Royal Mail: When touch makes a difference

This report describes research conducted by Royal Mail, the UK postal delivery service, to understand what variables increase the effectiveness of direct mail.

Royal Mail: When touch makes a difference

Simon Shaw and Matt BrightBrass Insight and Royal Mail

Summary

Brass and Royal Mail conducted a controlled experiment to examine the medium of direct mail.

Our hypothesis was that the physical production of direct mail shapes how people feel about the message being communicated. Physical effects – like weight, foiling or die-cutting – change how people react to the message itself. We wanted to educate the top 3000 UK advertisers about the unique properties of mail in an increasingly digital world.

The project went beyond "ask – answer" research: observation, laboratory biometric/neuroscientific...

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