Top 7 Direct Mail Trends for 2022
Our marketing team has taken a deep dive into some statistics and trends we monitor and catalog throughout the year. Here’s a look at the top 7 direct mail trends that we think will drive direct mail success in 2022 and beyond.
In another challenging year, businesses found direct marketing success in a variety of ways – through the use of the QR code, digital integration and a resurgence of direct mail coupled with digital retargeting. Learn more about these top trends and how you can incorporate them into your marketing plans for this year.
QR Code Resurgence
Marketers are again utilizing QR Codes to drive engagement
The use of QR codes had all but become a bygone method of making it easier for consumers to visit a website or landing page or perform a specific activity. That is, until the pandemic hit.
Once businesses began to reopen after the height of the pandemic, they needed a way for consumers to feel safe holding a menu or picking up printed collateral, while making it easy to guide them toward performing a desired activity. Enter the QR code.
The resurgence of the QR code is unlike any seen before in the direct marketing industry. An all-but-obsolete marketing method given new life – and not just a second chance – QR codes are everywhere: payment screens and coupon redemptions, viewing online restaurant menus, directing traffic to social media, websites and landing pages and more.
QR code use is expected to continue and increase for 2022. In fact, in a June 2021 survey, it was found that 45 percent of consumers in the US, most of which were aged 18 to 29, stated they had used a marketing-related QR code in the last three months. It was also found that 59 percent of respondents believed that that QR codes would be a permanent part of mobile shopping going forward.
Digital Integration
Direct Mail Plus Digital Can Increase Campaign Response 23-46%
While direct mail still retains the highest response rate, integrating digital marketing methods for an omnichannel approach can lift your response 23-46%!
Spectrum MailPlus is our omnichannel program that integrates direct mail with 7 digital technologies: SocialMatch, Mail Tracking, USPS Informed Delivery, Phone Call & Text Tracking, Online Follow-Up ads, Social Media Follow-Up ads and LeadMatch – a service that will capture website visitors from your mailing as well as visitors NOT from your mailing.
The result?
After the first year of our program, over 8 million mail pieces were delivered, over 50 million digital ad impressions served, over a million leads generated with tens of thousands of hot mailing leads matched from mailing lists.
In short, digital integration works especially when combined with direct mail. And, we’re just getting started. Spectrum MailPlus Advantage will introduce 4 new technologies to the already robust suite of services: YouTube Ads, Google Discovery Ads, Google Geotargeting and Social Media Geotargeting. With the addition of these four technologies, you can further increase your exposure to your target audience.
Creative Direct Mail Formats - Oversized Mail, Die Cuts, Gatefolds
Make your mail piece stand out from the rest!
Ultimately, businesses and advertisers are competing for your attention in the mailbox. And, to do that, your mail piece has to be both creative and memorable. Bright colors and an attractive design are great, however, some thought really needs to be put into the type of mailer that is being sent out – oversized, die cut, gatefold, etc.
It has been proven that to stand out in the mailbox, that bigger is better. Oversized formats get increased attention and response because they stand out amongst your other mail.
But oversized mail isn’t the only format that gets attention – folded mail pieces, specifically gatefolds, are gaining popularity and stand out in the mailbox. Why? For starters, it’s unique. Every mailbox gets flooded with postcards and letters. Using a format that stands out, much like oversized formats, gatefolds can ensure that you’ll not only get noticed, but create a strong likelihood of offer redemption.
Die cut mail pieces offer a similar uniqueness that often causes them to be held onto longer, be more memorable and stand out amongst other similarly-sized mailers and post cards.
Bottom line: creative direct mail formats increase the likelihood of being noticed, as well as the possibility of the recipient redeeming an offer or making a purchase.
Tactile, Sensory, & Interactive Mail Piece Engagement Promotion
The scent of fresh coffee can be added to your mail piece!
Competition for consumers’ attention is at an all time high – and, it’s become increasingly difficult to easily win new prospects and retain current customers. To “win the battle in the mailbox”, businesses have gone interactive with their mail piece strategy.
Leveraging the physical aspects of mail as well as the advances in print technology, marketers can enhance how their customers interact and engage with mail to drive response rates. During this promotion, eligible mailers who incorporate a multi-sensory experience such as special visual effects, sound, scent, texture/tactile treatments, or even taste in their mailpiece may receive a postage discount.
Direct Mail Retargeting
Reach out to your most interested prospects with a special mail piece!
6" x 9" Postcards Now Qualify for First-Class
Lookout world – there’s a whole new mail standard and it’s very exciting!
First Class Rate Postcard size has increased from 4.25 x 6 to 6×9. Double the real estate, double the impact and speedy delivery, what a win. 6 x 9 Postcards are highly effective for customer mailings, time sensitive messages, or a quick follow-up piece to a more elaborate direct mail piece or letter for a 1-2 punch!
Previously not a widely used format, particularly for first class postcard mailings which in the past were maximum size of 4.25″ x 6″, postcard mailings just got a major size upgrade. Bigger images and text coupled with more real estate are going to make this size format a winner throughout 2022.
Tip on Gift Cards
Lookout world – there’s a whole new mail standard and it’s very exciting!
A format that Spectrum has been using for years that is now seeing new life, much like the QR code, is tip on gift cards. These cards are affixed to a mail piece offering a discount or special offer to the recipient. Tip on gift cards aren’t new at all, however, they are a great way to make it easy for customers to remember your offer and prompt them to make a purchase.
As with most of the unique direct mail formats and features, this is a great way to “win the battle of the mailbox” by standing out.
Direct mail is continuing to resonate with consumers and helped bridge the gap between the physical world and the digital one. These seven trends are expected to be prevalent over the next twelve months and beyond.
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