War on Junk Mail

Ever open your letterbox only to experience an avalanche of junk mail fall out? Surprisingly, it’s still a big problem across Australia. Unless you’ve slapped a no junk mail sign on your letterbox (something many people in rental properties cannot do), you might find yourself sorting through a pile of unwanted paper before getting to the important mail.

Everything from leaflets for restaurants, home maintenance work and property to unwanted supermarket catalogues and community magazines stand in the way of you checking your next utility bill or wedding invitation. In today’s digital age, you’d be forgiven for wondering why businesses still bother?

 

The Chaser’s Junk Mail Shredder

 

“I open my letterbox to an extraordinary cascade of real estate flyers, Thai takeaway menus and Domino pizza discount offers. It takes me a good 20 minutes to sift through it all and find some actual mail. Even ‘no junk mail’ stickers don’t work.” – Chris Taylor, The Chaser.

In his “million dollar idea” segment during the Radio Chaser afternoon show on Triple M earlier this month, Chris jokingly suggested that the idea of a junk mail shredder would be revolutionary. The hypothetical machine would have a way of automatically sorting real mail from junk mail, shredding the latter, so you didn’t have to sort through it yourself.

As Chris points out, Australia Post use a similar technology for mail sorting purposes. That means it might not be impossible. But wouldn’t it be better if businesses just stopped?

 

Is Junk Mail Ever Effective?

You can argue that letterbox drops are still handy for some businesses in some circumstances (although I’d still wager that most go straight in the recycle bin unread). Local restaurants can draw in local residents with special promotions for example. Junk mail is arguably a good way to reach and engage older audiences with your brand and services as well.

The important consideration is whether the notoriously high cost of producing and distributing junk mail generates a sufficient return. For real estate agencies, we have found that it’s rarely the case. 99 per cent of millenials and 89 per cent of baby boomers search for property online.

While tactics like cold calling and letter box drops once played a major role in real estate marketing, they are now antiquated practices that simply don’t generate enough of a return when compared to hyper-targeted digital marketing.

 

Get in touch today to find out how we can help with your agency’s digital marketing.