Publicis Chemistry's MarketReach campaign for Royal Mail encourages synergy between snail mail and email

The new campaign for Royal Mail MarketReach by Publicis Chemistry suggests that consumers want to use a combination of mail and email to communicate with them. The campaign is the first in a series of communications, which target new, former and existing Royal Mail customers, and hopes to reach influential creative and media agencies, as well as print, production and mailing houses houses and press. MarketReach launched two years ago as a media planning, data and creative service for brands, with an aim of boosting the share of physical direct marketing in the UK advertising market.

The campaign is the first in a series of communications, which target new, former and existing Royal Mail customers, and hopes to reach influential creative and media agencies

The thought process behind the campaign derives from research commissioned by Royal Mail, which has found that customers feel traditional 'snail' mail creates a such stronger emotional connection between the sender and the receiver than email, making customers feel more valued, and giving them a better general opinion of the company. In fact, the figures showed that 55% of the 1000 people surveyed felt that communications received through mail made a positive brand impression, compared to only 25% who said the same was true of email messages. They also found that 51% preferred a combination of both because of their differing qualities.

Jonathan Harman, the managing director for Royal Mail MarketReach says the research they commissioned revealed the deceptively vital role that mail has to play in today's digital world, and that 'snail mail' “Continues to be a powerful weapon in the marketer's armoury.” He concedes that “Email has its advantages, not least its speed,” but says consumers are aware that “Mail and email have different qualities, which make each suited to different types of communication.” He says that their research has shown that not only have the core strengths of traditional mail endured the 'digital revolution', but in fact “Many are actually stronger today than they were before” the days of the smartphone and the fibre-optic broadband connection.

Research has shown that customers feel traditional 'snail' mail creates a such stronger emotional connection between the sender and the receiver than email

Publicis Chemistry CEO Mike Welsh believes that the campaign acknowledges the fact that “Mail is changing,” and says “We've got plenty of news to tell people and if we want people to listen and believe us, we have to behave differently.” He says the campaign is “Just the first step on that journey,” and represents their “Statement of intent.”

Official Publicis Chemistry Website

Official Royal Mail Website

Official Royal Mail MarketReach Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK, who agrees that traditional mail feels more personal than email. It's also significantly more difficult to ignore!