Even in today’s “all digital, all the time” world, people still love direct mail. Direct mail also motivates people to action. According to a study conducted by Statista in late 2024, for example, 55% of people receiving a direct mail piece took action by visiting the marketer’s website, and 43% searched for the brand online.
We are bombarded by digital formats day in and day out. Perhaps, then, it should be no surprise that direct mail carries such an impact. Plus, there is something about direct mail that appeals to our brains. A field of science called “neuromarketing” shows us why.
What Is Neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing is the science of marketing based on how human beings are wired. Sure, we all have preferences, but our wiring is something that is consistent from human being to human being. We’re just put together that way.
One of the things that nearly all of us share is an affinity for things we can touch. That’s one reason direct mail is so powerful. Our brains like it. Research shows that consumers spend more time with direct mail ads than digital ads and that information provided in direct mail is more likely to be remembered and remembered in more detail.
One of the most well-known of these studies comes from the U.S. Postal Service. The research was conducted in conjunction with Temple University and studied participants’ responses to ads presented in both postcards and inside marketing emails.
Researchers used three techniques in their study:
- Eye tracking (camera and infrared technology monitor participants’ eye movements).
- Core biometrics (sensors placed on fingertips measure heart rate, skin conductance, motion, and breathing).
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (measures activity in the brain to show which parts are activated during a task or experience).
Researchers used eye trackers to analyze what participants looked at and for how long. They used biometrics to measure heart rate and skin conductance to indicate emotional engagement. They used the emotional response measured by FMRI to understand print and digital formats’ “valuation” (translated “willingness to pay”).
A follow-up study looked at how these factors varied by age group—those 41 and younger and those 47 and older.
Click here for detailed methodology.
Two Studies and the Results
What were the results? Researchers found the following:
- Participants spent more time with physical ads.
- Participants remembered physical ads more quickly and confidently.
- Physical ads elicited a stronger emotional response and impact.
- Print ads resulted in a stronger subconscious valuation.
When the study was repeated four years later, it yielded the same results. Researchers also found that, with the physical direct mail pieces, participants processed information faster, and the ads resulted in stronger recall. Where did digital ads perform better than physical ones? Participants processed the information in digital ads faster than they did physical ads.
These factors translate into other benefits of direct mail, as well. For example, as reported by Marketing Charts, nearly half (49%) of people say direct mail is an important way for brands to build a relationship with them, and 45% it makes them feel important. Forty percent also say that opening mail from a brand they already have a relationship with makes them feel special.
So use digital marketing when you want to communicate a specific idea quickly. Use print marketing when you want people to make people feel particularly special and valued. Also use print marketing when you want your audience to spend more time processing the information and be more likely to remember—and act—on it.
