Ups and downs in direct mail
Hi everyone! I’m back from holidays and had an excellent time. I hope you had a good month too.
As we get ready for the fall — the best and busiest time for direct mail — keep this new research on premiums in mind. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports on some research by direct mail firm ParadyszMatera showing:
- Direct mail is not attracting gifts from as many people as it once did. The number of people who made donations in response to a direct-mail appeal fell in 2004 (according to the study of 21 groups who mailed more than 250 million pieces in 2004). However the size of the average gift increased.
- The response fell more for mail with premiums — items such as labels, greeting cards, and calendars — than for solicitations that did not include such tokens.
- The number of people who donated money fell from 2003 to 2004 by a median of 5.8 percent for appeals with premiums — compared with 5.2 percent for solicitations that did not have premiums.
- The size of the average donation increased by a median of 2.9 percent for mail with premiums compared with 4.9 percent for other mail.
- The firm speculates that the poorer showing for mail with premiums could reflect saturation — an abundance of such gifts from charities.
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