UK direct mail spend falls for second year while door-drops increase

Direct mail spending has fallen for the second year running, but the decline had been slightly offset by a rise in door-drops, according to a new report.

Thomson Intermedia and KPMG’s annual media spend figures for 2005 showed overall adspend increasing by 5.4%, with growth concentrated in TV and online.

The year-on-year decline in direct mail was reversed in the last quarter of 2005.

The finance sector remains far and ahead the biggest spender on direct marketing, at 47% of the total direct mail media spend for 2005, with the retail sector second at 20% of the total. The finance sector also saw the biggest fall in overall media spend during the year.

Michael Higgins, KPMG partner, said: “After many years of strong increases, spend on direct mail had gone into reverse. On the other hand, the financial services and retail industries both seem to have made significant switches from direct mail to door-drops.”

Higgins identified three main causes for the decline in direct mail the rise of email marketing, better targeting of direct mail and consolidation among marketers, especially in financial services.

“Focused door-drops present an inexpensive alternative to yesterday’s direct mail campaign. Advertisers may not know the name of the recipient, but they can tell from where they live that they fit the target demographic,” he said.