After years of focusing on digital advertising campaigns, advertisers are revisiting the use of direct mail. Driven by the increasing challenges in digital advertising such as rising ad costs and stricter data privacy regulations, marketers are being compelled to diversify their strategies. This diversification includes traditional channels like direct mail.
Google and Apple’s updates, which are making targeting online consumers more challenging, coupled with the decline in users’ tolerance for digital ads, are also factors putting digital ad market into question.
Direct mail could fill these gaps, especially amidst the rising cost of digital ads. Agencies reported advising clients to consider diversifying beyond digital means and consider traditional channels. Albeit, clients and their agencies are yet to fully embrace direct mail, this is reportedly starting to change.
Offline ad expenditure is dwindling, but according to Winterberry Group’s annual U.S. spending report, direct mail will remain steady this year, with a 1.5% increase to sum up to $38.2 billion of total U.S. offline marketing spend. Agency executives agree that due to Google’s changes, clients are persuaded to diversify further, including direct mail in their media mix.
In the light of lower click-through rates, response rates in digital, and rising cost-per-acquisition, direct mail is becoming more competitive against digital. Traditional media spending is growing, especially among brands that want to attract millennial buyers.
B2B clients, big box retailers, home fashion, financial services, and insurance companies have shown the most interest in direct mail. High-quality impressions from direct mail campaigns tend to engage audiences more than digital banners and social media sponsored posts.
Historically, direct mail was infamous for its costly nature, and for not having the kind of tracking and measurement capabilities associated with its digital counterpart. However, direct mail is seen experiencing a comeback due to the upsurge in the use of QR codes, and the U.S. Postal Service’s innovations to track mail.
In addition, direct mail’s cost, although higher than some digital platforms, is becoming more competitive as digital costs continue to rise. Nonetheless, the transition towards a more balanced media blend remains a challenge for agency executives, particularly as marketing budgets remain scrutinized and accountability for return on investment is essential.
Despite the digital marketing sector’s struggles, it will remain indispensable, forcing marketers to reconsider the role of digital advertising within their marketing mix, and allowing both online and offline channels to work together.
Source: In rocky digital advertising landscape, advertisers reconsider direct mail
