Royal Mail introduces new direct mail scheme

The last time Royal Mail launched a mail advertising product, Margaret Thatcher was still in power and Yazz was number one with The Only Way Is Up, so it is easy to see why the organisation is hailing its new ‘simplified’ direct mail scheme as a milestone.

Most would agree that the 14-year-old Mailsort system, specifically designed for bulk mail, is no longer appropriate for today’s direct marketing industry, with improvements in targeting paving the way for smaller-scale initiatives.

The new service, which has yet to be named, is designed to make running a mailing as easy as booking a TV, radio or poster campaign. Through a dedicated booking centre, agencies, client companies and mailing houses will now be able to receive an upfront, all-inclusive price for each campaign – and no doubt many would say, “about time too”.

For far too long, running a mailing has been a highly complex black art, with most companies forced to negotiate a labyrinth of discount systems, depending on weight, destination and size. Despite this, mailing volumes have continued to rise as more brand owners wake up to its benefits.

The most recent research from the Advertising Association showed that UK direct mail expenditure grew by 11 per cent in the fourth quarter and by 9 per cent for the whole year, totalling #2.2bn. This is compared with advertising expenditure, which fell by 6.9 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Royal Mail also believes the new system will allow for greater creativity, as the entry level is up to 100g and the minimum run is 1,000 items.

Of course, it would be easy to criticise the organisation for being too slow to realise that the previous system has been outdated for years and that it has dragged its heels in launching the new one.

But most people recognise that nothing happens overnight in Royal Mail – and at least this time, it has spent months consulting the industry, including advertisers, agencies and DMA (UK), rather than being perceived as the school bully.

While parent company Consignia struggles under the weight of deregulation, it seems that Yazz’s number one has quite a pertinent ring about it for the Media Markets division