Why Direct Mail is the Perfect Companion to Your Digital Campaigns
In today’s, digital-first world, marketers face growing challenges: media fragmentation, privacy regulations, and rising costs. But no matter what you sell, one fact remains—your customers, and future customers, live somewhere. Direct mail, powered by Canada Post’s six-digit postal code, has re-emerged as a key player in omnichannel strategies, delivering results that complement and enhance digital campaigns.
Why Now?
Over the last decade, digital ad spend in Canada has surged, reaching over $14 billion in 2023, accounting for nearly 70% of the total ad market. While digital offers tremendous opportunities, many marketers are seeing diminishing returns due to oversaturation, high competition, and evolving consumer behaviors.
Enter direct mail: a trusted, privacy-compliant channel that consistently delivers high ROI and engagement. Recent studies show that:
83% of consumers report positive feelings about receiving direct mail, up from 61% just a few years ago.¹
Direct mail is among the top three most trusted marketing channels, trusted by twice as many consumers as online display ads.²
Three Reasons to Add Direct Mail to Your Digital Mix
1. Geography Matters: Reach Audiences Where They Live
Disconnected targeting across digital and traditional channels often leads to wasted impressions. Direct mail solves this by leveraging the postal code—a future-proof, privacy-compliant identifier. It connects your digital efforts to the physical world, ensuring your message lands in the right hands.
2. Direct Mail Works—and Delivers Results
Direct mail campaigns drive response rates 5 to 9 times higher than digital campaigns, according to the ANA.³ In fact, 84% of marketers agree that direct mail offers the highest ROI and conversion rates of any channel they use.⁴
Connect Digital to the Household for True Omnichannel Targeting
For many marketers, the ability to accurately connect digital campaigns to households is the missing link. By using postal codes as a common ID, intelligentVIEW enables privacy-compliant targeting across digital and physical channels. Imagine targeting the same audience seamlessly through Google DV360, Meta, direct mail, and even local TV and radio.
3. Postal Codes: The Ultimate Common Identifier
The six-digit postal code is more than just an address—it’s a powerful, privacy-compliant common ID that bridges your marketing channels. With intelligentVIEW, you gain access to Canada’s most comprehensive addressable audience database, featuring:
- 100% Canadian household coverage
- Tens of thousands of data attributes
- Real-time audience insights and segmentation tools
This means you can profile and target your ideal audience across every media channel, optimizing reach and engagement while staying compliant with privacy regulations.
Why Choose Direct Mail Now?
Direct mail isn’t just a legacy channel; it’s a powerful partner to your digital-first campaigns. By integrating direct mail with digital, you’ll not only expand your reach but also enhance your message’s impact, creating a better brand experience and maximizing ROI.
At CiG, we’ve built intelligentVIEW to help marketers like you unlock the full potential of omnichannel campaigns. With our unique data ecosystem and postal-code-based targeting, you can deliver precision campaigns that drive real results.
Discover how to elevate your marketing strategy today.
Explore our latest use cases:
Financial Services: Trigger campaigns powered by life events
Retail: Leverage first-party data for seamless omnichannel experiences
Telecom: Identify new markets and expand with mapping tools
Not-for-Profits: Maximize impact with data-driven efficiencies
For more, read our insights on how CiG’s data ecosystem fuels precise targeting and drives marketing success.
Sources:
¹ Insider Intelligence: Canada Ad Spending 2023
² The Future of Direct Mail 2023 – SG360
³ MarketingSherpa
⁴ Association of National Advertisers – Performance and Cost Metrics Across Direct Media
⁵ Lob & Compare Media: The State of Direct Mail 2024 – Marketing Report
⁶ Lob & Compare Media: The State of Direct Mail 2023 – Consumer Insights Report