One
of the marketing surprises of the last few years has been how strongly
Millennials—the smartphone and fully wired generation—respond to direct mail.
In fact, according to “USPS Mail Moments 2016,” Millennials are more likely
than other generations to read, organize, and sort their mail than all other
generations. They are also less likely to discard their mail without reading
it.
Why
do even so-called digital natives still respond so strongly to print? Could it
be, in part, how we are wired? The answer is yes. Neuromarketing research shows
that our brains react differently to printed material than to digital media.
To
more fully understand how the brain reacts to physical vs. digital mail, the
United States Postal Service partnered with the Center for Neural Decision
Making at Temple University’s Fox School of Business to gauge responses to
physical and digital advertising pieces. Researchers used brain images,
biometrics (e.g. heart rate and respiration), eye tracking, and questionnaires
to measure reactions.
They
found that:
- Participants processed digital ad content more quickly.
- They spent more time with physical ads.
- Physical ads triggered activity in a part of the brain
that corresponds with value and desirability.
- Participants had a stronger emotional response to
physical ads and remembered them better.
Canada
Post found similarly intriguing results in its neuromarketing research project.
They measured the response to campaigns that used the same creative and
messaging for both physical and digital media.
They
found that:
- Direct mail campaigns required 21% less cognitive
effort to process.
- Participants’ recall was 70% higher if they were
exposed to direct mail rather than a digital ad.
- Activation in parts of the brain that correspond to
motivation response was 20% higher for direct mail.
As
human beings, we are wired to respond more strongly to physical, printed
messages. For marketers who want advertising with long-lasting impact and easy
recollection, printed materials can clearly make a difference.
Excerpted and edited from the
USPSDelivers.com presentation “Still Relevant: A Look at How Millennials
Respond to Direct Mail” (2017).
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Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.
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