Cover Story : The Top 50 Mailers
The sixth annual listing of top mailers as measured by volume
September 2011
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It's been the year of integrated marketing, and nothing proves that more than GEICO's appearance on our annual list of the top 50 direct mailers. You've probably seen so much of GEICO's gecko, cavemen and the googly-eyed stack of money that you're not surprised to see it anywhere now. But it's been five years and about $5 billion in revenue since the TV-slick and Web-savvy insurer last mailed enough to make the list.
GEICO may be a top 50 mailer for the first time in years, but many of the other names are familiar. Citigroup made its first appearance last year, but hangs on as the mailer with the most revenue for the second year in a row. Of the 12 new companies that appeared on the list in 2010, five remain top mailers in 2011 (Citigroup, Disabled American Veterans, United Service Organization, Sierra Club and The Arbor Day Foundation). The churn stayed steady at about 25 percent again this year, with 12 new companies for 2011 (denoted by check marks).
"We really see the mail quantities up across the board," says Moira Boyle, account director for ALC. "Marketers who had cut back on direct marketing for the past several years are returning because they need new orders, and direct mail is the most proven, reliable source. ... The shift to market through social media and online is still very new, and not generating the volume companies need."
Once again, nearly half of the list is made up of nonprofits —46 percent, which is down a little from 52 percent in 2010. Media companies, all publishers, held steady at 30 percent of the list. Merchandisers have surged from just 2 percent to 10 percent this year, and that could be even higher if you include Omaha Steaks, which technically markets food, but with a decidedly merchandise mentality.
Insurance (4 percent), health services (4 percent) and entertainment, financial services, continuity and business services (one representative each) round out the list. Procter & Gamble, which made a brief appearance on the list last year, did not continue its mailing efforts at top 50 pace for 2011. It was the only consumer packaged goods company on the list in 2010, and there's none to replace it in 2011.
While mail volume may be declining, median revenue for the top 50 mailers for which we have revenue data was about $50 million higher than 2010, falling in the gap between National Geographic Society and Habitat for Humanity at approximately $365 million.
Keys to Mailing in 2011
With so many digital marketing channels emerging and USPS mail volume continuing to decline through Q2 of 2011, we asked Boyle what is influencing marketers' decisions to mail or not, and what successful mailers are doing differently.
"Marketers are reducing mail quantities if their budgets dictate, but are trying to stay in the mail at some level," says Boyle. "While we can't control postage or package costs, we have been able to keep lists costs manageable and make mailing lists as efficient as possible with cleaner data and more appended transactional information than ever before. ...
"Marketers are finding success in retesting lists that had performed poorly in the economic downturn during 2008-2010, and revisiting lists from earlier as well," Boyle continues. "Mailers are being cautious, with a combination of retesting and expanded segmentation into continuation programs. Co-op databases and response and acquisition models are all being utilized to refine the available mailable universe. Cold testing is less frequent, although there are great test lists out there. Marketers [today] are more likely to revisit and refine a known universe before they tap into a new one."
Want to see who else is a top mailer in 2011? Download the complete list for free.
—Thorin McGee
While this marketer of magazine subscriptions and merchandise got its start nearly 60 years ago, the launch of its big-prize sweepstakes via direct mail in 1967 is what really made it a U.S. and Canadian household name. Today, direct mail remains a cornerstone of the company's marketing strategy, with more than 200 million promotional packages mailed annually.
"Direct mail, however, is just part of the story," says John Princiotta, Publishers Clearing House (PCH) senior vice president of marketing. The company's integrated marketing approach also uses television, email, mobile, social media and its website to cross-promote major campaigns across all channels.
Princiotta credits PCH's continued success with direct mail to the experience of its creative and marketing teams with this channel. It's no industry secret that the Port Washington, N.Y., headquarters has served as training grounds for many a direct marketing pro; plenty of that talent has moved up the ranks at PCH, providing deep insight into what works and what doesn't. And, he points out, it doesn't hurt to have a brand that's synonymous with "winning and with life-changing events," driving consumers to "anticipate receiving our mailings."
PCH's integrated marketing focus also helps with creative development across channels. Online efforts test new promotional concepts that can be translated to offline vehicles. Conversely, knowledge gained from direct mail campaigns gets applied to online channels to gain response lifts. A system that includes digital asset management tools provides easy access to creative assets across the organization, allowing for faster time to market on messaging, says Josh Glantz, vice president and general manager.
As PCH synthesizes its offline and online marketing, it's helping its customers cross over, too. Where initial theory said online-generated names wouldn't perform offline, PCH is using modeling to identify online members most likely to be receptive to mail—proving that the digital revolution is not a one-way street.
Printer(s): Quad/Graphics, RR Donnelley & Sons Company, Vertis Communications, Segerdahl Graphics, Tempo Graphics
—Hallie Mummert
As part of its mission to "inspire people to plant, celebrate and nurture trees," the 39-year-old Arbor Day Foundation plants and distributes more than 10 million trees annually. With nearly a million members, the nonprofit conservation and education organization has motivated consumers to help preserve the rainforest, conduct tree research on a local basis, partner with the U.S. Forest Service and, yes, plant trees.
To reliably reach both new donors and current members, Vice President of Marketing Communications Woody Wilson says direct mail is an effective tool for sending the organization's newsletters; acquisition appeals; membership renewals; specific bulletins to smaller, targeted member segments; surveys for national hazelnut and seasonal observation research; and even the 8 million trees that ship annually to tree-planting members.
"Naturally, we have a goal of acquiring new members and renewing them through direct mail," explains Wilson, with 40 percent to 50 percent of annual revenues attributable to this channel. "But the additional direct-mail engagement—surveys, for example—supports another important goal we have of increasing and deepening our members' engagement in our programs and having them feel good about playing a meaningful role in our shared mission."
Wilson ties Arbor Day's success in the mail stream to its vigilance with testing. "We put a lot of emphasis on watching what other mailers are doing; identifying how we can apply new techniques to our mail packages; and diving deep into the response data to find what works, what has future opportunity, and to quickly move past [unsuccessful] concepts."
He also notes that the organization handles the majority of its creative, database and analytics work in-house, with periodic counseling from industry strategists. "As a growing nonprofit brand, it's good to have our internal teams learning together and reinforcing each others' passion for our mission. The learning and the passion are big contributors of our results."
Printer(s): Johnson-Quinn, RR Donnelley and Arbor Day Foundation's in-house printing/ lettershop facility
—Hallie Mummert
In 1962, the survival rate for the most common childhood cancer, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, was a staggering 4 percent; currently the survival rate has leaped to 94 percent, thanks in part to ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Hospital. Founded almost 50 years ago with the mission to battle children's cancer and catastrophic diseases, the Memphis, Tenn.-based research hospital finds direct mail to be key to its marketing and donor support program as well as one of the best ways to engage a wide audience of current and prospective donors.
According to Brian Cowart, senior vice president of national direct marketing, direct marketing is the largest source of revenue generation, with 46 percent of the research hospital's overall organization revenues generated by the national direct marketing division—of that, 90 percent is generated through direct mail. "Our mission combined with the strong brand awareness we've fostered over the years are perhaps our most important assets because ... there is greater likelihood of [current donors and prospects] reading the materials because they already recognize who we are and have some level of trust with our organization."
Since being profiled by Target Marketing in 2008 as a Top Mailer, the nonprofit has shifted its direct mail strategy toward more behavioral marketing. "We are evolving our direct marketing strategies from more of a one-size-fits-all approach to a more individualized approach that engages donors based on their behaviors and preferences," states Cowart. "It's about building relationships with our donors and meeting them where they are. It also means understanding that there must be an integration of other channels with direct mail, which provides opportunities for greater engagement and relationship building, leading to increased long-term donor value."
While direct mail spending might be a tough sell for some marketers, Cowart asserts that it is still an important part of ALSAC/St. Jude's marketing mix. "Our numbers tell us that while productivity may have declined slightly during the last couple of years, largely due to the tough economic climate, direct marketing still remains the most effective and efficient means of attracting new supporters and cultivating new relationships with existing donors."
Printers: ALSAC/St. Jude uses several print services, according to Cowart, depending on the job, location, timing and overall goal of the piece.
—Melissa Ward
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