The Media Speaks, So Listen: Direct Mail Is Back with a Vengeance

It was 13 years ago that I was part of the team that created and ran CMO.com. It was, by many accounts, the premier “brand as publisher” site, and it’s focus was on all marketing issues that Chief Marketing Officers would find interesting, entertaining, and challenging.

At the time, the concept of “digital marketing” was nascent. By that I mean, it was still an era when most enterprises had a “Marketing Department,” within which was an often-small “Digital Marketing” group. That was the state of things in 2009.

Eight years later, when I left in 2017, just about all marketing had become digital, and, until recently, this was remained the state of things.

Even as recently as a year ago, the notion that analog marketing—often in the form of direct, or physical, mail—should be a major part of the channel was almost laughable. Sure, there were still tons of flyers and postcards and inexpensive swag items being sent, but much of it was unsophisticated “spray and pray.” Physical marketing was not a respected, nor very well understood, part of the overall go-to-market motion.  

Major Arrow in Marketing’s Quiver

Of late (though you might say that this observation comes under the “when you have a hammer everything’s a nail” category), the idea that direct mail, in all its forms and glory, can and should be a major arrow in marketing’s quiver is becoming generally accepted in the business world—and, perhaps as importantly, by the business press.

To wit: PFL creates and sends out a “Must Reads” newsletter every two weeks, consisting of content from around the web, curated by our editors—content from news and industry sites, partner sites, and our own blog. Now, there’s no arguing that, given the Hybrid Experience business we are in, PFL-created and curated content might have a direct-mail bias.    

What we are seeing, however, is a noticeable increase in the number of blogs and articles in the media about the resurgence of direct mail. One such article, about the printing industry and direct mail (be it known that PFL is intimately connected with its sister company, PrintingForLess), was headlined: “Direct Mail Advertising Global Market Report 2022.” It discusses a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com that tells how the printing industry has seen an increase in investments. It also discusses the benefits associated with direct mail advertising. The print industry sees this as actually helping to increase growth.

Build Customer Loyalty

Then there is an article titled, “2022 State of Direct Mail: Marketers Fold Direct Mail, Gifting into Integrated, Omnichannel Campaigns, Automate Processes for Success.” This overview suggests that “direct mail is still a key channel to engage prospects, customers and even employees in the digital/hybrid age. It works to build customer loyalty, close deals faster and show client and employee appreciation across all stages of the buyer’s journey.”

No lesser light than Forbes has even chimed in on the subject. In a recent article from that site, “How a Direct Mail Campaign Can Fuel Your Digital Marketing Strategy,” the author explains that “according to the online statistics and market research firm Statista, advertisers are expected to spend about $43 billion on direct mail in 2022. That’s a 3.5 percent increase over the almost $42 billion spent in 2020. Omnisend market research (via Forbes) found that the purchase rate of an omnichannel marketing campaign is 287 percent higher than that of single-channel marketing.

Omnisend market research (via Forbes) found that the purchase rate of an omnichannel marketing campaign is 287 percent higher than that of single-channel marketing.

Even smaller startups are jumping on the direct mail bandwagon. The Digiday article titled, “How a startup pet health company is using direct mail to break through the noisy digital landscape,” reports that, “as more people are working from home, subscription-based pet healthcare startup Fuzzy is leveraging direct mail to reach those people and ultimately boost brand awareness. Like a number of other brands once reliant on digital performance marketing tactics, Fuzzy is beefing up its media mix, looking at alternative marketing channels like direct mail as data privacy regulations have muddied advertiser data options.”

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Even smaller startups are jumping on the direct mail bandwagon. The Digiday article titled, “How a startup pet health company is using direct mail to break through the noisy digital landscape,” reports that, “as more people are working from home, subscription-based pet healthcare startup Fuzzy is leveraging direct mail to reach those people and ultimately boost brand awareness. Like a number of other brands once reliant on digital performance marketing tactics, Fuzzy is beefing up its media mix, looking at alternative marketing channels like direct mail as data privacy regulations have muddied advertiser data options.”

Reaching New Heights

It should also be noted that certain industries see direct mail as an important part of the marketing channel. An article on Insurance Newsnet titled, “Direct mail marketing by insurance industry remains strong,” reports that “Despite rising costs of paper, printing, and postage, the popularity and reliance on direct mail marketing by insurers remains strong and getting stronger. In fact, according to analysts, consumers might want to brace themselves for an onslaught of direct mail in the fourth quarter of this year.” One research firm even predicted that “insurance is not going to just maintain but is actually going to reach new heights.”

One final note: The recent PFL-commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting, “Hybrid Experiences Bring Direct Mail into The Digital Age,” surveyed 158 B2B marketing executives in North America. The report shows that 78 percent of marketers believe analog touchpoints have seen a performance boost during this same time. They recognize the engagement potential of direct mail, too, as 81 percent admitted they personally are “very likely to open a package they receive for work.”

A number of news outlets wrote about the study:

Study: Marketers Increasing Investment in Direct Mail

Email Sidekick: B2B Marketers Take a Hard Look at Direct Mail

Digital marketing was all the rage a decade ago, and the media was quick to sing its praises. But it became so ubiquitous that people are now pretty sick of it. Digital fatigue is a real thing—it, too, has been written about extensively over the past year or so. As a one-time member of the business media, my suggestion is to listen and pay heed. The resurgence of direct mail has all the earmarks of digital marketing back in the day—and we know what happened with that, for a decade, anyway.  

So, if direct mail is not already a marketing channel for you, it might be time to read the writing—if not on the wall, then on the web: Direct mail is back with a vengeance.