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Acquisition mailing made up 70% of the $52.5 billion marketers spent on direct mail during 2004, according to a new study. This is not because CRM has diminished in importance: Rather, marketers are becoming savvier in their ability to target messages to current customers, according to a new study. The overall trend in mail use is growth, however, and there is no sign of this abating.

While sources disagree about the rate of increase, all contend that its use will grow 2005. The Direct Marketing Association anticipates a conservative 5.2% growth rate, while Veronis Suhler Stevenson said growth would amount to 5.5%. Winterberry Group, which sponsored the study, predicts 7.5% growth, and Universal McCann was the most generous in its forecast, anticipating an 8.5% increase.

Among vertical industries, insurance financial marketers are seen as leading mail uses growth between 2002 and 2007, with an anticipated 8.4% compound annual growth rate, followed by hospitality marketers at 7.6%; not-for-profits, 7.3%; healthcare and pharmaceutical mailers, 6.6%; publishers, 6.1%; automotive marketers, 5.1%; telecommunications, 4.8%; banking and credit card marketers, 3.7%; technology, 3%; and retail (non-catalog) 2.7%.

The 2005-2006 period will see marketers adjusting to postal rate increases by optimizing their mailing. Some in sensitive areas, such as health care and areas that use personally identified data that is increasingly covered by state and federal regulations, will have to react to legislation that may impede their ability to reach both targets and customers.

But the news isn’t all bad: In addition to the improvement in CRM targeting mentioned above, mail’s effectiveness has been boosted by cross-channel efforts, which engage the target through a variety of mediums, and through continued acceleration of digital print technology capacities.

This is in addition to several trends that carry over from 2004. Marketers continue to see faster turnaround times for their campaigns, especially as they integrate their mail efforts with channels that offer faster results, such as online, direct response TV, e-mail and other mediums. Segments are getting smaller, as marketers become more adept at targeting and variable printing allows for cost-effective short-run customization.

What they are mailing is changing as well: According to Winterberry, nearly 60% of mail is now anticipated as falling into the “non-envelope” category, which includes postcards, fliers and self mailers.

New York City-based Winterberry Group conducted its research among non-catalog direct mail marketing executives, as well as service providers that provide direct mail-related services.