key metrics such as response rates for acquisition and retention-based mail marketing campaigns, ROI, CPA and AOV. These are available for the retail, finance and insurance, medical and charity sectors. The study found that organisations using direct mail can expect benchmark response rates of almost 11 per cent for warm direct mail, which is defined as mail received by people who are known to be customers. Whilst a response rate of one per cent is received for cold mail, which is considered to be mail sent to people [...]

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Direct mail effectiveness soars

By |2023-03-23T10:05:54+00:00March 23rd, 2023|

Direct Mail experienced something of a renaissance during the Covid years – lockdown prompted a wide scale love affair with the letterbox. People enjoyed receiving mail, it provided a welcome break from the mundanity of being at home ALL THE TIME! This week, as we mark three years since the first lockdown back in 2020, it seems fitting that the latest figures from JICMAIL reveal that mail’s engagement is still on the rise. Mail open and retention rates both soared by four percent year on year. Over Christmas (Q4 2022) open rates hit 77 per cent and retention grew to 66 percent demonstrating the importance of mail within the marketing mix. At a time of year when consumers are more [...]

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ICO calls for SMEs to be more data aware; we call the ICO to do more with #HelptoGrow! 

By |2023-01-31T08:27:16+00:00January 31st, 2023|

The Information Commissioner is urging SMEs to check they have the right data protection practices in place to help sustain and develop their businesses. The UK regulator says getting good data practices in place from the start will save businesses time and money, and boost customer confidence. A recent survey, commissioned by the ICO reveals that 91 percent of people worried about having their personal information sold to other companies without their consent, and 87 percent worried about a company losing their personal information. And this is not surprising considering a survey by the DMA found that only 10 per cent of SME leaders felt that they were complaint with current data protection laws. Another shocking report found that half [...]

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