In spite of the rapid digitalisation of the modern world, tangible advertisements in paper form which incorporate all senses are going through a resurrection. A recent survey* carried out by Viilup Uuringud OÜ showed that 63% of the target audience does indeed notice leaflets that have been sent by post, provided that they are visually appealing, informative and include great special offers. 62% of respondents were motivated to actually visit the store thanks to great leaflets.
As expected, the most anticipated form of direct mail advertisements are leaflets sent by grocery stores, however, it is also possible for companies engaged in other fields to reach their desired target group by focusing on specific client groups. For instance, men differ as their interests tend to be related to electronics, construction or cars, women and younger respondents prefer catering and beauty services, Russian-speaking people favour offers sent by grocery and furniture stores. People who live in suburban areas like to receive more gardening- and construction-related advertisements. Direct mail also has a positive impact on those who are interested in what is happening or offered in their area. Direct mail offers great opportunities to event organisers, cafés, local stores and various service providers (e.g. beauty salons, photo labs, pharmacies, etc.) for gaining potential clients on the local level.
Direct mail is a unique way for companies to reach the entire Estonian population if necessary. It is a print media marketing channel that has the widest grasp and indisputably the largest number of contacts. Omniva serves more than 550,000 mailboxes throughout Estonia and when considering the average size of a household, direct mail advertisements can help reach as many as 1.3 million Estonians. Furthermore, the Omnibus1000 survey which was carried out last year by Turu-uuringute AS showed that 58% of consumers prefer advertisements sent by direct mail over those sent by e-mail.
What transforms an advertisement sent by direct mail into an effective marketing channel?
Whether a client notices an advertisement and becomes motivated to visit the store is largely affected by the visual appeal and exciting execution of the direct mail as well as the clarity of the information displayed. The high rating of the best direct mail advertisements is based on the overall pleasantness of the material and attractive visuals (19%). The amount of the information forwarded is important as well, because if there are too many products and information on one page and the offers are difficult to navigate through, it is likely that many clients will not bother to get into it. It should also be taken into account that in case of larger and more expensive purchases, the consumers expect additional information concerning the product aside from its price.
The main remark provided for advertisements that received a low rating was their mediocrity, excessive commerciality, cheap looks, intense information noise and overall unpleasantness. If leaflets that arrive in the mailbox are all relatively similar and have been that way for years, none of them are appealing to the eye or make recipients look into them.
However, if you are to invest in the high-quality and interesting execution of the leaflets, they may become one of the primary influencers for potential clients. The keywords are less information noise, bright colours, positive emotions, well-cropped product photos and choice of paper. Furthermore, you can add gifts and product samples or send direct mail using colourful or specially shaped envelopes. There are a lot of possibilities to choose from.
The consumers’ interest towards advertisements sent by post is still high and the quantities of direct mail have remained the same for the last 5 years in spite of the invasion of new channels. According to the latest advertisement expenditure survey AdEx carried out by Kantar Emor, the market share of direct mail constitutes 9% of the entire media advertising market in Estonia and has remained stable over the last years. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to revisit your marketing measures in this regard in order to reach potential target groups in the most efficient way possible.
Best wishes,
Mari Allese
Head of Postal Business
*Viilup Uuringud OÜ carried out their direct mail noticeability survey via online questionnaires from 10 May to 19 May 2018 in one of the largest online panels (20,000 panelists). The sample is representative of the citizens of Tallinn between the ages of 20 and 70 across genders, ages, places of residence and nationalities. A total of 500 persons responded to the survey.