Royal Mail relaunches media service

Royal Mail is to relaunch its marketing solutions service with additional planning, data and creative tools as it looks to bolster revenue ahead of its sell-off.

market reach

Market Reach, which replaces Mail Media Centre from today (6 July), will target what Royal Mail describes as “large” clients and agencies.

A new media planning team and tools have been introduced to work with brands directly or to produce white label services on behalf of agencies. Elsewhere, a deal has been struck with Call Credit to provide enhanced data planning services, while a creative service will offer development and production of physical direct marketing.

Antony Miller, marketing director for Market Reach at Royal Mail, hopes the offering – the first comprehensive planning to delivery service available, he claims – will boost physical DM’s share of the UK advertising market by “reminding people of the value that physical can offer”.

He adds the suite of services will highlight “the route to digital” by “riding on the coat tails” of online channels, growing at the expense of traditional media such as physical DM. Mail that points customers online, using QR codes for example, or that includes functions such as the digital watermarking will be pushed.

Miller adds the enhanced offering aims to position Royal Mail as a “true media owner”. The Mail Media Centre, he says, “offered clients information but left it up to them to deploy”.

Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene has been pushing for enhancements to its media services offering since becoming chief executive in 2010 to offset losses in its letters division from declining mail volumes.

The firm is looking for the changes to boost earnings – marketing mail accounts for about 11% of its revenues – ahead of the expected part or full privatisation of Royal Mail by autumn 2013. Group revenue increased 4% in the year to 30 April, largely driven by growth in its advertising mail and parcel divisions.

The launch of Market Reach will be backed by a press, PR and digital campaign this month and next.  

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