With the Internet Age going strong, marketers are wholeheartedly leaning into the digital space. However, the reliance on online platforms has led to increasing levels of what has been coined as “digital fatigue.” 

People are nostalgic for “the old times” in a digital-focused world. Due to an overload of information and a lack of personalization, consumers are less likely to respond to digital advertising. Physical ad formats can help break through the noise. 

Direct mailing can create new connections with a broader audience and drive business. In fact, 95% of direct mail is engaged with, whether that means opening the piece or responding to the call to action.

We cannot deny that most of the world is heavily engaged online, but marketers are missing out on an opportunity to connect through direct mail as an advertising channel along with their digital campaigns. Research shows that businesses that use both direct mail and digital ads together increase conversion rates by 28% and response rates by 450%. Therefore, using digital and direct mail marketing in tandem can create an impactful and memorable brand experience. 

What is Digital Fatigue?

Digital fatigue is defined as “the feelings of anxiety, exhaustion, and apathy caused by spending too much time on digital devices” according to McLean Hospital.

So, what causes digital fatigue? In addition to spending too much time on digital devices, consumers are often overwhelmed by excessive or unwanted information like irrelevant digital ads and spam emails. This digital exhaustion causes reduced attention spans, decreased engagement, and a sense of information overload.

It’s understandable to believe that digital marketing is the next big thing. But, the numbers say otherwise! According to Posalytics, “direct mail has a higher open rate of 80-90%, whereas email has 20-30%” due to the sensory element of opening the mail, reading it, or filling it out. 

The takeaway: Consumers want a tangible and personalized experience. They are looking for authentic connections and sensory engagement from the brands they love. These direct mail stats support this idea:

• 64% of consumers are more likely to engage with personalized messaging rather than generic marketing.
• Personalized physical mail has significantly higher engagement and response rates (54%) than other forms of communication—even personalized email (32%). 

• And, the positive impact of direct mail spans generations: 63% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials were more excited about receiving direct mail in 2022 than in the previous year. 
• 57% of Baby Boomers would be disappointed if they stopped receiving mail. 
• 70% of Gen X are excited to check their mail every day.

It’s clear that a thoughtful combination of direct mail and digital touchpoints will achieve better results than digital-only campaigns. Brands that embrace direct mail are likely to see stronger engagement and loyalty from their customers. 

How to Overcome Digital Fatigue with Direct Mail

Marketers are concerned with the public’s growing distrust of online platforms. The continuation of Made for Advertising (MFA) sites and the rise of AI have changed the way many users interact online. Many users cannot discern the difference between what’s real and what is not, leading to greater distrust. 

According to Marketing Sherpa, print ads in newspapers and magazines, and ads in the mail are the number one and number three most trusted channels, respectively, that consumers trust when they want to make a purchase decision. The physicality of the piece and its source establishes a trusting relationship with the consumer. There is trust in tangibility; receiving mail conveys a message of effort that digital messaging is not always able to encompass. 

Direct mail can help create versatile and eclectic campaigns. Marketers can use different formats like postcards, catalogs, and interactive pieces to engage the recipient. To increase direct mail effectiveness, marketers can also throw in a coupon or add a QR code linking to a digital channel.

Direct mail offers marketers a powerful tool to build trust and engagement with consumers, especially in an era of growing skepticism toward digital advertising. By leveraging different formats and adding incentives, marketers can create campaigns that stand out and foster a deeper connection with their audience. 

Direct Mail Nostalgia: Why it Works

Unwrapping a piece of mail with your name on it can turn a simple letter into a memorable experience. When a consumer opens a letter knowing there is something inside that is addressed to them, it invokes emotions of nostalgia and excitement. According to Forbes, “Sensory inputs and tangible objects commonly inspire nostalgic feelings”. 

Additionally, ads with emotional messaging perform better than rational messaging, according to research. This appeal to emotions can make a brand more memorable, and can even perform better than a combination of emotional and rational messaging. 

For campaigns geared towards working-age adults, it’s important to remember that an average full-time worker receives 120 emails per day and spends 2.6 hours reading and answering emails. The last thing consumers want is to look at more emails when they get home.

Through direct mail, marketers offer a unique opportunity to tap into consumers’ emotions. The tactile and personal nature of mail can inspire feelings of nostalgia and excitement, which is more engaging than a flood of emails or broadly targeted digital ads. Therefore, the nostalgic, emotional appeal of direct mail can lead to more effective marketing outcomes.

Escaping the Digital Deluge: The Revival of Direct Mail

Even though postal prices are increasing, direct mail is making a comeback! Marketers should take advantage of all kinds of mailing by using a multichannel approach for their campaigns. That said, it’s important to create a cohesive message between the brand’s online presence and direct mail messages. If a client opens a mail piece from you and is interested in learning more, there should be a seamless transition from paper to digital. 

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Combining direct and digital pathways provides layers of contact to multiple types of consumers that you may not be able to reach using just one method in isolation. Deep Sync has the resources you need to create the most effective marketing campaigns, whether direct mail, digital, or both. Check out our available audiences to learn how better data can fuel a multichannel approach for your target audience.

Lastly, remember to keep track of how customers respond to postal and digital campaigns to understand how these channels would work for your campaign. Having these insights can help inform your marketing decisions. Also, check out Deep Sync’s Snapshot Profiles and Lookalike Audiences feature. We are able to match your loyalty data to our database of consumers to create a lookalike audience that fits your buyer persona.