Direct Mail gets no respect. Rodney Dangerfield would probably go as far to say that, like himself, Direct Mail gets no respect, at all.

And it’s true – just try suggesting to a young business owner that direct mail is still a viable marketing tool. You’ll probably get the same response you’d get if you were to tell them a Rodney Dangerfield joke – an eye-roll accompanied by an exasperated scoff.

They’ll briefly peel their eyes away from their iPhone and tell you that their audience is online, the implication being that because of this, direct mail is a waste of their budget. If you tell them the joke, they’ll probably say, who’s Rodney Dangerfield?

As a comedian, Dangerfield was known for commiserating on stage about the lack of respect he received from various characters in his life. Take his wife (please) or his dog (who’s favorite bone was, coincidentally, in Rodney’s arm).

But unlike Rodney Dangerfield’s act, there’s no reason to assume that direct mail is a joke, or a thing of the past that your dad might bring up after one too many drinks.

A study conducted by USPS and neuromarketing researchers from Temple University suggests that our brains actually process physical advertising content differently than digital content:

• Subjects paid attention to the printed ads for a longer period of time.
• Subjects had a stronger emotional connection to the printed ads.
• When tested, subjects showed that they remembered the printed ads more accurately.
• While looking at the printed ads, subjects experienced more stimulation in the area of the brain that influences purchasing decisions.

In his act, Dangerfield never asserted that anyone else got too much respect, just that he should get more than he does. We’re saying the same thing is true about direct mail.

And we’re certainly not asserting that digital marketing should be disregarded. Merkle found that campaigns that used direct mail in conjunction with another digital medium received a 118 percent increase in response rate to campaigns that only used direct mail.

There’s no denying that digital media is a pivotal medium to promote your business. Ignoring it is a mistake. However, this fact doesn’t make direct mail any less-effective than its always been.

In the end, who cares about respect? Let people assume that direct mail marketing is dead and continue (or start) to reap the benefits of it, since you know the truth. Doing so will ensure your business is prosperous and that your wallet is fat. How fat is it? When it walks around in heels, it strikes oil!

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