The reason according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is the increased regulations relating to mass emailing may lead to a re-evaluation of direct mail. The DMA research shows that direct mail generates a 4.4 percent response rate while emails pick up on average 0.01 percent. Add to this that 75 percent of the public can recall a brand via direct mail to 44 percent of the public who recall a brand from an email and you have the seeds for the direct mail fight back.

In its annual door drop industry report for 2018, the DMA says the door drop spend has remained stable over the period, decreasing very slightly in 2017. However, the decline in volumes have ‘slowed to negligible’ which they say suggests – the numbers could go up in the future. Interestingly they say direct mail ‘has avoided a significant impact on spend, unlike TV and press advertising.’

General elections are usually good news for printers with demands for vast print runs of political leaflets and posts, but the one last year did not bring the usual boom in orders. Whether that is because the political protagonists relied more on social media remains to be seen, but pundits feel Theresa May probably regrets not spending more on print since the election proved a disappointment for her. The DMA forecast an increase in direct mail this year, ‘especially as the changes from the GDPR makes the channel more attractive.’

Anecdotally there has been a drop in legitimate businesses sending out mass emails due to GDPR although that hasn’t stopped the usual spam pumped out of China, Nigeria and a host of other countries.

What do you think? Have you seen a drop in junk emails? Have you experienced more orders for direct mail products? Email your views to Harry - Harry@linkpublishing.co.uk or call me on 0117 9805 040. Or react to the story on Twitter and have your say.

If you have an interesting story or a view on this news, then please e-mail news@signlink.co.uk

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