{"id":22476,"date":"2022-03-04T17:36:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T17:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/?p=22476"},"modified":"2023-04-11T20:41:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T20:41:39","slug":"how-consumers-feel-about-direct-mail-by-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/blog\/how-consumers-feel-about-direct-mail-by-generation","title":{"rendered":"How Consumers Feel About Direct Mail (By Generation)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 5 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n

Marketing mail plays a role in all our lives. Think: postcards with an offer, catalogs showing goods, coupons, solicitation letters from nonprofits and free samples sent by businesses. But specific direct mail pieces affect each generation differently. From Boomers to Generation Z, we take a look at how these generations respond to marketing strategies so we can better engage them.<\/p>\n

Baby Boomers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"boomer<\/p>\n

Baby boomers\u00a0have lived through historic events and have also seen changes within\u00a0direct mail\u00a0and the mail system itself. This adventurous generation has grown up with mail-order\u00a0catalogs\u00a0and the invention of the World Wide Web. Boomers enjoy receiving mail and feel it is more personal versus digital communications and are less likely to read email over tangible mail.<\/p>\n

50% of boomers prefer to read promotional deals and answer to\u00a0direct mail\u00a0messaging. They trust\u00a0direct mail\u00a0over any other type of communication. The preference of physically reading promotional material comes from the knowledge that important communications like bills\/statements come via mail. Keep in mind, this is what this generation has grown up with and we all feel at times, \u201cwhy fix something that isn\u2019t broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baby boomers\u00a0are less likely to find design elements of\u00a0direct mail\u00a0meaningful and typically do not care if the recycling information is on the mail piece (Yes, this generation does try to recycle!). Boomers answer to more direct messaging and don\u2019t always find design elements to be meaningful.<\/p>\n

To grab the\u00a0baby boomers\u2019\u00a0attention with a\u00a0direct mail\u00a0campaign,\u00a0make sure to use high-quality materials \u2013 it, shows you have invested in something you care about. This generation wants to know why they should respond<\/strong> to you over why they should trust<\/strong> you. Make your message clear and to the point.<\/p>\n

Generation X<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"gen<\/p>\n

Generation X\u00a0is a busy demographic: working, maintaining homes, raising families and caring for aging parents. This generation grew up receiving birthday cards, college acceptance packages and pen pal letters in the mail. Mail is important to them as it\u2019s provided them excitement throughout their life. 70% of this generation is eager to see what the mail brings them every day.<\/p>\n

Gen X\u00a0is more likely to read promotional\u00a0direct mail\u00a0pieces\u00a0versus\u00a0digital marketing. This generation has the need for digital promotions, but the offer has to fit their need. The\u00a0Gen-X-ers\u00a0take on many responsibilities and the most important type of deals or offers that motivate them are the ones that help with those responsibilities. They expect to receive a deal and find that locally owned businesses promotional items are important.<\/p>\n

This generation typically enjoys simple, easy-to-read\u00a0direct mail\u00a0pieces\u00a0along with higher quality paper. Along with\u00a0direct mail,\u00a0digital advertising\u00a0can provide a boost when you\u2019re connecting with this group.\u00a0Digital media\u00a0should include easy to click email links that allow them to view products and offers.\u00a0Generation X\u00a0answers well to multichannel advertising, as long as they have an easy call to action.<\/p>\n

Millennials (Gen Y)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"millennial<\/p>\n

Millennials\u00a0are currently the largest living adult population. They grew up during the invention of smartphones and the integration of the internet into their everyday lives. As the children of\u00a0baby boomers\u00a0and\u00a0Gen X-ers,\u00a0this generation welcomes the use of in-person shopping and online shopping and<\/em> utilizing\u00a0direct mail\u00a0and digital advertisements offers.<\/p>\n

This generation appreciates receiving promotional mail in physical form as well as digitally.\u00a0Millennials\u00a0feel that\u00a0direct mail\u00a0is more secure than digital communications and it keeps them up to date on products and services. However, this group can sometime feel that sorting and flipping through mail makes them anxious or stressed, and they prefer a promotional deal via email.<\/p>\n

Millennials\u00a0are more likely to visit a website or go to a physical location and share information with others after receiving a\u00a0piece of\u00a0direct mail. This generation is more inclined to purchase a product or service when advertised with direct mail. This group considers mail effective if it includes information pertaining to their community. The millennial generation aspires to help and grow their communities (93% of\u00a0millennials\u00a0read mail from local brands).<\/p>\n

The\u00a0millennial\u00a0generation is the most receptive to receiving deals across all platforms. Creating an\u00a0omnichannel\u00a0campaign for this group will allow them to enjoy the feeling of receiving a great deal in the mail and fill the need for an instant deal in their inbox. Millennials wants the best of both worlds as they enjoy the technology side yet appreciates the authenticity of the mail system.<\/p>\n

Gen Z<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"gen<\/p>\n

Generation Z\u00a0has never known a time without smartphones and the internet. This group has grown up in a\u00a0digital age\u00a0with instant connections at their fingertips. Technology has lured this group away from\u00a0physical mail; however, giving\u00a0Gen Z-er\u00a0a personalized, tangible marketing experience that digital communications cannot provide stimulates their creative side.<\/p>\n

While this generation may enjoy personalized mail experiences, they are least likely to read\u00a0catalogs. Because they spend most of day online and are inundated with communications, they have a much shorter attention span. Deals and special offers are always important, but this generation ranks unique branding higher than all other generations.\u00a0Gen Z\u00a0judges the book by its cover as they enjoy eye-catching pieces.<\/p>\n

70% of\u00a0Generation Z\u00a0think it\u2019s important to see recycling information on mail pieces. This group is very environmentally conscious, and recycling is important to them as 6 out of 10 actively recycle their mail. Along with being conscious, this group loves authenticity; they\u2019re not interested in marketing lingo and prefer the promotional message to be relatable and straightforward.<\/p>\n

Direct Mail Works for Every Audience
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Baby boomers prefer to receive direct mail offers rather than digital offers. Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Z welcome the digital integration with direct mail. They don\u2019t mind receiving a link to view more information regarding a promotional offer via email or an app.<\/p>\n

All generations like to receive\u00a0direct mail\u00a0and 71% of consumers are excited to see what the mail brings each day.\u00a0Direct mail\u00a0and email are most likely to be viewed, but\u00a0physical mail\u00a0has greater read ratings across all\u00a0age groups.<\/p>\n

If you’d like to learn more about direct mail and how you can reach your target audience, contact your local Valpak office<\/a> for a free marketing consultation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: “Mail & E-Commerce Through the Ages: A USPS\u00ae Generational Study,” USPS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 5 minutes Marketing mail plays a role in all our lives. Think: postcards with an offer, catalogs showing goods, coupons, solicitation letters from nonprofits and free samples sent by businesses. But specific direct mail pieces affect each generation differently. From Boomers to Generation Z, we take a look at how these generations respond […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22474,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"siege-2018.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_swt_meta_header_display":false,"_swt_meta_footer_display":false,"_swt_meta_site_title_display":false,"_swt_meta_sticky_header":false,"_swt_meta_transparent_header":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertise","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Consumers Feel About Direct Mail (By Generation) - Valpak Advertising<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/blog\/how-consumers-feel-about-direct-mail-by-generation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Consumers Feel About Direct Mail (By Generation)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reading time: 5 minutes Marketing mail plays a role in all our lives. 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Think: postcards with an offer, catalogs showing goods, coupons, solicitation letters from nonprofits and free samples sent by businesses. But specific direct mail pieces affect each generation differently. From Boomers to Generation Z, we take a look at how these generations respond…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22476"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22485,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22476\/revisions\/22485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}