Generations X and Y are just as likely to be reached by direct mail as their baby boomer parents, according to the U.S. Postal Service.
Research commissioned by the USPS reveals that 95% of all American households sort and assess their postal mail daily. That includes members of Gen X (born between 1967 and 1976) and Gen Y (born between 1978 and 1994).
In contrast, 57% of all respondents check their e-mail weekly. But that figure jumps to 81% for people under age 30, according to USPS business specialist George McHale.
“Although Gen X and Gen Y use electronic media more than their parents, it doesn’t mean they use hard copy less,” McHale said last month during a Chicago Association of Direct Marketing luncheon. “They read and react to mail exactly as much as their parents do.”
The younger generation also likes direct mail coupons. And both Gen X and Gen Y rate 75% of their mail as being of immediate value.
Sixty-three percent reported that they enjoy getting catalogs, and 64% said they’d ordered something online after receiving a direct mail offer the previous month.
But McHale believes direct mail campaigns should be well segmented and contain compelling offers. They should not oversell or dominate anyone’s personal media space.
That last point is crucial: Both these groups are used to exerting control over their digital media and personal technology. “[Generations X and Y] are natural multitaskers,” McHale said. “It’s hard to get their attention because of their fragmented media consumption behavior. Reaching them calls for arriving ‘in their space’ from many different directions they can choose from.”
A case in point is Nike’s multimedia “Nikewoman” campaign that started in August. The Web site for the effort features video of real women discussing exercise and their less-than-perfect body images. But the firm also sent a catalog that carries the same branding message as the Web site and the print ads.
“[Nike] defined the ‘active woman’ target accurately, so the launch augmented its brand,” McHale said. “This is a good example of integration, where [the company was] not just adding another medium to an existing campaign but creating a whole new brand repositioning in multiple media, with a consistent message, and targeting the Gen-X and Gen-Y females they want. Just doing it on the Web alone or in the catalog alone wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.”
Network
