Tonight, Wednesday (23 November) at 8pm, BBC1’s new magazine show That’s Britain will include a feature on so-called ‘junk mail’.
As a result we can expect the media’s spotlight to fall on elements of our industry over the next week or so.
The media and other non-industry people will invariably refer to the mailing side of the marketing industry as the ‘junk mail’ industry. At Media Wow we believe the term Junk mail – or untargeted mail – is unacceptable. We should reject this term, and to keep the terminology simple refer to it as ‘advertising mail’. We know the difference between direct, door-to-door, unaddressed, etc, but sadly the general public and journalists do not make this distinction.
In order to pre-empt the objections I expect to see arise in That’s Britain tonight, here are a few arguments to explode the myths usually expounded by shoddy journalism:
How damaging is junk mail to the environment?
I agree that wastage from advertising mail needs to be reduced and the DMA and member companies like Media Wow have been helping the industry shape up.
In 2003, Defra set the industry the target of ensuring that 70% of all used advertising mail is recycled by 2013. This target was smashed four years early in 2009, with 76% of advertising mail being recycled.
Since 2003, the volume of advertising mail now being sent to landfill every year has fallen by 80%. Now, advertising mail represents just 0.4% of the average household’s unrecycled waste.
I’ve never bought anything from junk mail. Does it really work?
When people say this to me, I say, “Really, you’ve never redeemed a coupon you’ve received in the post?” The vast majority of people have.
Advertising mail works; if it didn’t then companies would not spend money on it. According to the Mail Media Centre, 17.7 million people bought something after receiving a mail order catalogue in the past 12 months.
Every year, advertising mail generates £16 billion in sales – a massive contribution to UK plc at a time when high street retailers are suffering. For some businesses, it’s the only form of advertising they can afford. Many companies can’t afford to pay for TV, radio, billboard, or newspaper ads.
People hate receiving junk mail, so why bother sending it?
Research conducted by Royal Mail shows that the majority of people still prefer to be contacted by mail by the businesses they’re customers of, than by any other method of communication: for example, 46% of BT customers prefer to be contacted by mail, compared to 22% by email; 50% of Churchill’s customers prefer to be contacted by mail, compared to 20% who prefer to be contacted by email.
There’s plenty of research to show that the majority of consumers welcome receiving advertising mail that provides them with exclusive offers on products they like. For example, research by BMRB reveals that 75% of consumers like receiving special offers and vouchers through the post. The same research also reveals that consumers like mail alerting them to new products and services they might want to try, etc
While many people conduct their lives online, (an area Media Wow’s Digital Team understands well), there are still plenty of people who don’t. Advertising mail is a source of information on products and services they might not otherwise have access to.
Summary & Key Facts
My colleagues and I at Media Wow, agree that delivery of poorly targeted mail – ‘junk mail’ – is unacceptable. The industry now has sophisticated data collection methods and data cleaning tools, so there is no excuse for sending poorly targeted mail. And, it’s not in the interest of businesses to waste money and annoy consumers with badly targeted mail.
Before dismissing the whole concept of ‘advertising mail’ as ‘junk’ please consider:
- The delivery of untargeted mail annoys consumers, and businesses waste money sending it
- The advertising mail industry is against junk mail too, that’s why we’re taking action to end it
- Advertising mail generates a huge amount of sales for businesses and makes a massive contribution to the UK economy
- The DMA and Defra have agreed a plan to eliminate unwanted, untargeted mail
- Many businesses invest large amounts of money on targeting their customers to drive sales – for example, Sainsbury’s Nectar mailings to customers
- Advertising mail has a minimal impact on the environment when compared to other types of household waste
- The advertising mail industry is a major UK employer
- Advertising mail subsidises Royal Mail’s Universal Service
Media Wow is adept at minimising wastage by precisely targeting key prospects to deliver sales for businesses.
For more information on the above subject and how to ensure advertising mail is not wasteful, please talk to Kelly Farrington on 0113 2053764, or email Kelly@mediawow.co.uk
