Traditional door drops not dead, says Royal Mail study

A Royal Mail study suggests the next generation of marketers in the UK still see a value in traditional door drops in marketing campaigns, despite the growth of the digital media landscape. The operator’s research department said that 45% of University of Hertfordshire marketing students surveyed said they believe that door drops have a valid role to play in the media mix.

It also found that 35% believe that current marketing directors underestimate the value that unaddressed mail can add.

One fifth of the students said they plan to use the door drops in their future campaigns.

Royal Mail said this is an “encouraging statistic for the future growth of the medium as door drop spend currently accounts for 4% of total media spend”.

The Royal Mail study also highlighted the key benefits of the Door to Door channel. Respondents identified its ability to deliver product samples directly to the hands of the consumer, reach, and tangibility as key strengths for the channel.

This insight into the door to door channel comes after the DMA’s annual Door Drop facts and figures announced the first annual rise in door to door expenditure since 2005.

Phil Ricketts, Royal Mail’s head of Door to Door Strategy, Marketing and Sales, said: “Understanding how the next generation of marketers perceives the marketing mix provides valuable insight into how the media landscape may develop in the coming years. It is clear that their recognition of the tangible and targeted nature of the door drop means that this traditional channel will remain relevant in an increasingly digital age.”

The survey comes after Royal Mail became the world’s first postal company to help businesses make their post interactive using digital watermarking technology, as reported by Post&Parcel last month.