Royal Mail is ramping up its promotion of the value of direct mail by launching a new service – created for small to medium businesses – which will allow firms to create professional mailshots which Royal Mail will print and send.
MailshotMaker is a website for businesses which are new to direct mail or have limited marketing budgets, and can be used to send mailings to addresses within the UK, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey.
The initiative was revealed in the company’s annual results, which also showed that direct mail revenue for last year overall was flat, although it followed growth of 3% in the first six months. Royal Mail cited a slowing in UK economic activity, although it is likely to see a boom in revenue on the back of the EU referendum.
Direct mail remains the fourth largest advertising medium in the UK and brought in £1.158bn in revenue for the company. UK mail advertising spend grew 1% during 2015, the first increase in four years, compared with an 11% fall in print advertising media.
Overall, Royal Mail reported a 5% rise in adjusted operating profit before transformation costs – its preferred measure – to £742m in the year to 27 March 2016. Revenues rose 1% to £9.2bn while its UK business made a £608m profit, down from £615m the previous year.
Commenting on the results, Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene, said: “We have delivered a resilient performance in challenging markets. Group revenue was up 1% and our strategic focus on costs resulted in a 1% decline in our UK underlying costs. We continue to invest in our transformation and initiatives to support growth.
“We are introducing new and improved products and services and responding quickly to changing customer needs. These measures, alongside our emphasis on customer focus and delivering a value for money service, have helped us to maintain our pre-eminent position in UK letters and parcels.”
Related stories
New IDM qualification taps into direct mail revival
‘Best minds in business’ extol direct mail benefits
Senior clients join Mailmen campaign
Mailings ‘drive positive brand effect’
Direct mail spend bullish at £2bn+
Mailmen ads fuel direct mail revival
Mail stays in brain longer than all
