The people have spoken: give us print not emails

Industry members told ProPrint that the flood of electronic communication actually makes people more receptive to printed material that lands in their letterboxes – as long as it is targeted.

The latest Australia Post Consumer Survey of 1,000 people revealed that 98% of respondents open their mail and 84% read it on the day it arrives.

"These open rates are exceptionally high when you think about other channels such as email where the average open rate in Australia is 22%," said Australia Post.

"The fact that [60%] of mail is stored for later reference indicates that a mail piece has a relatively long life and may even be passed onto others giving it even greater reach."

Rod Jones, director of Chatswood-based print, mail and fulfilment house Cojo, said the research confirmed why there are "still some good volumes around" for direct mail. He added that consumers responded well to focused campaigns based on data-driven marketing.

[Feature: Mailhouse reinvents itself and invests millions]

SEMA's chief sales and marketing officer, Brian Smith, said personalised mail excites people in a way that emails don't.

"Unless the email is personalised, you feel like it's noise you're getting, rather than about you specifically," he told ProPrint.

"In personalised marketing communications, there's a continued support and even growth in people wanting to get to one-to-one communications, wanting to cut through, and paper-based communication still has the ability to do that."

Brisbane firm GJI, which specialises in variable digital print and data management, said people valued printed marketing – and that retailers were keen to take advantage.

"The letterbox has never been emptier, which provides a prime opportunity for well-targeted print. It’s truly a case of targeting the right person, at the right time, with the right message and the right medium," said managing director Mark James.

"We've never made more money out of the retail sector in our 15-year history. Retail is booming for us, because retailers have understood that they have a threat with online [competition], so they're looking for new ways to connect with their customer."

The Australia Post survey also revealed that respondents prefer to receive magazines, brochures, vouchers, bills and sensitive information in printed form.

Active Mail general manager Luke Pearsall said people received so many electronic messages during the day that they were reluctant to do in-depth reading from their private email accounts when they returned home.

Mark Sayle, managing director of mailing house Future Sources, said people were conditioned to prefer hard copies of bills and sensitive information.

"I think we're value-driven animals and as such we like to feel the bill in our hands. People think, 'Do I trust that electronic thing?', because I do trust the paper," said Sayle.

[LinkedIn: Will digital mailboxes kill off printed post?]

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