MKT DIRECTWATCH: A weekly analysis of the direct marketing field in association with Royal Mail

MKT DIRECTWATCH: A weekly analysis of the direct marketing field in association with Royal Mail
From MARKETING, November 30th, 2000

By JEREMY RIDGWAY, an associate director of ACNielsen MMS With dotbomb companies reportedly going bust at the rate of one a
day, this first analysis of their ad-spend across all media throws
up some interesting findings. First, their rocketing spend is clearly showing signs of slowing as
web-related companies find it harder to raise cash from wary
investors. Second, far from shunning ‘snail (direct) mail’, these companies
have embraced it so readily that their DM spend has grown faster
than the other media they have used this year. This is actually not that surprising, since well-targeted DM with
good copy is far more likely to encourage people to use the internet
than cryptic TV campaigns. The majority of internet-related DM comprises ‘sign-up’ campaigns
issued by major ISPs such as AOL, Compuserve, BT and LineOne, nearly
all offering free web access, as well as niche providers such as
Care4free, which donates a percentage of profits to charity, and
supanet, which addresses the common concerns of slow access speed
and easy parental control. Internet retailers are still under-represented as DM users, with the
exception of supermarkets such as Tesco, promoting its Tesconet
service, and Waitrose, debuting Waitrose.com. But the growing number
of ‘bricks and clicks’ businesses moving online will change this. \
Dotcom adspend across all media (pounds m)
Date Press TV Direct Outdoor/
Total
Mail radio &
cinema
March 1999 0.80 0.11 1.19 0.11
2.21
April 1999 0.69 0.20 0.49 0.21
1.59
May 1999 1.51 0.50 0.51 0.36
2.88
June 1999 1.25 1.31 0.50 0.35
3.41
July 1999 1.15 1.08 0.12 1.40
3.75
August 1999 0.88 0.10 0.10 1.69
2.77
September 1999 2.19 0.83 0.42 0.38
3.82
October 1999 4.33 3.51 0.58 2.41
10.83
November 1999 8.48 7.46 0.64 4.53
21.11
December 1999 5.28 3.12 0.92 4.49
13.81
January 2000 4.08 5.98 0.97 2.65
13.68
February 2000 5.57 10.82 0.55 3.13
20.07
March 2000 8.99 19.71 0.33 3.66
32.69
April 2000 10.62 6.88 1.23 3.72
22.45
May 2000 10.55 17.09 1.02 5.86
34.52
June 2000 10.88 11.78 1.61 5.13
29.40
July 2000 7.79 11.24 0.57 1.34
20.94
August 2000 5.78 5.97 0.69 1.55
13.99
September 2000 7.13 8.58 2.79 1.86
20.36
Total 97.95 116.27 15.23 44.83
274.28 \
ACNielsen MMS monitors direct mail activity and spend using a panel
of 10,000 people profiled and weighted to be representative of the
UK population. Spend is estimated by multiplying grossed-up mailing
volumes against average post and production costs for mailpacks in
each area. Data does not include requested items, door-drops or inserts.
Detailed information on direct mail is available via
marketmovements.com.
Copyright 2000 Marketing.
Source: World Reporter (Trade Mark) – FT McCarthy.MARKETING, 30th November 2000