In order to understand how door drop campaigns work one needs to consider information from various sources.
Practical experience of distributors on the ground and testimonials from companies using flyer drops to advertise are probably the most important.
Beside this we can also use statistics and research that attempts to quantify different facts about leafleting.
Let’s see whether our years of experience as London leafleting experts is in line with the statistics coming from research.
Reading time: 7 minutes
- 1. How does flyer distribution compare to other forms of advertising?
- 2. Do flyers just get thrown out?
- 3. Are leaflets environmentally friendly?
- 4. Who uses door drops?
- 5. Addressed mail vs flyers
How does flyer distribution compare to other forms of advertising?
Companies have been using door drops and flyer campaigns to advertise in London for decades. It still remains to be a very effective and widely used form of marketing..
Many considerable changes have taken place in the world of advertising and local marketing over this period.
Possibly the most important change being the introduction of online advertising and social media. So how does flyer distribution compare to other forms of advertising in use now?
– 89% of respondents remember receiving a flyer when polled (this is more than any other form of advertising)
– 45% of respondents regularly keep flyers for future reference
– 90% of consumers are happy to have retail based flyers delivered to their homes
– On the other hand 62% of respondents either mute or change the channel during TV advertisements
– 81% skip over ads in the press
– only 59% of people remember seeing a TV ad and 36% an online ad
These figures come from research done by the (DMA) and Data Talk study for ITV Sept 2009
In general when polled consumers tend to have a positive view of flyer distribution. This is especially true when the flyers delivered are of high quality and in reasonable numbers.
Companies using door drops to advertise themselves report a similar sentiment.
– According to research flyer deliveries can rate higher in terms of ROI (return on investment) than TV, Press, Radio and online advertising. 34% of companies reported that door drops are very effective.
There is no question that leaflets are an effective form of marketing. However the real power of door drops lies in the fact that they benefit from being combined with other forms of advertising.
Combining a well targeted social media campaign with multiple leaflet drops to the same geographical areas for example helps compound the effects of both.
Do flyers just get thrown out?
You will spend a considerable amount of time and resources on the designs of your flyer, campaign planning and the distribution itself.
What happens to your pamphlets after they are delivered? Do they just get thrown out?
– 45% of consumers regularly keep flyers in their drawer or another place in their home
– 38% of pamphlets people keep for at least a few days
– 13% of leaflets people keep for over a week
– flyers with a discount code are 50% more likely to be kept for at least a week
– 79% of consumers keep, pass on to a friend or glance at the contents of flyers they receive
These figures come from research done by the (DMA)
It is clear that many people keep flyers they find interesting or potentially useful.
It is up to us to make your flyers worth keeping in as many households as possible. At The Private Postman we help our clients with everything from design to paper selection.
Should you be using an A5 or an A6 format? Silk or shiny finish? These questions will have answers that are individual to your company and target markets.
Details of this kind have a real impact on the effectiveness of your campaigns. You want to make sure that you are working with a distribution company that can provide insight and help you navigate through these decisions.
Are leaflets environmentally friendly?
Some people are concerned about the environmental impact of their flyer campaigns. Let’s have a look at some of the facts around paper production, its use and our environment.
You can find more details about paper use and the environment on our page dedicated to the topic here.
– more than 80% of paper and cardboard packaging in Europe is recycled
– upwards of 70% of all paper consumed in Europe is recycled
– 90% of the material used for European paper comes from European forests and the same percentage of water used in paper production is returned back to nature
– The paper industry requires good forest management. European forests have grown by more than 58,000km2 over the last 15 years.
These figures come from research done by (Two Sides)
Who uses door drops?
It is fair to ask which types of businesses use leaflets the most. Companies of all sizes regularly use flyer deliveries but here are the most common types of businesses that you will find using door drops.
– Estate agents
– Restaurants
– Gyms
– Local government and councils
– Schools and educational institutions
– Carpenters and plumbers
– Political parties
– Hair salons
– Charities
– Law professionals
– Personal trainers
– Dog walkers
– Tutors
– Dry cleaners
– Events and event agencies
– Roofers
– Barbers
Within these industries you will find companies of all sizes using flyer deliveries.
For example in the restaurant business you will find McDonalds delivering leaflets to households all over the UK as well as small local Italian restaurants. This principle will apply across industries.
– 88% of respondents polled say that flyer distribution has increased company’s services and products
– 42% of companies polled say that door drop campaigns are an important part of their overall marketing strategy
These figures come from research done by the (DMA)
If your company focuses on B2C services or sells products directly to consumers there is a high likelihood that you would benefit from door drop marketing.
It is of course important that you get good guidance on how you should structure your leafleting efforts. Make sure to find a reputable company that is willing to help you define the goals of each of your campaigns and help you make plans in a good amount of detail.
Addressed mail vs flyers
If you start looking at the various options for door drops and physical deliveries of marketing materials to people’s homes you will soon run into the distinction between addressed mail and unaddressed mail.
Addressed mail is often delivered in an envelope and it often includes the name of one of the residents in the household targeted.
Unaddressed mail is simply a leaflet that we deliver to all households in the same form. It’s almost never delivered in an envelope.
– addressed mail is anywhere between 10-100x more expensive compared to traditional leaflets
– 78% of respondents report they glance at leaflets they receive and 23% read them carefully
– with addressed mail 79% glance at what they receive and 32% spend time reading the contents carefully
These figures come from research done by the (DMA)
As you can see the cost difference between addressed and unaddressed mail is considerable. Costs for campaigns using these two separate methodologies differ by orders of magnitude.
However we do not see a real improvement when it comes to responses or customer interactions between these methods.
This is supported both by the research as well as our on the ground experience gathered over years of delivering.
Leaflet campaigns are a superior method of advertising compared to addressed mail.
Flyer deliveries to residential addresses in carefully selected areas are the most effective and efficient form of offline marketing.
