Is Direct Mail dying?

If you listen to digital ad salesmen, or even your average Millennial who was born with an iPhone attached to their hand, you’ll get the impression that no one reads words on paper anymore.

So does that mean direct mail advertising is dying? In a word, no.

Though the rise of digital advertisement is an important innovation in our industry, it has not lead to the demise of direct mail. So far, direct mail continues to be a high-value medium for political and public affairs messaging.

Think about it this way, as we spend more time behind our computer screens and looking at our phones, we see thousands of digital ads a day. In that context, direct mail can stand out.

Being a Millennial myself, I always look through all my mail with interest because of the novelty of receiving actual mail.

And it’s not just me. In a study done by the United States Postal Service, more than 80% of Millennials take the time to look through their mail, 77% pay attention to direct mail advertising, and 90% of Millennials think that direct mail advertising is reliable. With Millennials now the largest voting bloc, direct mail is still a reliable and effective tactic to get targeted messages out to them.

Looking at how Millennials consume information, and how they view direct mail, tells us how that medium will remain effective for the foreseeable future. Because as they get older and become more reliable voters, they will become the middle-aged voters, and eventually seniors. And for now, at least with that important demographic, direct mail isn’t going away anytime soon.

We are a digital company. We also provide direct mail services to our clients. Therefore we never push a client to one or the other because that’s the only thing we sell. We try to help our clients use the medium that best delivers their message to their audience.

So as more digital gains popularity in political advertising, let’s not forget the power that direct mail can still have for your campaign.