Ritson joins 'gurus' to promote the joys of direct mail

Royal Mail Marketreach is ratcheting up its Totally Mailed It campaign, drafting in no lesser luminary than marketing “guru” Mark Ritson to promote direct mail’s proven value to businesses, while also providing “compelling” evidence on why the channel is a powerful part of the media mix.

The campaign features a new line-up of leaders from across the sector, in addition to long-term advocate Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of Ogilvy.

Ritson, whose official title is global brand consultant and marketing professor, is joined by Waitrose chief marketing officer Nathan Ansell and System1 senior vice president of global partnerships Andrew Tindall.

Created by an MSQ-owned The Gate, the campaign first launched in October, with the latest activity running from today across OOH, including several large digital OOH formats in London and Manchester, targeting advertisers and agencies.

Several D6 OOH formats will also be placed in prime locations across Shoreditch as well as social, display/video, podcast audio and “an engaging” direct mail pack which will be sent to marketers.

The trio join an existing line up that includes The Glittersphere CEO and founder Nishma Patel Robb, who is a former Google director of marketing, Marketing Society chief executive Sophie Devonshire, The Barber Shop founder Dino Myers-Lamptey, and Astroten founder Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory and The Illusion of Choice.

Each creative features a headshot of one of the industry advocates and is supported with a pithy quote that showcases how mail is the surprising spark at the heart of many marketing success stories and helped them gain a competitive edge and nail their targets.

This is supported with a ‘Totally Mailed It’ landing page on the Marketreach website, featuring detailed testimonials and success stories from the advocates on how mail ramps up ROI, and is an effective channel in the marketing mix.

The activity taps into to recent research which shows improving marketing effectiveness is the top priority for marketers, and ROI and ROMI keep 99% of CMOs awake at night.

The push highlights how direct mail’s physical presence captures attention, builds a personal connection, and drives action and results.

Marketreach/WARC data also highlights the enduring value of direct mail, showing that 58% of mail is retained for future reference, to be re-read, shared, or saved for later use.

Further research from WARC and Marketreach shows that campaigns with direct mail in the overall mix are 52% more likely to report ROI benefits, and are also 43% more likely to report profit uplifts providing evidence for its effectiveness as a channel.

Ritson commented: “When mail is done well – done as Lester Wunderman, who created the first loyalty and reward schemes, once envisaged it – it remains one of the great connections between companies and customers.”

Marketreach head of marketing Cameron Russell added: “Mail has the unique ability to cut through and create moments of genuine surprise and emotional connection. This is why brands are still investing in it to reach their goals. And it can work hand-in-hand with different channels to deliver lasting value.

“Totally Mailed It celebrates mail as a channel and we’re proud to be teaming up with some of the brightest minds in marketing to showcase mail and how it can truly be that ace up a marketer’s sleeve when it comes to results and impact.”