Still Relevant: A Look At How Millennials Respond to Direct Mail

STILL RELEVANT:

A LOOK AT HOW

MILLENNIALS

RESPOND TO

DIRECT MAIL

Beyond the Myths: Young Adults Do Read Mail

You know the stereotype: Millennials are digital natives, glued to their smartphones, and the only way for

marketers to reach them is through social media.

The truth is, Millennials respond to a marketing channel that’s been around for centuries and is now more

dynamic and actionable than ever: paper in a mailbox.

This guide is designed to help you better understand how and why Millennials respond to mail, how

mail compares with other marketing channels and how to create an appealing mailpiece for this generation.

“USPS Mail Moments: 2019 Review,” 2019.

of Millennials

take the time to look

through their mail.

ﬁnd the information

they receive by mail

to be more useful than

the information they

receive by email.

“USPS Mail Moments: 2019 Review,” 2019.

“Millennials: An Emerging Consumer Powerhouse,” Quad/Graphics Customer Focus® 2018 Research Study, 2018.

How Millennials Think of—

and Act on—Direct Mail

Let’s look at how Millennials feel about mail. Here are some revealing statistics:

of Millennials take

the time to look

through their mail

to make sure they’re

not discarding useful

information.¹

of Millennials

would be upset

if they no longer

received mail.¹

of Millennials

look forward to

seeing what

they’ve received

in their mailbox.¹

of Millennials

pay attention

to direct mail

advertising.²

How They Dier From Other Adults

Compared with Gen X and baby boomer generations, Millennials are the most likely to take

action on marketing mail.

0.0%

25.0%

50.0%

75.0%

Frequently and

occasionally bring

marketing mail into

retail stores¹

Frequently and

occasionally use

marketing mail as a

prompt to go online¹

Prefer to shop at

stores that advertise

to them through mail¹

Regularly purchase

items featured in

marketing mail¹

Gen XMillennials Baby Boomers

“USPS Mail Moments: 2019 Review,” 2019.

“Advertising Eectiveness and Age,” USPS Oce of Inspector General, February 2019.

How the Brain Responds to Print vs. Digital

Why do even so-called digital natives still respond to print? Neuromarketing research shows that our brains react

dierently to printed material than to digital media.

A recent neuromarketing study by the U.S. Postal Service® Oce of the Inspector General and Temple University

compared the eectiveness of physical and digital advertising on younger and older consumers, ranging from 18 to

68 years old.

The study found that:

Across all age groups,

physical ads were

more eective than

digital ads in leaving a

lasting impression.

For younger adults,

emotional ads were

more eective than

functional ads.

Participants of all

ages spent more

time processing

physical ads.

Functional ads in a

physical format were

more eective for

older adults.

Ads that used

metaphors to convey

a message were

eective across all

age groups.

Breaking Through the Clutter

Some marketers believe that the more “plugged-in” consumers are suering from digital fatigue.

Apparently direct mail—which comes only once a day—has become a novelty to this audience. Privacy

concerns may also play a role here, with 58% of Millennials worrying less about direct mail privacy than digital

communications privacy.³

This means you have a great opportunity to excite and engage Millennials through innovative campaigns

incorporating direct mail.

Kurt Allen, “Live from Loyalty360 Expo: Best Western Rewards Bets on Millennials and Direct Mail,” Colloquy, April 29, 2015.

“US Millennials 2019: Gauging Their Digital Usage as They Settle into Real Adulthood,” eMarketer, February 2019.

“USPS Mail Moments: 2019 Review,” 2019.

33% of Millennials

use ad blockers.

33% 62%

62%, however, tend to read

through the advertising mail they

receive, rather than discarding it

without reading.

“Response Rate Report: Performance and Cost Metrics Across Direct Media,” ANA | DMA, November 2018.

How the Results Compare: Direct Mail vs. Digital

Despite an anity for physical mail, Millennials still spend more time online than other adults, and no one

is recommending that marketers abandon their complementary digital eorts.

Here’s a look at consumer response rates for dierent marketing channels:

0.0%

2.5%

5.0%

7.5%

10.0%

9.0

5.0

1.0

0.3

From 2017 to 2018, both house lists and prospect lists saw an increase in direct mail response rates.

As today’s consumers are inundated with digital ads, mail has become a welcome reprieve.

DIRECT MAIL

WITH

HOUSE LIST

DIRECT MAIL

WITH

PAID LIST

PAID

SOCIAL

MEDIA

ONLINE

DISPLAY

Appealing to Millennial Values

Direct mail can help you engage Millennials, whether your goal is to

acquire customers, generate interest in a speciﬁc promotion or build

customer loyalty.

Try these tips to help create engaging mailpieces for this generation:

Incorporate multimedia and digital. Embed QR Codes®, near ﬁeld

communication (NFC) or augmented reality (AR) to link your mailer

to videos and interactive materials on your website or social media.

Keep your messaging succinct and easy to read. Provide bite-sized

pieces of information.

Be authentic. Millennials distrust traditional advertising, so avoid

hard-sell language. Use a straightforward, transparent approach.

Use retargeted direct mail to match customers’ IP addresses to their

physical addresses. This allows you to follow up with personalized

direct mail based on users’ actions on your website, mobile app, email

or social media.

Help them feel good about their purchase. Millennials are

compassionate and want to improve the world. Campaigns that

donate a percentage of proﬁts to a worthy cause or in some other

way demonstrate corporate responsibility can resonate well—

if they’re seen as authentic.

Use slang with caution, even if you are a Millennial. You risk turning o

your audience.

Millennial Mail Ideas: Bike Shop Postcard

Here are some examples of direct mailpieces that could work well with the Millennial generation.

This ﬁctional mailpiece uses simple, straightforward language to encourage prospects to improve their lives by

buying a new commuter bicycle.

The mailpiece incorporates a digital component that entices prospects to visit a personalized URL, where they

will receive a 10% discount and can take an interactive quiz. Information gathered through the quiz will not

only help the potential buyer decide on the right type of bike, but will also help the company provide better

service. The mailer ends with an appeal to Millennials’ desire to improve the world—in this case by reducing

their carbon footprint.

Bicycles

1234 Any Address

Any City, ST 11111

Some Commuter

5678 Any Street

Any City, ST 00000

Want to make your commute

to work happier?

Try trading in your

car for a bike.

Bicycles, 1245 South Any Street

Anytown, ST 11111

USA

555-000-0000

It’s true.

At Bicycles, we can set you up with the perfect ride to make commuting

simple and fun. Visit bicycles.com/Some.Commuter to get 10% o

any commuter bike.

While you’re there, take our interactive quiz to find out how

much you can reduce your carbon footprint by switching to

bike commuting. Then come for a test ride.

*“Does Daily Commuting Behavior Matter to Employee Productivity?,”

Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 76, April 2019.

Studies show that people who cycle to work are

happier than long commuters and car commuters.

Inside Copy

Outside Copy

We understand. You want to be an environmentally responsible new

parent. You really do. But let’s face it. You’re dead tired and don’t

have time for yet one more load of laundry cleaning cloth diapers.

Does that mean you have to

use disposable diapers?

Not if we can help it.

Any Diaper Delivery was started by two moms who

know just what you’re going through. That’s why we’re

oering one week FREE service with Any Diaper Delivery.

You can feel good about doing your part to

reduce landﬁll waste. We use:

• Chlorine-free detergents and high-eciency machines.

• Hybrid-energy delivery trucks.

• 100% organic cotton diapers.

anydiaperdelivery.com/free.

Millennial Mail Ideas: Diaper Delivery Service Letter

This ﬁctional mailpiece for a diaper delivery company uses down-to-earth language to appeal to new parents

who may be reluctant to use cloth diapers because of the work involved. The letter touches on a desire of parents

everywhere—to leave the world a better place for their children.

The business leverages the USPS® Informed Delivery® feature to send digital ride-along content before the

mailpiece arrives. This allows the company to drive customers to the company website to sign up for a free week of

service.

We’d like to make your busy life a little

easier with a free gift.

“Millennials and the Mail,” USPS Oce of Inspector General, February 2019.

A Classic Approach for the Millennial Age

Marketers have more avenues than ever to engage with customers, but that also means customers are continually

bombarded with messages—a high percentage of which they tune out. Working in concert with digital eorts,

direct mail can help your message capture and convert your audience—even Millennials.

They continue to enjoy and respond to the tactile experience of opening the mailbox and ﬁnding

a printed message inside.

We now know

that mail still

resonates with

this generation.

say that receiving

personal mail

makes them

feel special.

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