• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, December 14, 2011

According to the recently released Epsilon Targeting 2011 Channel Preference Study direct mail continues to deliver as consumers' preferred means of receiving marketing messages from brands.

The 2011 research shows that despite direct mail's reputation for being "old school" or expensive, it is the top choice of U.S. consumers for the receipt of brand communications in almost every category, ranging from health to household products, to household services, insurance and financial services, including credit card offers. The preference for direct mail also extends to the 18-34 year old demographic.

Interestingly, U.S. consumers report an emotional boost from receiving direct mail, with 60% agreeing they “enjoy checking the mail box for postal mail.”

Not only are consumers receiving marketing information via multiple channels, they increasingly are deluged with information, leading to greater selectivity in determining what merits attention. Capturing the attention of today’s consumer demands more relevance than ever before. Effective marketers apply custom designed research approaches to better understand and leverage consumer relevance when spending their communications dollars.

The 2011 study highlights the latest national survey results from Epsilon Targeting on preferred communications channels for consumers to receive marketing messages.  Survey results show direct mail continues to serve as the channel of choice and most trusted for receipt of marketing information in many categories.

However, there are exceptions, such as travel. When asked about travel communications, 32% of U.S. consumers prefer the Internet, though 21%, which is not an insignificant population, prefer direct mail.

Consumers today have access to and are using an increasingly wide range of media to gather and receive information. Just a few years ago the key channels included TV, radio, newspapers, direct mail and email. Now the range of choices extends to mobile, third-party websites, social media and location-based services.

Successful marketers utilize a multi-pronged approach. Marketers do so for three logical reasons:

Consumers vary in the channels they use regularly 

• In the U.S., 37% of consumers use TV daily to get information about consumer product categories, down from 43% in 2010. 
• In Canada, 29% claim they use TV daily to learn about consumer product categories, down from 35% in 2010. 
• 36% of U.S. consumers use print newspapers for consumer product information on a weekly basis, up from 34% in 2010.
• Facebook and mobile phones were the only channels showing growth among U.S. consumers in the survey, with Facebook increasing to 10% (versus 6% in 2010), and mobile phones steady at 6% in 2011 (versus 5% in 2010). 

Consumers vary in the channels they prefer

• Across the board, U.S. and Canadian consumers prefer receiving sensitive or general health information from a trusted health care professional.
• For insurance information for example, 36% of U.S. consumers and 38% of Canadians prefer traditional mail over other channels.
• Consumers similarly prefer mail over other channels for information about financial services, with 36% of U.S. consumers and 40% of Canadians preferring mail over other channels (including email, newspaper inserts, and internet).

In the age of information overload, consumers prioritize what they read based on their level of trust in the source, says the report. The survey shows that across categories, direct mail, brochures or flyers continues to be a trusted source of information, with social media currently the least trusted in the United States and Canada.

Exceptions to note are health care, where U.S. consumers place the most trust in their health care professionals (74%), and in family and friends (47%), a decrease from 2010 (55%). Another personal filter impacting channel preference is the perceived maintenance of privacy.

For example, when comparing email and traditional direct mail, 37% of U.S. consumers feel traditional mail is more private than email. Supporting this view is data showing a decrease in the perception of maintaining anonymity. Specifically, fewer U.S. respondents, 8%, feel that the Internet “is more anonymous,” compared to 11% in 2010.

There are a number of good reasons to continue the use of email as an effective marketing communications tool. Key among these is the ability of the consumer to receive email on their own terms including:

• Choosing to receive or not receive
• Deciding to print or not to print
• Saving on paper (main reason for 34% of U.S. consumers, considerably greener than 2010, when 21% chose this as the main reason). 
• Easily forwarding the information

The report concludes by noting that, in today’s information-rich, multichannel marketplace, marketers must understand and leverage the sources that consumers trust and prefer. To make sure the message reaches its target, it’s all about location, location, location! And the channels used to get there.

For more information from Epsilon, and access to the free PDF report, please visit here.