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“You really need a well-rounded way of reaching out to make
sure you penetrate your entire market and get the response
that you’re looking for; direct mail is a large piece of it,” says
Beth Smith, creator and educational director of the DMA Direct
Marketing Institute. “It’s a lot easier to change someone’s
opinion, done through advertising, than it is their behavior, so
direct marketers have a tough job.”
How are they getting it done? Direct mail dominates among
local advertisers, garnering over 43% of total retail advertising
in 2012, according to BIA/Kelsey’s
2013 Media Ad View Plus
Forecast.
The Winterberry Group’s forecast for data-driven
marketing spending shows direct mail accounting for nearly
one-third of direct and digital spending in 2014, the largest
spend of any U.S. direct marketing channel. (See chart.)
“The concept of ‘if you build a better mousetrap, the world will
beat a path to your door’ has been debunked,” says Smith.
“Rarely can you just wait around for people to find you. The
reality is you might have a product or service that your prospects
don’t understand or even know that they should be searching
for it. We have to push our message out into the marketplace,
too. The best campaigns are anchored by strong push activities.”
(Learn more about how to elevate your email marketing on page
2 and video strategies on page 10.)
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“The reality is you might have a
product or service that your prospects
don’t understand or even know that
they should be searching for it.We
have to push our message out into the
marketplace, too.”
– Beth Smith, creator of the Direct Marketing Association's
Direct Marketing Institute
Digital Spending 2014
$140.7 Billion
Direct
Mail
32%
Teleservices
29%
Search
16%
Display
Ads
15%
Other Digital
5%
Insert Media
1%
Other
2%
Winterberry Group Annual Outlook 2014
