Source: Winterberry Group, Delivering Performance | Direct Mail in the United States 2023

“The resiliency of direct mail in the United States is rooted largely in its unique capability as a performance marketing channel,” said Jonathan Margulies, managing partner, Winterberry Group, one of the paper’s co-authors. “While marketing practitioners have long been migrating spend to performance-oriented digital media channels, a growing number are coming to see direct mail as a powerful tool for delivering curated, personalized messages and content on the basis of data triggers—helping support customer acquisition, incremental sales and other key marketing objectives. It’s this unique capability that is likely to keep DM at the forefront of the marketing mix well into the future.”

“Delivering Performance” is the result of an extensive primary research effort initiated by the United States Postal Service, and conducted by Winterberry Group—involving the interview contributions of dozens of thought leaders in the agency, data, printing, mailing service and technology communities, as well as survey responses from more than 500 enterprise and middle-market brands and agency executives. The research effort spanned November 2022 to August 2023.

In a Digital-Dominant World, Direct Mail is Enjoying Several Data Drivers

“In a marketing world where digital channels tend to be the default, we are seeing savvy marketers add direct mail to their omnichannel campaigns because its tactile nature makes it more memorable and generates much higher response rates than digital channels,” said Tom Foti, vice president of product solutions, United States Postal Service.

According to the white paper, direct mail continues to play a prominent role in a U.S. marketing mix, otherwise increasingly dominated by digital channels, because of six overarching trends:

• • Brands have come to widely embrace the “omnichannel” philosophy, emphasizing the integration of all marketing channels, both digital and traditional, in a diverse media mix;

• • Marketers are increasingly prioritizing performance—the ability to achieve specific, incremental objectives with respect to customer acquisition, sales and other outcomes—over other use cases;

• • Growing costs and challenges associated with the addressability of data-driven digital media are leading many marketers (and digitally native direct-to-consumer brands, in particular) to test alternate channels, such as direct mail, in support of their growth ambitions;

• • Improvements in the integration of data and creative content, coupled with the advent of less expensive and more capable marketing technologies, are allowing direct mailers to achieve long-promised value from on-demand production, personalization, trigger-driven programs, retargeting and other innovations that capitalize on intent signals in the buying cycle;

• • The continued robust availability of licensable third-party data—backed by a mature, multifaceted supply chain—represents the foundation upon which brands responsibly orchestrate their direct mail programs at scale; and

• • Seeking to manage the vast complexity inherent in modern marketing, brands are looking to media channels and supply chain partners that provide for flexibility, scalability and the ability to rapidly adapt to changing needs.