Royal Mail defends value of door drops
Consumers are most receptive to unaddressed door drops from the retail sector than any other business, according to a Royal Mail study.
The study into attitudes to door drops, by Freshminds Research, found 90% of the poll are happy to receive unaddressed mail from retailers with 81% saying that the preferred frequency is twice a month.
FMCG brands are the next most popular sector to use the channel with 74% of respondents happy with a twice a month mailing.
The research also highlights that unaddressed mail achieves cut-through with 89% of consumers remembering receiving a door drop in the previous two weeks.
Unaddressed mail came under fire last month in a Panorama programme taking the direct mail industry to task.
Royal Mail head of strategy, marketing and sales for door to door Philip Ricketts said that the research backed up the appeal of door drops as “a physical and tactile media”.
He adds: “Certain kinds of door drops, particularly those advertising discounts at local supermarkets, are regularly anticipated, retained and used by consumers.”
The online survey questioned 2,008 nationally representative adults from across the UK and was underpinned with a qualitative telephone interview with 27 respondents.
Royal Mail Door to Door recently introduced digital watermarking technology. A digital watermark can be embedded into pictures on leaflets and mailings, enabling marketers to integrate their print and online material without the need for barcodes or QR codes.
The initiative allows people to link from their post to a company’s online content, such as a website, video or Facebook page. People receiving the digitally-enhanced post scan the mail with their 3G phone to interact.
