Preparing for Your Christmas Direct Mail Campaigns – Industry Insights

We know it’s only August… but… early preparation for your Christmas direct mail campaigns starts…. now!

While it may seem premature, successful seasonal marketing requires ample time and strategic planning. As experts in the mail industry, here are our Citipost top tips that we’ve seen companies employ over the years to get on top of their Christmas mailings and have a very successful peak season.

Get Your Content Prepared – Early!

We have clients ringing us from July to discuss and seek advice on their Christmas campaigns, so there is no time like the present. But before you decide on what mediums you will use to deliver your message, it’s really important to outline campaign objectives and create a detailed timeline. This takes time, so start early!  Allow yourself time to brainstorm creative ideas, and draft your messaging so it is relevant to your campaign avatar and desired outcomes.

Once this has been decided, researching what will go into your marketing mix is the next step. With an 85% open rate during the 2023 season, your campaign will likely include mail assets such as letters, postcards and brochures.

Did you know that well-designed mail can demand up to 103 seconds of attention? Allowing extra time to prepare the design of these elements will ensure they grab attention and clearly convey your brand and messaging consistency and quality. You want your customers to notice, ‘feel’ and remember your brand at every touch point.

Check your data

A clean data set can make or break the ROI of a mail campaign. Ensuring that you are not sending copies of your marketing to people who have moved / deceased could save you a significant margin, and it is important to make sure that your mailing arrives with consumers who are likely to complete commercial actions.

To support you over the Christmas peak period, take advantage of our free data health check. Simply send us your data set before your next mailing, and we will tell you within 24 hours how many inaccurate records you are holding. Using the UK’s largest and most inclusive suppression suite, our Pure Data health check can ensure that you are not wasting resources. Contact us today to get started!

Calendarise Your Content and Beat the Postal Traffic

It’s not all about December! JICMail (2024) statistics highlight that mail drives higher online traffic in November as customers get ready for the December rush and, of course, are shopping for Black Friday.

Your timing is crucial! Christmas is the peak postage time of the year, and the postal network is often very busy with the volume of advertising mail alongside Christmas cards. By preparing early, you can ensure your mail is delivered within the required timeframe to meet your campaign objectives.

Earlier mailings can also encourage your consumers to start their Christmas shopping early with you to avoid the last-minute rush (and to avoid you competing with a more crowded doormat and email inbox).

Save money on your marketing – Apply for a Royal Mail Incentive

Who doesn’t love to save a pound or two over the Christmas period? Year after year, some of our successful clients who see great ROI on their campaigns, utilise Royal Mail Incentives, earning retrospective postage credits through sending volumes of mail. By planning your campaign early, you too could benefit from Royal Mail incentives, such as the new Catalogue Mail incentive. Don’t worry if you are not sending catalogues – there are plenty of incentives to choose from! At Citipost Mail, we understand these like the back of our hand and can advise you on which incentive could be for you. We will even do the hard work of applying for you! We saved our customers over half a million pounds through incentives last year and I’d love to help you save too.