Looking for inspiration and ideas for your direct mail? Want to stand out from your competition in the mailbox and digital marketing overload? Who's Mailing What! can help! We run the world's most complete resource of direct mail campaigns. In this session, we reveal data-driven insights into what's working in direct mail in 2021, and how to use Who's Mailing What! database to save time and money with your direct mail!

1. Direct Mail Trends 2021
Data-driven insights from Who’s Mailing What!

2. Meet the speakers
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 2
President at Who’s Mailing What!
Jill has been building teams to serve marketers
for the past twenty years. Employee and client
happiness have always been her “North Star”.
Assisting Expert & Direct Mail Evangelist
Paul was the archivist of Who's Mailing What! for
over 20 years, helping customers find what they
need to create successful marketing campaigns.
He writes (and speaks at events) about mail and
its bright present and future.
Jill Corcoran Paul Bobnak

3. Discussion points
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1. Who’s Mailing What!: Then and Now
2. Seven Direct Mail Trends
3. How to access creative insights, competitive intelligence and enable your sales pipeline

4. About WMW! How it started - How it’s evolving
Denny Hatch began
collecting mail and, over
time, his massive swipe file
became indispensable for
other marketers and
copywriters who were
looking through his files for
their own assignments.
Monthly print newsletter
“Who’s Mailing What!”
was launched.
Who’s Mailing What! was
sold to North American
Publishing Co. The
newsletter’s name was
changed to Inside Direct
Mail, and began to be
printed in 4-color.
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 4
Listings of all of the Who’s
Mailing What’s mail
pieces migrated to the
Web, and PDFs of
thousands of mail
packages became
available as well to
subscribers.
Print newsletter transitioned
to an email weekly, and
online experience becomes
more user-friendly
with each revision.
2019
Who’s Mailing What! acquired
by Alegian Growth Partners.
AGP Principal Vilnis Ezerins
notes “We decided there’s a
market for direct mail
marketing competitive
intelligence, with broad
coverage across industries,
affordable for smaller and
medium sized organization.”
2019
2009
2004
1992
1984
1970

5. What we do
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We are reimagining direct mail marketing by leveraging AI technology and identifying Who's Inspired by What! to
empower marketers & their service providers with insights for creating high performing campaigns.
Conduct competitive analysis to inform your
strategy in real time
We arm direct mail experts with the tools
they need to develop winning marketing programs by:
Identifying the best performing creative components
and offers working in every industry
Cutting testing time and allowing you to gain the
intelligence that would have taken you months to compile
Identifying print-active mailers to boost your
sales pipeline

6. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 6
7 Direct Mail Trends

7. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 7
Direct mail trend #1

8. 1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 8
According to Who’s Mailing What! data, the distribution of postcards increased by 19%
in the last 5 years.

9. 1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 9
Industries where the drop is most evident :
Delivery & Shipping 51% ↓
Retail 51% ↓
Business Products 35% ↓
Restaurants 33% ↓
There’s been a drop in letter packages (“envelopes”)
≈15%
(average drop)
Business Services 17% ↓
Recreation & Travel 17% ↓
Health Care 10% ↓

10. 1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 10
2008 2020
KAY Jewelers started using postcards for their
Valentine’s Day promotions
Example: Drop in letter packages (“envelopes”)

11. 1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 11
Industries where the drop is most evident :
There’s been a drop in self-mailers
≈16%
(average drop)
Restaurants 51% ↓
Delivery & Shipping 51% ↓
Business Products 35% ↓
Recreation & Travel 33% ↓
Arts 24% ↓
Health Care 20% ↓
Business Services 17% ↓
Retail 16% ↓

12. 1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 12
Disney Vacation Club
started using postcards to
promote their memberships
2007
2021
Example: Drop in self-mailers

13. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 13
Copy Gets Concise
Direct mail trend #2

14. 2. Copy Gets Concise
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According to WMW! data, on
average, the word count in the direct
mail copy decreased by 62% over
the last 20 years.

15. 2. Copy Gets Concise
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Word count changes in letter packages (“envelopes”)
The word count in the envelopes
dropped dramatically over the
last 20 years.
124.22% ↓
Industries where the drop is most evident:

16. 2. Copy Gets Concise
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Word count changes in letter packages (“envelopes”)
2014 2021
Both letters have the
same purpose - remind
member to use the
platform: ”We’re sending
you this letter because
you’re an Amazon Prime
member who has not
used any of the video
benefits…”

17. 2. Copy Gets Concise
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 17
Word count changes in self-mailers
29.24% ↓
(average drop)
Industries where the drop is most evident:

18. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 18
Fun Fact
Over the last 4 years, Restaurants started
using postcards 9% more frequently, yet
the postcard word count grew by 98%

19. 2. Copy Gets Concise
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 19
Example: Postcard word count actually grew by 98% for the last 4 years in the Restaurant category
2015 2020

20. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 20
Digital Interactive Explodes
Direct mail trend #3

21. 3. Digital Interactive Explodes
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We looked at:
• Usernames “@username”
• QR codes
and digital CTAs:
• “follow us”
• “order online”
• “visit our website”

22. 3. Digital Interactive Explodes
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 22
Industries leveraging digital interactive elements in 2021

23. 3. Digital Interactive Explodes
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What digital elements marketers use in 2021

24. 3. Digital Interactive Explodes
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What digital elements marketers use in 2021

25. 3. Digital Interactive Explodes
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 25
The popularity digital interactive elements in 2021

26. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 26
BRM Ebbs
Direct mail trend #4

27. 4. Business Reply Mail Ebbs
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 27
Our statistics show that use of BRM
as a response option has declined
over the last 20 years. Mailers have
shifted to driving prospects to go
online, either by typing a website
address or scanning a QR code.
≈53%
Of companies are no longer sending BRM

28. 4. BRM Ebbs
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 28
Mailers have shifted to driving prospects to go online
2016 2021

29. 4. BRM Ebbs
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 29
2005 2021
Mailers have shifted to driving prospects to go online

30. 4. BRM Ebbs
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 30
Although BRM is getting less popular, there are companies that keep using it actively

31. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 31
Eco Friendly Grows
Direct mail trend #5

32. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 32
The use of eco-friendly language

33. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 33
The use of eco-friendly language

34. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 34
The use of words relating to sustainable practices

35. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
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The use of words relating to sustainable practices

36. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 36
The use of words relating to sustainable practices in 2021

37. 5. Eco Friendly Grows
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Industries using sustainability language in 2020-2021 in 2021

38. Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 38
COVID-19 Lasting Impact
Direct mail trend #6

39. 6. COVID-19 Lasting Impact
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 39
The use of COVID-related words in 2020 and 2021

40. 6. COVID-19 Lasting Impact
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 40
February 2020 November 2020
The same offer with the “additional safety” note
Marketers are adapting to the “new normal”

41. 6. COVID-19 Lasting Impact
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 41
2015 2020
Marketers are adapting to the “new normal”

42. 6. COVID-19 Lasting Impact
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 42
Industries using COVID-related words in their direct mail copy

43. Does direct mail still work?
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#7 The age old question:

44. YES!
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 44
A Resounding

45. 7. Direct Mail Still Works
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 45
Companies of all ages are using direct mail
Regardless of the maturity
level of the organization,
direct mail continues to be
an integral part of the
marketing mix.

46. 7. Direct Mail Still Works
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 46
Examples: Companies founded in 2020 are using direct mail
Finance Real Estate
Recreation & Travel Health Care
Health Care
Real Estate
Real Estate

47. 7. Direct Mail Still Works
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 47
Examples: Established Digital leaders are embracing direct mail in 2021

48. Let’s Wrap it Up!
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 48
1. Postcards Spike / Others Fall
2. Copy Gets Concise
3. Digital Interactive Explodes
4. BRM Ebbs
5. Eco Friendly Grows
6. COVID-19 Lasting Impact
7. Direct Mail Still Works
Direct Mail Trends 2021 Identified by Who’s Mailing What!

49. What Others Are Saying
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More Direct Mail Trends by Industry Leaders:
Scan to find more trends

50. Let’s take a walk through!
Direct Mail Trends 2021 - Data-driven insights by Who’s Mailing What! 50
Let's take a look at how you can track direct mail trends,
access creative insights,
conduct competitive research and analysis,
and enable your sales pipeline with Who's Mailing What!