Door Drops

The evolution of your letterbox’s staple diet . . . !

by Paul Tyrrell

It’s the 90s . . .

and as you bend down to pick up the bottles of milk from the doorstep (ask your parents, kids), you also grab the catalogue. The catalogue filled with things you may or may not need, and may or may not want to buy. Later, as you take a look around you see that all of your neighbours have also received the same gift. Every. Single. One of them.

Now although this blanket approach still exists (and in many cases importantly so, such as for local government communications), the evolution of the good ol’ door drop – often regarded as the bluntest instrument in a marketer’s toolbox – has seen it keep pace with the emergence and growth of digital channels, simply because it can harness the very same core campaign principles: customer insight, data-driven targeting and measurability.

So, for any non-believers out there, here’s 5 points that explain why door drops can more than hold their own in a world of clicks, taps and swipes:

1. The Brands:

Quite simply – ‘see doormat for more info’. 80% of the UK’s top advertisers¹ – including some of the savviest occupiers of the digital space – use door drops, often utilising QR codes and even augmented reality to continue the customer journey back online on home turf.

2. The Audience:

Modern marketing is all about customer insight and data of course and, although a lot of people may not be aware, door drops can benefit from the same profiling and targeting models to identify areas for a drop – even down to street level. And when it comes to more transient households such as students and other shared accommodation, unaddressed mail reaches those groups that marketers can often find it tricky to reach.

3. The Wingman:

We all know about the benefits of communicating across channels, and although door drops can perform wonders as a standalone, they are the perfect accompaniment to your marketing main course. Even used in tandem with direct mail, a DD as an hors d’oeuvre can uplift DM response rates by 40%.²

4. The Demographics:

Whilst engagement is high across all life stages when it comes to door drops, the influence on younger audiences is particularly interesting . . . supposedly surgically attached to their smartphones, interaction frequency and shares amongst 17-34 year olds are pretty much on a par with the average UK adult, but an item’s lifespan in the home for this group is a Brand Manager-pleasing 10.4 days³ – nearly 2 days longer.

5. The Metrics:

Alongside more direct measures such as a campaign-specific phone number or discount code, strategic timing and geo targeting means general inbound comms and sales data can also reveal attributable uplift. These days the humble door drop is actually one of the most measurable channels out there.

So in short, door drop marketing has come a long way, and not just because it’s been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21^st century by the cool kids at the back of the brand bus. It’s changed because it had to, yes, but it’s also fully embraced that change without most people really noticing.

After all, as agreeable a decade as it largely was . . . it’s not the 90s anymore.