“Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” — Stephen King
Digital advertising is no longer new. We see it, we use it, we get it. Emails and display ads are now par for the course in our marketing strategies. Digital campaigns offer a quick and easy way for brands to go to market with relatively low cost compared to running a print campaign.
Push button, publish content.
Digital advertising offers instant gratification. You know what else it offers? Over saturation in an already crowded market. In an effort to combat ad fatigue, we’re seeing more digital-first brands like Amazon, Casper, Google, and Glossier turn to more traditional marketing methods to directly engage their customers outside of the inbox.
Email, the new junk mail
My personal Gmail account will never reach inbox zero, I’ve accepted this. For every email I delete, three more appear in its place, multiplying like gremlins before my very eyes. Our inboxes are being inundated with communications that don’t feel valuable, and that often go unopened. This is why people are starting to divert their attention from the inbox to the mailbox. And why we’re starting to get direct mail from Amazon (true story!).
In home for the holidays
For the second year in a row Amazon has mailed out a toy catalog around the holidays. This was the first year I’d received one, and I was absolutely delighted by it. Amazon a digital-first company sent out a super strategic (and very engaging) piece of direct mail, targeting holiday shoppers. Curious to know how last year’s piece affected sales, I did some quick googling. The results were pretty impressive. According to Edge by Ascential, it’s estimated that Amazon’s toy sales increased by 30% in Q3. That’s a cool $510 million dollars.
Direct mail builds value
Don’t expect to stop getting ads from Amazon or emails from Everlane, that’s never going to happen. But do expect to see more DTC brands hitting your mailbox, with special offers tailored to you. If you want to run a strategic omni-channel campaign, it’s time to reconsider an all-digital approach.
Ready to make your direct mail new again? We’re here to help.