The Basics Are Still ... The Basics

Did you see the recent survey data from Vertis, a Baltimore-based direct mail house?

They discovered that 1 in 4 of 2000 adults surveyed who received a direct mail solicitation from a retailer actually visited the store within 90 days of receipt.

For 2/3rds the size, shape, color and external copy influenced the decision to open the package. And for another 51% a special offer or a discount motivated them to pay attention. The older you get the more likely you are to be affected by direct mail, since older and younger Baby Boomers embraced direct mail slightly more than their Generation X and Y siblings.

In order of responsiveness, coupons, buy one-get one free offers, single discounted items and percent off offers work best. Though each of these tactics worked to provoke a response from more than 50% of survey respondents.

In a world of real-time, fragmented, 1-to-1, 24/7 media there is something very comforting in these results. It suggests that the medium, the speed and even the frequency of messaging is secondary to the basic appeal of a deal delivered directly to you by name.