Annual door drop spend and volumes have both bounced back from the pandemic, with younger consumers now interacting with door drops more than any other age group.
That is according to the Door Drop Report 2022, which is the result of a new partnership between audience measurement programme Jicmail and the DMA’s industry data.
The result is a new structure and more insights, which it is claimed offer the most accurate and detailed picture of the UK door drop market available – with a greater understanding into contributing factors behind annual volumes.
The data reveals that spend increased 15.5% year-on-year from £143.5m in 2020 to £182m in 2021, while volumes rose 14.3% from 2.7 billion in 2020 to just over 3.5 billion units last year.
Comparing door drops to other media channels, particularly direct mail, magazines and news, similar year-on-year growth can be seen (up to 20%), returning them towards their 2019 levels – if not quite there yet. In the past year, there has been an overall 34.4% increase in ad spend, according to the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report figures for 2021.
DMA director of insight Tim Bond said: “While there has been a healthy return to volume and ad spend growth in the market in 2021, lower than average ad spend growth means door drops have lost share in overall media budgets.
“This may be down to a lag in media spend on door drops while many physical stores and premises were unable to fully reopen due to restrictions in the first half of 2020.
“However, this also presents a key opportunity for advertisers that are willing to seize it. Brands that move first to ramp up door drop activity while their competitors are less active in this space, these are the businesses that will enjoy a higher share of doormats and greater visibility in consumers’ homes. It’s these brands that will also benefit from the engagement and effectiveness the channel can offer both in the short and long-term too.”
With above average growth rates, door drop share of the total mail market has strengthened: up from 20% share in 2020 to 23% in 2021. Leaflets continued to be the majority of the door drops sent in 2021 (86.7%), with both envelopes and booklets reducing slightly year-on-year (to 7.3% and 6.0% respectively).
As of Q4 2021, the average door drop was shared with 1.05 people per household (a metric referred to as Item Reach), reflecting an additional 5% audience reach on top of campaign volumes. In addition, the average UK based-person interacts with a door drop 3.1 times a month.
In terms of effectiveness, 4% of door drops resulted in some sort of purchase related outcome in 2021. Door drops generate effects throughout the customer journey and, once a broader range of effects are considered (such as digital traffic and brand discussions), an 11% effectiveness rate is evidenced.
Door drops are a prime example of how offline media can drive online effects, with the proportion of door drops driving web visits growing 50% year-on-year, the report reveals.
Pre-conceptions around the types of audiences that are most engaged with door drops have been turned on their head over the course of the last few years. Upmarket ABC1 audiences now interact with the average door drop more than those the in C2DE social grade. Similarly, the under 35s now interact with door drops more than any other age group, opening up a world of new prospecting opportunities with the channel.
DMA Print Council chair of the door drop hub Neal Dodd said: “One of the most interesting takeaways from this has been the changing audience of those receiving door drop items, with younger age ranges being targeted far more than in recent years.
“Some of this will be due to a reduced set of media options during Covid lockdowns, but with home working far more prevalent now and seemingly here to stay, perhaps brands are realising that they can reach these audiences effectively and efficiently with an engaging media option that will stand out from digital media.”
Related stories
Door drops plummet as Covid hits spend and volume
Door-drop spend increases despite decline in volumes
Royal Mail offers brands new door-to-door incentives
Door drops show stamina while other channels go limp
Direct mail comes out of silo with Jicmail audit launch
