1. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
Likes Facebook.
Loves Post.
REPORT COMMISSIONED BY THE AN POST MAIL MEDIA UNIT
Amárach Research February 2011
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2. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
74%
OF YOUNG PEOPLE ENJOY
RECEIVING POST
Source:
Amárach Research February 2011
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3. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+,
social networking is a rapidly changing
sector that can leave many marketers
struggling to keep up.
Yet keep up we must, because anecdote tells us that young people have
turned their backs on traditional media in favour of online alternatives.
So if you’re looking to engage with a young audience, it might seem
that social media marketing is the route to go down.
It might surprise you to discover that, despite the explosion of new
media, young people still prefer communications that come in an
addressed envelope.
Because, for them, a letter is novel. In an online world,
it’s something tangible, and personal. Furthermore as the latest
Amárach research shows, it’s still the best way to get their attention.
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4. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
42%
OF YOUNG PEOPLE PREFER
ADVERTISING THROUGH POST
Source:
Amárach Research February 2011
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5. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
YOUTH AUDIENCES PREFER TO RECEIVE
ADVERTISING BY POST
BASE: All Irish customers aged 18-25
Dislike very much Like very
much
Addressed post 18 15 30 12
Adverts on social networks 22 26 18 4
Leaflets inserted into bills
and other addressed post 23 25 20 6
Text/SMS 33 26 14 4
Adverts on
32 28 8 4
apps or games
Telephone calls 49 20 9 5
Dislike very much Dislike Like Like very much
Of the group of 18-25 year olds surveyed: 74% agreed that they enjoyed receiving
addressed post. No other form of direct marketing faired as well, with advertising
through text message, telephone, and ads on apps being the least popular amongst
this younger cohort.
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6. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
POST INFLUENCES PURCHASING MORE
EFFECTIVELY THAN SOCIAL MEDIA
(AND LOYALTY TOO!)
BASE: All Irish customers aged 18-25
Increasing Encouraging Increasing
Interest % Purchase % Loyalty %
Addressed post 18 14 27
Email 15 12 21
Flyers / Leaflets through the door 13 10 6
Adverts on social networks 8 5 3
Leaflets in bills/other post 7 3 4
Telephone calls 6 5 8
Text SMS 5 3 6
Adverts in apps/games 2 1 1
When it comes to increasing interest, encouraging purchases and building loyalty,
addressed post proved more influential than social network advertising. This was
especially true regarding customer loyalty. 27% agreed that addressed mail was effective
at building loyalty. In contrast, only 3% said the same for social network advertising.
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7. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
27%
AGREED THAT ADDRESSED MAIL
WAS EFFECTIVE AT BUILDING LOYALTY.
Source:
Amárach Research February 2011
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8. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
48%
RECEIVE FLYERS /LEAFLETS
MORE THAN ONCE A wEEk
Source:
Amárach Research February 2011
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9. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
MARKETING BY POST GETS MORE CUT-THROUGH
THAN SOCIAL MEDIA
BASE: All Irish customers aged 18-25
Addressed Emails Text/SMS Adverts on Adverts
post social apps/games
networks
I read most of them 7 8
straight away 10 10
20 7
8
I read most of the
mail /messages 16
27
14
18
25
8
I skim through the
mail /messages 34
and then read the 26 15
relevant ones 8
straight away
7
I skim through
63
12
and save some for
future reference 21
49
I throw away most 40
of this mail
without reading 8
28
I ignore and throw
away / delete without 11
reading
The youth market is more likely to read addressed mail than any other form of
direct marketing, with a far greater percentage of digital messages going unread.
In comparison, 34% read post addressed to them thoroughly.
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10. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
YOUNG PEOPLE TRUST ADVERTISING BY MAIL
BASE: All Irish customers aged 18-25
Not at all Trustworthy Very Trustworthy
Addressed post 8 22 34 6
Fliers/Leaflets through door 15 29 25 2
Text/SMS 17 29 19 4
Adverts on social networks 16 32 18 2
Email 21 32 20 4
Advert on websites 19 31 18 2
Adverts on apps/games 21 34 14 3
Telephone calls 21 37 15 3
Very untrustworthy Untrustworthy Trustworthy Very trustworthy
Addressed post is more trusted than any other form of below the line advertising, especially
adverts on websites and telephone calls. Males are the most sceptical as females place
higher trust levels in all channels, with the exception of apps and games.
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11. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
40%
OF YOUNG PEOPLE
TRUST ADDRESSED MAIL
Source:
Amárach Research February 2011
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12. AMÁRACH RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2011
KEY TAKE AWAY
• The majority of 18-25 year olds (74%) enjoy receiving post.
• Post encourages more purchases and is better at increasing
customer loyalty than social network advertising.
• Young people prefer (42%) receiving advertising messages
through the post.
For further information contact:
An Post
Mail Media Unit
General Post Office
O’Connell Street Lower
Dublin 1
CallSave: 1850 21 16 32
Website: www.anpost.ie/mailmedia
Email: mail.media@anpost.ie
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