Insert tool offers brands free customer journey analysis

Mail Train Media, the inserts-based direct advertising solution from multi-channel retail group Scotts & Co, is to launch a media planning service allowing brands to measure the sales impact of their insert activity on consumer purchases through other channels, such as ecommerce platforms.

Dubbed MatchBack, the scheme is designed to provide a detailed view of the customer journey, from receiving an advertiser’s insert to making a purchase.

It will give media planners an insight into what triggers a consumer response by analysing the interaction between inserts and the channels through which customers ultimately respond. It will be free to brands that use Mail Train Media insert marketing channels.

The MatchBack service will be available on three levels: postcodes only; household types; and individuals by name and address (the latter is subject to full compliance with data protection regulations).

Mail Train Media claims to offer brands more than 200 million targeted insert opportunities each year through weekly high-volume mailings of Scotts & Co’s biggest mail order catalogue titles, including Scotts of Stow, Bloom and The Traditional Garden Supply Company.

MatchBack will also be used to help new clients make a more informed choice about where to conduct test mailings. Mail Train Media currently offers first-time advertisers an opportunity to test 50,000 inserts for free.

Nigel Swabey, chief executive of Scotts & Co and Mail Train Media, said: “We know from our own experience at Scotts that mailings drive traffic to our catalogue brands’ websites. We market accordingly to take advantage of that dual channel interaction to help drive higher response levels. Our response rates have increased by 75% over the past year.

“We believe MatchBack will help Mail Train Media’s insert clients to use these same methods to increase their own response levels. By matching responders back to the various touch points you get a deeper understanding of which mix of channels works best. Media planners can then refine future integrated marketing campaigns to maximise customer recruitment levels and return on investment.

“The power of data to drive profitable customer acquisition is not new, of course, but I’m not aware of any other media owner that offers a free in-depth analysis of an advertiser’s responders to enable the client to fine-tune their future strategy.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that mail order catalogues have witnessed a major Covid “bounce” to become one of the fastest growing sectors in the world as home shoppers seemingly reinforce the enduring power of print.

UK merchant payment provider Dojo, part of Paymentsense, used data from Yahoo Finance and Purchase Intent to analyse and rank different sectors’ performance to uncover which industries benefited from the “unforeseen changes” in consumers’ lifestyles during the pandemic.

While the rise of ecommerce has been well documented, catalogues grew by almost 350% last year. Dojo suggests that this could be related to the growing mistrust and controversy surrounding online giants like Amazon and Asos.