What Is Direct Mail?

Direct Mail is personally addressed mail that is delivered through the post.

The Direct Mail industry makes a clear distinction between this form of advertising that is received via the letterbox and un-addressed advertising.  Un-addressed advertising differs in that it is not sent through the post, but delivered door-to-door.
Most advertising of this type takes the form of leaflets, coupons and free newspapers and is less precisely targeted than Direct Mail.

Direct Mail is one of the fastest growing media in the past eleven years with volumes having grown by 117%. Expenditure on the medium has risen by 140% over the same period.

It is estimated that the Direct Mail generates over £20 billion worth of income for consumer advertisers each year in the UK.

This growth demonstrates the continued commitment to more precise targeting and the widespread availability of sophisticated targeting tools in the execution of Direct Mail campaigns.

European Direct Mail Data 2000

As you can see the UK has had the most consistent growth and is the second highest for the years being compared, This along with an advertising expenditure of £1876 million in 1999 increasing to £2049 million in 2000 an increase of £173 million proves that companies using this kind of advertising see it as a worth while and cost affective medium.

In comparison between 1999 / 2000 Direct mail is the third highest growth advertising media but the fallowing year (2001) when the entire advertising industry took a slump Direct mail flourished with a further growth of £179 million.