According to a recent study by Harris Interactive on behalf of Insights One, Direct Mail (actually they used the term postal junk mail) is seen as the least annoying of all ‘annoying’ ads.
So as a Direct Mail specialist that’s a positive right? I mean, less annoying than the heavyweights should be a good thing?
Sure, I guess…, but I take a bit of issue with this study and their results and it boils down to one thing:
“Why do people find these methods annoying?”
Answer: Because they aren’t targeted!
By using the term ‘postal junk mail’ you can see immediately we’re not talking here about well executed campaigns. The ads in question, and where the respondents’ minds went to, are annoying because they simply aren’t relevant to the customer. This survey is directly speaking to the smash and grab methods of marketing that don’t represent the high end of the marketing spectrum of real tangible relevance to the recipient. Of course TV is going to rank the highest, it has a massive reach but is the least possible to target.
Direct Mail, when done properly, should be relevant to the recipient and not be perceived as ‘annoying’. And that’s the risk a lot of companies take when they don’t plan, target, and execute effectively. It becomes money they’ve wasted, and clearly ‘annoys’ recipients.
This leads perfectly to one of my favorite adages: “Junk Mail is just good mail sent to the wrong address”.
