• by Erik Sass , June 12, 2007

In this brave new world of digital communications, advertisers may be overlooking a valuable resource: junk mail.

Consumers are more responsive to junk mail, according to a new survey by International Communications Research publicized by Pitney Bowes. The ICR report has snail mail beating out e-mail for certain kinds of communications, including confidential business information.

Per ICR, 73% of respondents prefer receiving new-product announcements via mail from companies they're already in contact with, versus just 18% for e-mail. And 70% prefer mail for unsolicited information and offers telling them about products and services from companies that don't engage with.

The most marked area of difference was confidential personal information. Eighty-six percent of respondents prefer mail for things like bills, bank statements and financial reports, versus just 10% for e-mail.

The survey also found that consumers aren't as likely to discard unsolicited mail containing product information, though they will trash e-mail. Some 31% discard print mail versus 53.2% for e-mail. This category includes products like brochures and catalogs.

Finally, consumers found that mail offers less intrusive--i.e., less disruptive of daily activities--than both e-mail and phone solicitations.