The touchy-feely side of marketing direct mail

Marketing direct mail – don’t count it out

Digital is all well and good, but it doesn’t necessarily replace the touch and feel of real-life marketing direct mail. Think of it this way: would you rather eat a thick juicy steak or look at it on your computer or smart phone screen? That’s just what I thought. Well then, pull a chair up to the table and have a bite with us.

Don’t get me wrong, digital has its strong points, but it can come up short when it comes to marketing direct mail. That’s because the last time I checked, customers and prospects are breathing, walking human beings who still get a kick out of receiving and touching, yes touching, marketing direct mail. It’s like the thick juicy steak that you want to eat versus one you look at on a screen.
There have been numerous studies conducted that have proven this touchy-feely thing to be true. One such study conducted not that long ago  by Millward Brown, called Using Neuroscience to Understand the Role of Direct Mail, revealed that physical media left a ‘deeper footprint’ in the brain. Here are some more findings that the scientific study revealed:

• Physical material involves more emotional processing, which is important for memory and brand associations
• Physical materials produced more brain response connected with internal feelings, suggesting greater ‘internalization’ of the ads
• More processing is taking place in the right retrosplenial cortex when physical material is presented. This is involved in the processing of emotionally powerful stimuli and memory, which would suggest that the physical presentation may be generating more emotionally vivid memories

It’s tough to dispute science. We, as humans, need and want the sense of touch, and that’s something we get from printed marketing direct mail pieces and campaigns, not from the cold and impersonal world of digital representations.

So the next time you hear folks pooh-pooh marketing direct mail, tell them to get a touch of reality!

Best of Days to You,

Audrey Ferrante
Ferrante & Associates, Inc.