Paper Runs
All this hit my letter box in just two days!
I must get a proper NO JUNK MAIL sign.
Each time my home-made one falls off, I have a Brazil moment.
Someone, somewhere, must benefit from this bumf.
But who?!
- Client companies?
- Ad agencies?
- Graphic designers?
- Printers?
- Paper mills?
- Plantation foresters?
- Walkers?
- Dogs?
- Customers?
- Australia Post?
Certainly not me. How about you?
Do you like receiving unsolicited print advertising?
Is (or was) it part of your business marketing mix?
Captive Audience
Keep Australia Beautiful and Eco Voice want us to read catalogues online
A fine idea. So far, they have … six.
Either it’s early days, or we really like ads in our letter box.
I’ve heard older people look forward to them as bona fide reading materials.
Perhaps the appeal is more widespread.
Perhaps I’m missing the point.
Here’s Australia Post’s take, with a handy link to Do Not Mail.
I wish they cared as much about their rubber bands.
My Do Not Fax registration ran out recently, but that’s another story.
Sign of the Times
With regard to stickers, I could move to Willougby where they’re giving ‘em away.
Maybe NO JUNK MAIL is too terse.
Perhaps I should go with the softer No Advertising Material Please.
I wonder if it makes a difference.
Boxed in
In one of my lean years, I tried a casual brochure delivery job.
By faithfully obeying NO JUNK MAIL signs, I had many brochures left over.
The distribution firm:
- Accused me of not doing my job.
- Ordered me to ignore the signs.
- Threatened to do spot checks in my territory.
When I later found great bundles of fliers dumped in vacant lots, I realised why I wasn’t trusted.
I also saw other ‘walkers’ in action. (Never any kids, though; unlike decades past.)
Some posted so carelessly, the merest zephyr strew their stuff across the street.
Not a good look for the firms who’d paid to feature.
I wrote to several, flagging their wasted budgets.
A couple replied, but without enthusiasm.
Here & Now
As our world hurtles to ruin, I feel the need to query unsolicited print advertising once more.
Therefore, do you:
- Make it?
- Get it?
- Use it?
- Love it?
- Hate it?
We’re at a crossroads.
Show us your papers!
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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Hi Paul,
I have a NO JUNK MAIL sign and still some slip in the odd little brochure. That said a couple of friends actually like receiving it and I have no idea why as they rarely take action. You actually forgot one other business that could be involved in creating the material…dare I say copywriters.
Good on you, Susan. Your all-seeing eye is always welcome.
I abhor direct mail. That’s one reason I specialise in non-product copywriting. To my knowledge, not one of my words has ever been stuffed in a stranger’s mail box.
However, I’ve read that direct mail is experiencing a resurgence. Perhaps one of our other copywriting friends can shed light on this dark practice.
I’d much rather the latest Spotlight catalogue than the rubbish I get from the local politicians (which for some inexplicable reason is exempt from “junk” mail classification – hmph!)
While most of it really doesn’t interest me, I do tend to scan through them and occasionally act on the odd advertised special. My faves are from Spotlight, Aust. Post and Officeworks (*unsponsored endorsement*) who often have some great offerings.
Not getting out and about too often (or having the bigger stores in my town) it gives me the chance to “window shop” while sipping a cup of tea in my slippers. Nice!
If the NO JUNK MAIL sign stopped the blatant deforestation that happens around election time, then I might be forced to reconsider.
You make very good points, Anna. Hadn’t thought of those angles. Thank you!
I forgot to add some scary stats:
* There are around 8 billion catalogues delivered around Australia each year.
* Junk mail makes up 6% of all paper used in Australia, equating to 240,000 tonnes of paper per year.
* One tonne of catalogue pages uses 90,000 litres of water to produce.
Source: http://www.sustainablemelbourne.com/movements/no-junk-mail-campaign-waste-reduction-fundraising/
One more question I thought of overnight:
If Coles converted their entire advertising budget into lower prices, would you still reward Woolworth’s ad campaigns by shopping with them?
Paul, while I normally agree with your fabulous insights…I’m going to have to side with Anna on this one.
I freaking love junk mail.
I love wandering out to the mail box, sorting out the complete crap from the ‘worth looking at’ crap, and bringing ‘the chosen few’ inside to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee/wine. I love the unknown…will I get all boring Bunnings/car accessories catalogues, or will there be a Priceline one tucked away to be discovered with much delight?
I love the possibility of ‘things’ that I never knew I wanted/needed. ‘A four pack of tea towels in crazy colours for $10?!? Sold.’
Though I do agree on you with on the benefit part. Most junk mail succumbs to ‘death by puppy’ before I actually get around to purchasing anything…
Thank you, Emma. Without both sides to a debate, we’d simply screw ourselves into the ground. I appreciate your frank views and hope they embolden others to let rip.
Fiesty Fella
Another subject i love. I was only chatting yesterday to one of the Banjar Group Marketing Consultants about the laziness that has crept into marketing and retail across Australia. Things get tough in retail and we blame the internet, carbon tax, flood tax, Richmond FC, mining boom, banning of the Burka and it goes on. All this carry on despite the fact that most of these retailers are using the ‘we are on sale all the time’ strategy, have no well trained customer service staff who can look up while serving you and continue to offer the same old ‘ please come and buy my stuff’ strategy that is not working.
Catalogues are a lazy form of the old and in my mind a desperate bid to show you have a ‘mouse trap to sell’ just like everyone else, except my one is on sale!
There is hope though
Do yourself a favour and check out LaMannas at Essendon Fields. You will see that, basic stuff that customers want is the key to success.
This European market style supermarket has done an amazing thing. So innovative and yet so simple here is my list of the incredible tactical things they have done:
Market style store with no high shelving you can see everything and imagine a meal coming together
Clean and fresh and wide open space no clutter of home brands!
Fresh, only Australian fruit and Veg – wow so innovative!
Customer service that smiles, rolls across to a cash register to help out without a sigh – wow happy staff that smile and love their job!
Sound, energy, tastings, cooking classes etc etc
This is not a retail hub its an entertainment centre for shopping
Now i don’t know the figures but i bet the Coles across the road that is empty of people is doing some serious maths and scratching their collective heads wondering what they can put in their next catalogue to stop the Lammna tribe killing them.
Create true engagement for customers so they fall in love with you and your brand. Create tribes who love what you do so much they buy what you sell
Mike Boyle
Cor struth, Mike; you’ve done it again!
http://www.lamannadirect.com.au/
http://moonee-valley-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/massive-supermarket-to-employ-more-than-100/
I’d never heard of this crowd. Fascinating. Many thanks!
You raise some excellent points, Paul. I’m no fan of unsolicited print mail, but I often wonder whether pushing advertising online changes the game. To view it, you need a computer (heavy metals, short lifespan), internet connection (massive infrastructure) and electricity (dirty power generation, certainly in Australia). I’m sure somebody has crunched the numbers somewhere. Perhaps conscious consumption (less consumerism, renewable energy) is a better barrow to push? Nice debate.
Damn good point, Ad.
Like the Prius vs Humvee paradox, we oversimplify the green debate at our peril.
Speaking of which:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/intelligent-discussion-all-but-extinct-20110720-1hos2.html
I strive to keep politics out of this blog, but I believe Barry Jones is brilliant enough to warrant a rare exception.
G’Day Paul,
I don’t mind receiving unsolicited advertising material one bit. Cynics may say that’s because for thirty years, direct mail/telemarketing was our major marketing tool.
But I think that the genius who created the slogan “no junk mail” is a twit. None of the carefully targetted, personalised,highly relevant, business specific material that we sent out over 30 years, could possibly be described as “junk mail.” We even used to hand write envelopes and put stamps on them to demonstrate that it wasn’t “junk mail”
Regrettably, some recipients still reckoned it was “junk mail.” That’s the problem. Whether something’s junk mail, depends on whether you’re the sender or the receiver.
And It must work Paul. Otherwise Coles, Safeway, Dan Murphy, Dick Smith and all the others wouldn’t keep using it would they?
My business is online now. What I can’t stand is “junk” email. Of course, that’s different…..
Clear your box every day, recycle, and be grateful for the opportunity to please Bob Brown.
Regards
Leon
Thank you too, Leon. Looks like my preconceptions need a damn good recalibration. Always a beneficial exercise.
Perhaps the biggest winner here is Australia Post?
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/australia-post-junk-mail-millions/story-e6freuzi-1111115570122
Perhaps, Emma. And maybe they really need the loot:
http://www.smh.com.au/business/online-shopping-brings-boom-and-gloom-20110718-1hlkq.html
Hello Paul,
I always read your post, even if I never join the conversation.
Junk mail, mm…
I occasionally read it because it’s there, just like a Sudoku/Crosswords now and then. As a mum, I should say I “study” the junk mail (like a CEO studies the newspaper) for bargains, but when I don’t get any, I quickly check online.
NO JUNK MAIL sign doesn’t seem to be make much of a difference in a short+ term; could this be an opportunity for one of the giant supermarket to take a stand against junk mail – allocating their advertising budget to a NO JUNK MAIL campaign… how much do shareholders care for the environment?
Curious to see where the discussion will go.
Cheers,
Daniele.
Fantastic to hear from you, Daniele! Thank you for your loyal readership, which you’ve now taken to the next level. I sure do appreciate it!
Dang! Any more topical and we’ll need Atabrine tablets!
http://www.theage.com.au/business/sales-fatigue-fuels-retail-slump-20110720-1hozq.html
So, we are really talking about channel mix selection then, aren’t we?
If I know that my consumer likes / trusts / engages with my brand messages through a particular channel, then that is a great channel for me to use. The real value is to be able to target the message, through the best channel, to the right consumer who will benefit from what I have to offer.
This is what Leon was suggesting.
Blanket advertising with catalogues in the letterbox must work, or it wouldn’t be done.
The ‘no junk mail’ stickers are an awesome self-selection of consumers who WANT to receive or not receive this material. This improves the efficiency of the channel for the ‘Coles’ and ‘Woolies’, and I bet they produce many tonnes fewer catalogues than they did a few years ago.
At the end of the day, the Pareto principle rules – you can please ‘em all!
With the ‘rush’ to new channels because they are exciting, it is sometimes interesting to remember that old channels can still be (cost)-effective. If they are enjoyed by the target consumer, then why throw them out…
I will leave the political and environmental comments for now….
Freudian slip? I meant you CAN’T please them all!!
While one person’s junk (trash) is someone else’s treasure, I have to side with “NO JUNK MAIL” for my own house. But, my best friend who was recently paid off, waits for her newspapers so that she can cut coupons. And she recycles whatever she doesn’t use so I can’t fault her for wanting “junk” mail.
However, to quote http://www.donotmail.org,
> Junk mail in the U.S. accounts for over 100,000,000,000 pieces of mail each year3—about 30% of all the mail delivered in the world.
> Each year American households receive a total of 104.7 billion pieces of junk mail or 848 pieces of junk mail per household, requiring 6.5 million tons of paper
> The average American will spend 8 months of their lives dealing with junk mail
> Entire households only average 1 personal correspondence each week, compared to almost 18 pieces of junk mail
Another friend desperately wants an iPad but he still wants his printed magazines in the mail! Isn’t that what iPad is for??
*shaking head*
It’s a dilemma but I can only hope if you are NOT using your junk mail the way marketers want you to use it for, then, stop getting them.
Great article Paul!
That’s “laid off” not “paid off”…..although that makes some sense too, in a weird way.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Karen; I was really hoping for your views.
Those figures are quite stunning. I’m also grateful for the perspective of your friend. As soon as these posts hit our forum, I realise that all my research and thinking have merely scratched the surface. Best regards and thanks again!
Thanks also to you, Phil. You always add such an interesting dimension.
Two questions formed in my head late yesterday for those who like or love unsolicited print advertising:
1. Would you support an opt-IN system, where you put a sticker on your letter box asking for the stuff?
2. How much would you pay per year for the privilege of receiving this material? $1? $10? $100? Nothing? Something else?
Tell us!
One of my all-time good guy eco heroes @storyofstuff http://www.storyofstuff.org/ just flagged @catalogchoice which you can find at https://www.catalogchoice.org/
Thank you, Annie!
Hi Guys,
I haven’t had time to read everyone’s comments but thought I would bring your attention to the following info-graphic on spending habits on the internet in the past 12 months.
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/pennypinchers-and-profits/
How Coupons and Promotions Can Impact Your Business
What is interesting is where most people look for coupons. About mid-way through the info-graphic is a section called “Where shoppers look for coupons.”
I think that is why many people get excited when advertising materials show up in their mailbox. All my junk/advertising mail continues to be dropped into the recycle bin. Unread.
But still think those stats are interesting.
Zoe Simpson
That link is brilliant, Zoe!
Infographics so rock.
Many thanks indeed!
Bit of everything for me mate. I read 10% of it, my wife another 15%. Sometimes it gets to 50%. I don’t have a sign and probably won’t ever get one. Whilst I read little of it I don’t mind receiving it.
When I collect it I, I quickly sort it on the way to the front door. On the way I pass the recycling bin and drop anything I don’t want off (90% for me usually). It therefore has 15 seconds to impress me or it doesn’t make it into the house to be read.
The 10% that I save is usually Tech advertisements eg JB Hifi or Officeworks where I will look at what is on special.
Thank you, Arthur. You make it worthwhile to log in on Sundays!
Speaking of differentiation without advertising, it’s thanks to Winston Marsh for flagging this beaut article on Twitter:
http://themarketeer-raybeatty.blogspot.com/2011/07/carramba-does-spain-have-answer-to-our.html
The plot thins:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/more-retail-woes-premier-shuts-50-fashion-shops-20110725-1hw37.html
I agree with Carbonite – most of our junk mail gets recycled before it reaches the front door. I occasionally flick through it when I’m tired and need a mental break from work & kids but otherwise pay little attention to it. That mental break has stopped me putting up a no junk mail sign, but my greenheart really should do my bit to reduce the paper wastage.
Places who never do sales particualrly annoy me – what are you promoting then? A smaller flyer should do teh trick if they must remind us of their exsitence via our letterboxes.
As for saying Coles, Bunning, etc use catalogues therefore it must work – is that true? Sure it once was but have they really researched to see if it is still effective enought to warrant the costs (monetary and environmental)? Could they do something like Pepsi did to replace junk mail marketing and use their budgets better? Or like lammna’s mentioned above – give service instead of catalogues.
Thank you, Tash. It’s great to get your thoughts on all these facets. Thank you for sharing them with us.
We sure live in interesting times!
http://www.theage.com.au/business/retailers-last-frontier-under-siege-20110801-1i6zm.html
Each day seems to bring a new twist:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/my-store-their-postage-20110801-1i83r.html
I wonder what these guys are doing right:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/kathmandu-bucks-weak-retail-trend-20110802-1i8tr.html
What is Kathmandu doing right? Well, I’ll avoid my cynical answers, lol, and suggest that maybe more people wanting to help the environment and grab cheaper holidays (i.e. camping vs overseas) is right in Kathmandu’s arena – of course, is that copied by the other camping outlets? I have no idea!
I am torn by the free postage issue though. Great for consumers if the big guys send us our orders without any postage fees – as long as prices stay the same anyway. But harder again for small business to carry such costs so makes it harder to compete.
Thanks for your thoughts, Tash. I asked my wife and she articulated a similar view re holidays.
I’d be delighted if everyone in the world just stayed in their own country for a year or two.
So would the world, I suspect.
Best regards, P.
Another interesting piece:
http://www.theage.com.au/business/store-wars-a-phoney-fight-20110815-1iuqv.html