An interesting piece of research has emerged from our partners (and occasional friendly rivals) over at Royal Mail regarding the concept of 'Value' in Direct Mail. I'm not talking about monetary value, more the emotional response that a recipient has to a DM mailer and how that may influence their response to it.
Its seems that Royal Mail been working very closely with an independent agency, Quadrangle, to produce This Time It's Personal, a weighty study which concludes that 'valued' mail generates a much stronger impulse to respond.
According to Print Week magazine, more than 3,000 people were interviewed for the report, with 92% stating that an emotional response would cause them to read a mailer, while 42% said it would cause them to act on it. Compare that to the usual success rates for a DM campaign and it's certainly worth a closer look.
Most people are applying the findings to charity fundraising campaigns, but the idea of value as an emotional tool can equally apply to the eGaming sector. For example, the emotional pull of a big money prize or getting something for nothing (ie. Free play or introductory credit) could be enough to convince the recipient to act on the mailer.
As ever, it all comes down to a combination of things, the most important of which is personalisation. If you want someone to really value your mailer, you need to demonstrate that you have put some thought into it, with a design and motivation that will appeal to them.
One other interesting thing thrown up by the research was the fringe benefits that Direct Mail can have. For example, 37% of those who did not respond directly to a 'valued' item said they had searched for the relevant product or service online, while 33% had discussed it with others and 7% had posted something positive on social media. These would never show up in the campaign statistics, but it does demonstrate that good DM can work beyond the direct response mechanism.
We can help you add 'value' to your Direct Mail campaign, contact the Secure Direct Mail team on 01624 698488 or email securedirectmail@iompost.com.