Postcards are currently the most popular direct mail format in the UK, and while a big part of that could be down to the fact that they’re one of the most cost-effective formats, postcards have a lot of other benefits going for them and, using our years of experience, we’ve summarised those below.

1. Tangibility and Engagement

Postcards are physical items that can be held, viewed, and picked up again and again, creating a much more memorable experience than digital formats. They offer an immediate way to get your message across, with high-quality images and clever copy that can attract and hold attention. The tactile nature and huge range of materials available engage multiple senses, increasing the emotional connection customers have with your brand.

While A5 is the standard size and shape that most companies use, many other size and shape options are available to help make them stand out and be even more engaging.

2. Targeted Marketing

Postcards can be tailored to specific customer segments, offering relevant messages based on past purchases or interests. They can also be fully personalised, including the recipient’s name, a tailored offer, or a specific call to action based on their previous behaviour creating a completely unique customer experience, enhancing engagement and increasing ROI.

3. Brand Reinforcement and Trust Building

A well-designed postcard using the right material can convey your brand’s identity, values, and quality, helping to reinforce brand recognition and loyalty. Investing in print and mail can show that you care more about your customers than bombarding them with even more emails.

4. Increased Engagement and Longer Attention Span

Postcards are often kept and visible to multiple people in the household, allowing for repeated exposure to your brand. Compared to the fleeting nature of digital ads, postcards can stay in the home for days or even weeks, providing ongoing engagement with your message. Customers may also share postcards with friends and family, spreading brand awareness to new audiences.

5. Direct Path to Purchase

Although there’s not a huge amount of space, a well-crafted postcard can still include clear CTA’s (call to action) including special offers, discounts, and exclusive deals to motivate immediate purchases. By including QR codes, promotional codes, or direct links to online stores, postcards make it easy for motivated customers to take action.

6. Sustainability

Postcards are usually made from paper, and the paper used to produce catalogues is based on wood, which is a natural and renewable material. Paper is one of the most recycled products in the world and epitomises the circular economy model of make, use, recycle and reuse.

Well-managed sustainable forests give multiple benefits to society, such as livelihoods, ecosystem services and biodiversity, while helping to tackle climate change. To ensure the long-term health of European forests, sustainable forest management underpins how the paper industry operates and sources its main raw material. (source – https://twosides.info/myths-and-facts)

7. Complimentary to Digital Marketing

Postcards featuring QR codes, URLs, or social media handles directly drive traffic to digital channels such as websites and social media. Accurately measuring responses and purchases from postcards can provide valuable data for refining digital marketing strategies.

 

8. Testing, Measurement, and Analysis

The targeted nature of postcard mailings opens up a range of options for testing. Direct mail campaigns are highly measurable, and you can get an end-of-campaign report that gives you full insight into how your campaign has performed, including response rate, average order value, cost of acquisition, and details of how different test segments or formats have performed against expectations.

With the right agency, these insights will be used to refine and improve your next campaign, ensuring that all of the learnings are taken forward to create an even better plan for your next catalogue mailing.

 

Summary

Postcards are tangible, highly targeted, measurable, sustainable, and brand-enhancing, making them particularly effective at encouraging existing customers to purchase and re-activating lapsed customers.