Advertisers “miss a trick” with 16 to 24 year olds

Advertisers are missing a trick with 16 to 24 year olds, who receive less than one piece of branded direct mail in the post each week, according to new research by Royal Mail.

An exclusive video diary found that companies that fail to target the young age group miss out on valuable sales as 90% of them open all their post and are most responsive to such campaigns, with 71% having acted on the direct mail they have received.

Looking specifically at 16 to 24 year olds interaction with direct mail, further research by BMRB (TGI) found that:

• 47% made a purchase as a result of receiving direct mail
• 13% tried a new product or service
• 30% redeemed a coupon
• 24% visited a store as a direct result of the mailing
• 14% paid more attention to an advertisement for the product or service as a result of receiving the mailing

Traditionally, 16 to 24 year olds are considered to be mainly influenced by digital media but the research revealed that high mail media responders within this age group were 31% more open to trialling new brands than high internet users within this group.

In addition, mail was found to be the most effective channel among the age group to generate word of mouth activity, followed by outdoor and newspapers.

This group is also 19% more likely than average to be active and impulsive consumers, according to the survey.

Of all the age groups, 16 to 24 year olds were also found to:

• Place the greatest value on receiving customer communications, stating that they welcome receiving mail and magazines from companies that they are a customer of
• Pay more attention to mail if it is something advertised on TV
• Like receiving money-off vouchers, special offers or coupons
• Like to receive catalogues
• Like to receive customer magazines

Antony Miller, head of media development at Royal Mail, said: “The lure of the letterbox is something special for the 16 to 24 year old age group. One respondent within the video diary said that ‘it’s like getting a present’.

“The research clearly shows that advertisers are missing a trick with this valuable audience as they currently have low exposure to the channel but are also high respondents. There is a wealth of opportunity here for brands wanting to target this hard to reach and media savvy audience in a way that really appeals and engages.”