Royal Mail woos media agencies

Royal Mail’s business division, MarketReach, is stepping up its agency charm offensive by signing a deal designed to get door-to-door marketing firmly on media schedules.
The division has entered a partnership with MediaTel – the media agency service which has run the online planning and booking service for radio commercials since 1998 – to add Royal Mail Door to Door to its regional service.
MediaTel’s regional database has a unique mapping system which allows users to map media opportunities and view demographic profiles within their defined area.
Using data from Royal Mail, agencies will be able to plan and book door drop campaigns directly. The service enables users to determine the postcode sectors in their catchment area in which the target demographic is over-indexed, calculate the number of households they want to reach, with indicative costs, and then complete the booking form which is then sent direct to Royal Mail.
MediaTel Group was established in 1981 as a source of online information to the UK media industry, and over 200 different companies now subscribe to its data trend and comparison reports which go back over 20 years covering press, TV, online, radio, cinema, and outdoor.
Its online trading platform for the radio industry is used by 30 agencies and all the major sales points, covering over 90% of national radio airtime. Over 12 million commercials are handled every year. This system currently has over 1,000 users and integrates with a number of planning, sales, traffic and finance systems.
Bringing agencies on board has been one of the key strategies for Royal Mail MarketReach since the appointment of former Aimia, RMG and Claydon Heeley chief Jonathan Harman (pictured) as managing director of the division in 2012.
Earlier this year, MarketReach hired former Mindshare and Starcom chief Diana Rhodes and ex-Zenith Optimedia worldwide research director Anthony Jones to strengthen its senior team. Meanwhile Kathryn McNamara was lured from the main Royal Mail business as head of communications and channels.
At the time, Harman said: “As a 21st century media owner we want to actively partner with mail users and their agencies to improve the returns they get from mail. Our rationale is simple: when mail users win, we win.”