Time for the Do Not Direct-Mail List?

Is the end of direct-mail marketing near? Probably not... but that's not to say it isn't taking a serious beating these days.

Although there may always be a need for direct mail advertising, 2008 stats show it is definitely not as popular as it was once. (COUGH - Not a surprise for those of us involved in Internet Marketing.) Direct-mail spending dropped 3% in 2008; costs fell from $58.4 billion in 2007 to $56.7 billion in 2008. That number is expected plummet even further in 2009 to 51.8 billion (9%).



So, what's the cause of this? The long and short of it is that companies are shifting precious funds to "lower-volume, more targeted and higher-value campaigns." Examples of this in the direct-marketing arena are e-mail and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - both of which we're seeing a lot of these days at WSI. If that doesn't satisfy you... blame it on the poor economy, rising postage rates and a cut back in "junk-mail" by banks and credit card companies.

More can be found on the AdvertisingAge in Direct-Mail Spending Down in 2008 and Still Falling.

Sources:
1. A Channel in Transformation: Vertical Marketing Trends in Direct Mail 2009, published by the Winterberry Group.
2. Direct Mail Drop, published by eMarketer.com.