The Psychological Differences in Response to Direct and Digital Marketing

The amount of time spent on screens has increased strikingly throughout the pandemic. Naturally with less face to face interactions taking place, it is only natural for people to flock to the avenues of connection that are still open. Even before the pandemic kicked off in 2020, there has been a steady increase in the amount of time consumers spend on the digital landscape.

With the birth of the World Wide Web, marketers were given an immense playground to explore new possibilities in creating connections. Digital literacy is a subject that has risen to be a necessary prerequisite for many business leaders, as success in the open market often now depends on how well you can translate your physical business into its online presence. These thoughts have lead many marketers to invest heavily into online advertising. People spending more and more time online probably means that online advertisements are the best way to connect, right? Well… that is not quite true.

A study by the United States Postal Service along with the Center of Neural Decision Making at Temple University sought to observe the psychological responses to marketing material, differentiated by their physical and digital representations. In their study, they looked to observe responses to a variety of stimuli including both physical and digital marketing materials as well as participant’s ability of brand recall, brand association and brand discrimination. Study participants represented a wide variety of age, race gender and other demographic cohorts. To start, researchers had participants view a total of 60 ads, half in physical postcard form and the other half shown on a tablet. During this phase researchers polled the viewers on brand recall, association and discrimination. For the second phase, researchers brought back the participants a week later and asked them to recall the advertisements from the week before. During these phases, use of an fMRI was employed to view the brains active areas to better understand the subconscious/ neural responses.

Through the study, observers were able to see what format was best from gaining viewers; attention, engagement, stimulation, memory retrieval accuracy, memory, willingness to purchase, desirability and valuation. It was found that physical ads provided similar results or better than the digital ads in all categories besides “attention”.  Viewers of the advertisements across all age groups were found to take less time processing the digital ads than the physical ones. It is seen throughout the study that the time spent with physical advertisements are more valuable than the time a digital ad may be on the screen.  Physical advertisements took a clear lead ahead of digital in the areas of review time, stimulation, memory, desirability and valuation.

The human brain proves its preference to the physical medium over the digital clearly. If you are looking to reach higher engagement, better recollection and more efficient response, direct mail is the way to go, simply because the human psychology prefers it!

What is Every Door Direct Mail and what does it mean for reaching your audience?

EDDM is a service offered by USPS which allows businesses to target areas across the United States through choices of ZIP codes carrier routes based on household demographics. The key benefit of Every Door Direct Mail is removing the need for the traditional mailing list. Targeting lists are essentially generated by USPS based on the most recent census data, allowing your businesses to save time and money on acquiring potential customers contact information.

Here are some industries which have been seen to gain the most from the use of Every Door Direct Mail:

• Retail
• Restaurants
• Realtors
• Business services
• Medical Services
• Dental Services
• Contractors
• Home Services
• Attorneys
• Local Arts
• Community Organizations
• Political Campaigns

Every Door Direct Mailing helps these industries in a multitude of ways; the most impactful of which are the ability to gain awareness, increasing the number of customers that are coming into your marketing funnel, and seeing greater returns on your marketing activities.

Gaining Awareness

For small businesses it can be a difficult task to face finding your audience and reaching those who could potentially be interested in what you have to offer. With Every Door Direct Mail, you are able to mail out to a greater number of people through lower rates of shipping.

Gaining More Customers

Businesses that rely on local customers benefit greatly from Every Door Direct. EDDM allows them to spread the messages about their business to those in the areas closest to them. Increasing local market share and remaining present in those that surround your location.

Seeing Better Returns

Through the targeting of mail routes within ZIP codes based on US census based data, EDDM allows businesses to connect with the right people within their targeted areas. With the proper appreciation of the data, reporting has shown much higher rates of return on investment because of the higher rate of quality leads coming from a refined delivery qualification.

What is the difference between EDDM and regular bulk mailing?

The typical practice of bulk mailing requires a mailing list with the addresses and names of all the people you are hoping to reach. These lists are usually acquired from list brokers or agencies whose purpose is composing the lists through in depth analysis.

Standard Mail Flats are the only type of mailers allowed in use of Every Door Direct Mail. The Maximum and Minimum sizing for EDDM can be seen below in the graphic, or directly quoted from the United States Postal Service here:

• Rectangular with four square corners or finished cor­ners that do not exceed a radius of 1/8 inch
• One of the following: more than 11.5 inches long, more than 6 1/8 inches high, or more than 1/4 inch thick (Note: If an 8 1/2 x 11 piece is folded in half, the final dimensions would not be a flat-sized piece.)
• Not more than15 inches long, 12 inches high or 3/4 inches thick.
• Orientation of the address does not matter, i.e., whether the address is applied parallel to the long or short side of the piece. However, the address must be in the top half of the piece.

How do you take advantage of EDDM?

The most important step to take to use Every Door Direct Mail is to get started on the copy and composition of a piece to send out to prospects. Creative Composition has in house staff to help you design and create direct mail. Test your calls to action and see what could encourage your recipients to make the jump and initiate contact with your business.

If you would like to more about Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), Creative Composition can help you navigate the requirements with ease. Please reach out to our mailing specialists if you have a campaign that you would like us quote.