Let’s talk turkey—and trends in direct mail
At Thanksgiving time, I’m the “turkey guy” in our family. I’m literally hands-on with the formerly feathered, defrosted foul—I prep the bird, handle the giblets that most people don’t want to touch or even look at (but make for amazing gravy), stuff it to the brim with my homemade stuffing, roast it, taste test it, and carve it up for serving.
As I was planning for this year’s feast, I came across a few turkey trends of note: 34% of consumers recently polled plan to fry their turkey, 50% buy the bird frozen, 48% plan on buying a bigger turkey vs. a smaller one, the majority prefer dark over white meat, and 24% say their mom will be cooking the bird this year. (Thanks, mom, for teaching me everything I know about turkey prep!)
This got me thinking about the interesting trends in direct mail that businesses can serve up year-round. Direct mail is still enjoying a healthy existence in the wake of the pandemic with a few notable facts and features:
- Surprisingly, “young” digital companies (less than 20 years old) use direct mail to market their business and find customers not online. Even Amazon uses it to reach their Prime customers!
- Mailers get interactive. Direct mail pieces that prompt a digital call-to-action, via QR code, social media, website or app, are a booming and successful trend and have doubled in the last 4 years.
- Personalization is popular. Experts see it increasing two-fold this year alone. With many people feeling as though they’ve lost human interaction during the pandemic, personalization offers that much-desired human connection.
- More time at home means more time to read mail. Direct mail response rates trended up in 2020 during the pandemic lockdown. As people continue to work from home even as we come out of restrictions and return to the office, expect response rates to remain higher.
- Coordinating online and offline marketing. Digital exposure combined with physical touchpoints leaves a deeper neurological imprint on consumers.
But what good are trends without the proper tools to take advantage of them? Glad you asked! I wouldn’t be the PSMailers Guy if I didn’t mention our high-volume workhorse—the PSM10K—designed to fold and seal up to 10,000 direct mail pieces an hour. It really takes the giblets out of the time-consuming, and tedious process of preparing direct mail!
But don’t take my bird, I mean, word for it. Check it out for yourself.
Yours in turkey and trends,
PSMailers Guy