USPS: Generations X and Y Value Direct Mail

Generations X and Y are just as likely to be reached by direct mail as their baby boomer parents, USPS business specialist George McHale told members of the Chicago Association of Direct Marketers yesterday.

Research commissioned by the USPS and due to be released fully later this year reveals that the members of both Gen-X (born between 1967 and 1976) and Gen-Y (born between 1978 and 1994) find the same kind of value their parents do in offers that come via their mailboxes, McHale said.

Overall, 95% of all American households collect, assess and sort their mail daily, while only 57% of households check e-mail weekly. U.S. households headed by someone under age 30 place a higher importance than the average on checking e-mail: 81% report doing so at least weekly. But those post-baby boom generations collect, assess and sort their mail at exactly the same 95% daily rate as the American average.

“Although Gen-X and Gen-Y use electronic media more than their parents, it doesn’t mean they use hard copy less,” McHale told the audience. “They read and react to mail exactly as much as their parents do.”

Ninety-eight percent of both generations bring in their mail daily, while 70% of Xers and 82% of Yers report that they sort their mail immediately. As for using coupons they’ve received in the mail, 74% of X and 68% of Y say they have done so. In aggregate, USPS research has found that the two groups say they would rate 75% of their mail as being of immediate value.

Nor has e-commerce taken the value out of print media for these under-39 generations. About 63% of Gen-X and Gen-Y consumers reported that they enjoy getting catalogs, according to McHale, and 64% reported ordering something online after receiving a direct mail offer in the previous month.

The lesson here is that despite growing up with a plethora of communications options their parents did not have—the Internet, mobile phones, e-mail, multiple cable channels, TiVo and even podcasts—Americans born between 1967 and 1994 have shown the same high regard for direct mail advertising—provided, McHale said, that the messages are well segmented, contain compelling offers and don’t try to oversell or dominate these generations’ personal media space.

That last point is crucial: Both these generations are used to exerting control over their digital media and personal technology. “[Generations X and Y] are natural multi-taskers,” McHale said. “It’s hard to get their attention, because of their fragmented media consumption behavior. Reaching them calls for arriving ‘in their space’ from many different directions that they can choose from.”

To start building a relationship with these groups, direct marketers should consider including the traditional starting point: the mailbox. McHale pointed to several recent marketing campaigns that have integrated direct mail as part of their messaging. Among these was a much-noticed print, Internet and catalog campaign by Nike entitled “Nikewomen” that launched in August. The Web site features video of real women discussing exercise and their less-than-perfect body images. The campaign also includes a direct-to-consumer sales channel in the form of a Nikewomen catalog that carries the same branding message as the Web site and the print ads.

“They defined the ‘active woman’ target accurately, so the launch augmented their brand,” McHale said. “This is a good example of integration, where they were not just adding another medium to an existing campaign but creating a whole new brand repositioning in multiple media, with a consistent message, and targeting the Gen-X and Gen-Y females they want. Just doing it on the Web alone or in the catalog alone wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.”