The UK Door Drop industry saw declines in 2009, with advertising expenditure down 8.9% and volumes falling 14.1% to 7.763 billion items. The average weight of door drop items also decreased by 14% from 2005 levels. As a result, the total weight of door drop material delivered fell 44% from 221,565 tonnes in 2005 to 124,808 tonnes in 2009. Declines were driven by factors like improved targeting, growth of digital media, and the economic recession.

1. UK Door Drop Industry Facts & Figures: 2009
Advertising Expenditure and Volumes for 2009
plus
Promotional Material Figures for 2005 to 2009
The DMA Door Drop Council has released the latest annual Door Drop facts & figures, including
advertising volumes and expenditure, for 2009.
The results are based on the Council’s 16th annual survey of the UK Door Drop Communications Industry
which shows that advertising expenditure together with the volume, size and weight of Door Drop
communications material has fallen in 2009.
The annual Door Drop survey measures and
identifies the size of the UK market in terms Size and Growth of the Door Drop Market - Volumes
of volume and spend from advertisers who
14,000
directly, or through an agency, fund the
distribution of their pre‐printed 12,000
communications material (i.e. advertiser
Volume (Items) - Millions
spend on Door Drops). 10,000
8,000
This year the survey has been extended to
include estimates of the annual weight of 6,000 11,870
10,880 10,220
Door Drop material, with a view to 9,036
4,000 7,763
understanding the impact of various
developments and industry initiatives on the 2,000
overall amount of material produced and
0
delivered by the sector.
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
Volumes Volume (Items) - Millions
The survey recorded that Door Drop volumes
fell by 14.1% to 7.763 billion items in 2009. Trends xx
This followed a decline of 11.6% in 2008.
Size and Growth of the Door Drop Market - Expenditure
Expenditure 325
300
275
For the third year in succession, expenditure 250
Expenditure - £ Millions .
on Door Drop distributions fell at a lower rate 225
than volume, recording a decrease of 8.9% to 200
175
£253 million in 2009.
150 301 297 292 277
125 253
This followed expenditure reductions of 5.1% 100
and 1.5% for the two preceding years. 75
50
The values reported here are based solely on 25
Door Drop Media spend i.e. the amount spent 0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
by Advertisers on the distribution element of
Year
the campaign. Figures do not include the cost
Distribution Expenditure - £millions
of print and production or related activities
such as Independent Validation.
DMA Door Drop Council – Annual Door Drop Facts & Figures 2009 Page 1 of 5

2. Trends Size and Growth of the Door Drop Market: % Year on Year Movements
10.0%
Following a period of robust and sustained
6.0%
% Year on Year Movement
growth from the late 90’s to 2005, the 5.0% 3.9%
industry has contracted over the last four 0.0%
-1.5% -1.5%
years. -5.0% -5.1%
-6.1%
-8.3% -8.9%
The survey also shows that volumes have -10.0%
-11.6%
consistently contracted at a faster pace -15.0% -14.1%
than spend. This trend reflects a number of -20.0%
factors including: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
 Improved use of client data and
% Year on year increase in Volume % Year on year increase in Distribution Revenue
targeting techniques to enhance
relevance and reduce volume
 Growth in digital / online share of advertising spend
 The recession which has impacted especially on the retail and financial sectors
 A steady reduction in the free newspaper circulation base and the transfer of some activity to
more expensive Door Drop channels
Door Drop Growth compared with other Media
Door Drops and Total UK
25%
Advertising Expenditure 20% 17.8%
14.9% 14.0% 13.6%
13.1%
Growth
15%
13.0%
9.2%
11.2%
% Increase Year on Year
10% 6.5% 5.4% 6.0%
5%
-1.5% -1.5%
0%
The Door Drop industry noticeably -5%
-5.1%
-8.9%
outperformed total UK advertising -10%
-15%
expenditure during the late nineties -20%
and early noughties. This reflected -25%
-30%
the increasing maturity of the -35%
medium and its growing popularity as 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
both a strategic and a tactical
Door Drop Press Television Radio Total Advertising
communications tool.
Its ability to work with other media
Door Drop Growth compared with other Media - The Internet
and almost uniquely offer both
precision and penetration were also 225%
200%
important contributors to growth 175%
% Increase Year on Year
against the background of increasing 150%
media fragmentation. 125%
100%
75%
However, with spend on digital media
50%
growing at a significant pace, Door 25% 13.1% 13.0% 14.9% 14.0% 13.6%
6.5% 9.2% 11.2%
17.8%
5.4% 6.0%
-1.5% -1.5%
Drops, in common with most other 0%
-5.1% -8.9%
traditional media, performed less well -25%
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
than total advertising expenditure Year
from 2006 to 2008. Door Drop Internet Total Advertising
Improved use of client data and targeting techniques to enhance relevance also contributed to a below
average growth rate over that period.
DMA Door Drop Council – Annual Door Drop Facts & Figures 2009 Page 2 of 5

3. Finally, the recession began to take its toll on traditional advertising channels, including Door Drops, in
the latter part of 2008 and throughout 2009. However, despite a relatively high degree of dependence
on the retail and financial advertising sectors, Door Drops once again out outperformed total
advertising expenditure in 2009.
Door Drop Communications Per Size and Growth of the Door Drop Market
Letterbox Per Week
10.0
9.0
8.0
Over the last four years, the number of GB
7.0
households has grown by an estimated 3.1% 6.0
Items.
whilst Door Drop volumes have decreased by 5.0
9.1
34.6%. 4.0 8.3
7.7
6.8
3.0 5.8
The average number of Door Drop 2.0
1.0
communications delivered to the average GB
0.0
household on an average week has, 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
therefore, fallen from 9.1 items in 2005 to 5.8 Year
items in 2009 ‐ a reduction of 36.6%. Average Volume (Items) Per GB Household Per Week
Door Drop Promotional Material Facts & Figures: 2005 to 2009
As part of the DMA’s overall policy towards environmental affairs, which has included the introduction
of the Your Choice Preference Scheme for unaddressed mail, Environmental Best Practice Guidelines
and BSi’s PAS2020:2009, the Door Drop Council has undertaken to monitor the total amount of
promotional material delivered annually via Door Drop campaigns.
Last year’s industry survey report noted evidence that the size and pagination of Door Drop material
had reduced in recent times, so that the overall weight of material sent out had reduced by even more
than was indicated by the reduction in the volume (quantity) of Door Drop items delivered. This has,
therefore, been the subject of an additional survey by the Door Drop Council in 2009.
For 2005/06, Postcomm estimated that 13 billion items of unaddressed direct mail were sent out and
that a combination of unaddressed Door Drops and Inserts (advertising material in magazines and
newspapers) totalled 368,500 tonnes of promotional material.
The Door Drop Council’s survey has identified the following key figures for 2005 and 2009:
Average Item Weight
Door Drop Industry Weight Estimates
- Average Item Weight - gms
20.0
The average weight of a Door Drop
18.0
communication item in 2005 was 18.7 gms 16.0
(equivalent to an A4‐12pp item on 50 GSM 14.0
12.0
paper or an A4‐8pp item on 75 GSM Average Item Weight -
Gms
10.0 Average Item Weight -
gms
paper). 8.0 18.7 gms
6.0 16.1
4.0
For 2009, the average weight of a Door 2.0
Drop item was 14% less at 16.1gms 0.0
2005 2009
(equivalent to an A4‐10pp item on 50 GSM Year
or an A4‐7pp item on 75 GSM).
Average Item Weight - gms
DMA Door Drop Council – Annual Door Drop Facts & Figures 2009 Page 3 of 5

4. Volumes Door Drop Industry Weight Estimates
- Volume (Items) - millions
Between 2005 and 2009 Door Drop 14,000
volumes have fallen by 35% from 11.870 12,000
Volume (Items) - millions
billion items to 7.763 billion items. 10,000
8,000
Volume (Items) -
6,000 Millions
11,870 Volume (Items) -
4,000 Millions
7,763
Total Door Drop Material 2,000
0
2005 2009
As a result of a reduction in Door Drop
Year
volumes together with a reduction in the
Volume (Items) - Millions
size / weight of Door Drop items the total
amount of Door Drop communications
material being sent out has fallen by 44% Door Drop Industry Weight Estimates
- Total Weight - Metric Tonnes
from 221,565 tonnes to 124,808 tonnes.
250,000
200,000
Metric Tonnes
150,000
Recycling of Direct Marketing Total Weight - Metric
Tonnes
100,000
221,565
Total Weight - Metric
A report produced for Defra by Royal Mail 50,000
Tonnes
124,808
and the DMA was published in April 2010
entitled ‘Direct Marketing Material Waste 0
2005 2009
Prevention – Report on industry Year
performance – Full Year 2009’.
Total Weight - Metric Tonnes
This is a detailed report and includes the
Door Drop Industry Weight Estimates
results of a comprehensive survey - % Movement 2005 to 2009
regarding the level of recycling of Direct
10%
Marketing Material. 5%
0%
Average Item Weight -
-5%
The research identified that recycling -10%
gms
-13.9% Volume (Items) -
rates for Direct Marketing Material had
% Movement
-15%
Millions Total Weight - Metric
-20%
grown from just 29% in 2005 to 77% in -25%
-34.6% Tonnes
-43.7%
2009. -30%
-35%
-40%
The results significantly exceeded the -45%
industry recycle rate targets agreed with -50%
2009 % Var 2005
Defra, which were 55% by the end of
Average Item Weight - gms Volume (Items) - Millions Total Weight - Metric Tonnes
2009 and 70% by the end of 2013.
Due to the relatively basic materials used Recycling of Unaddressed Door Drop Mail
in production; the non‐personalised
nature of the communications and the
fact that items are delivered individually
to consumer’s homes, Door Drop
Communications are recycle‐friendly and Non-
Recycled
tend to be recycled at an above‐average Recycled
76%
24%
rate.
Recycled Non- Recycled
DMA Door Drop Council – Annual Door Drop Facts & Figures 2009 Page 4 of 5

5.
Scope of the Annual Industry Survey:
For data published from 2005, the survey was redefined seeking to measure and establish the size of the UK market in terms of
volume and spend from advertisers who directly, or through an agency, fund the distribution of their pre‐printed communications
material (i.e. advertiser spend on Door Drops).
This includes revenue and volumes for pre‐printed communications where the Advertiser has directly or indirectly (e.g. via an Agency)
commissioned and funded the door to door delivery of their prepared (i.e. pre‐printed or produced) communications material which
has then been distributed on a commercial basis. This includes leaflets, catalogues, newsletters, product samples etc for commercial
organisations, local authorities, charities, central government, locally‐sourced directories etc.
The survey specifically excludes volumes and distribution expenditure for:
 Local Free Weekly Newspapers.
 Items inserted mechanically into paid or free publications.
 National Directories, where these are effectively publications with advertising space sold by the media owner (e.g. Yellow
Pages, BT Phonebooks, Thomson Directories).
All three areas excluded above measure their own advertising revenue separately and have direct control over their own recycling
and waste control direct with DEFRA.
Sources:
Door Drop Volumes and Expenditure: DMA Door Drop Council Annual Survey 2009
Door Drop Promotional Material Weights: DMA Door Drop Council Item Weight Survey 2009
Recycling Levels: Royal Mail and the DMA Direct Marketing Material Waste Prevention Report 2009.
Other Advertising Expenditure: Advertising Association Advertising Statistics Yearbook 2009
GB Household Figures: Estimates based on data from the Office for National Statistics
© Copyright DMA Door Drop Council, May 2010
DMA Door Drop Council – Annual Door Drop Facts & Figures 2009 Page 5 of 5