Delivering on objectives: Insights at Marketreach | Feature

Marketreach is the direct mail research arm of Royal Mail. Liam Kay investigates how it is using insight for the benefit of the mail industry.

How do you feel when an envelope drops through your letterbox? Joy? Fear? Frustration? Annoyance? Excitement? Is it a case of reaching for the bin or for the letter opener? Now contrast those emotions with an email or a social media notification. Do you feel as strongly?

Far less correspondence has been sent through the mail in recent years.

In the last three months of 2020, which included a national lockdown as well as increased Covid-19 restrictions, post volumes at Royal Mail fell by 14%, with parcel numbers up by 30%. Letters are often viewed as old-fashioned, with many people preferring the cheaper alternatives of email or social media.

Royal Mail’s Marketreach division is setting out to change those perceptions. Marketreach is the marketing authority on commercial mail and attempts to promote postal mail as an effective marketing and communication channel. It seeks to provide evidence of mail’s effectiveness and get brands and businesses excited about its creative and strategic …