This study aimed at enabling advertisers and agencies to assess the impact of direct mail campaigns and providing a reliable reference and a recognised measurement system for the mailbox
Letterbox Consumer Survey was commissioned by bpost and conducted by TNS under the supervision of the BDMA which constituted a technical committee composed of experts in media and direct marketing. In order to achieve reliable results, the commission wrote the specifications and has guided the development of the most appropriate methodology in this field. The study brought together current and objective data on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers in relation to their mailbox and especially direct mail.letterbox

The goal of this study was to:

  • Enable advertisers and agencies to assess the impact of direct mail campaigns,
  • Provide a reliable reference and a recognised measurement system for the mailbox, and more specifically, for direct mail.

To achieve this, the technical commission chose to use a representative "panel" approach with two complementary steps:

  • Step 1: The "Establishment Survey" or framework survey. This step used one-on-one interviews to understand and describe general behaviour, attitudes and preferences toward "letterbox" media and profile of respondents. A customer panel was created based on the respondents to this study.
  • Step 2: "Behaviour recording" During this step, the participants recruited during the first step filled in a notebook identifying each piece of advertising mail they receive and indicate their response to the mail.

Survey results showed that in Belgium, 91% of people check their mailbox at least five times a week and 70% of population is curious to discover what’s in the mailbox. With an average of only four direct mail pieces per person per week, direct mail gains attention and engages different age groups across the population. As much as 87% of people read the direct mail, including the heavy users of social media level.

Direct mail also appeared as a source of valuable information for the consumer. In 23% of cases, direct mail prompted the respondents to take action, and for 13% of respondents it prompted a purchase. In other cases, direct mail generated search for additional information, whether by visiting a shop, consulting the Internet or other media.

Access the full results here