Junk mail: Paying for the post

"No form of advertising makes people madder." Junk mail—known by advertisers and postal services as direct mail or marketing mail—has pretty much always been a nuisance for recipients. “No form of advertising makes more people madder than direct mail,” the Saturday Evening Post [wrote]( in 1944. Despite its unsavory reputation, junk mail has thrived, [seemingly impervious]( to the changes brought on by the information age that led to declines in many other types of physical correspondence. The main reason? It makes money for the people who deliver our mail. All those catalogs and credit card applications could soon be relegated to the recycling bin of history. Technological innovations and shifts in marketing strategies, not to mention the impacts of a [global pandemic](, may finally be catching up to the direct mail industry. Don’t toss this newsletter in the trash just yet. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Junk mail September 22, 2021 You’ve got (junk) mail --------------------------------------------------------------- Junk mail—known by advertisers and postal services as direct mail or marketing mail—has pretty much always been a nuisance for recipients. “No form of advertising makes more people madder than direct mail,” the Saturday Evening Post [wrote]( in 1944. Despite its unsavory reputation, junk mail has thrived, [seemingly impervious]( to the changes brought on by the information age that led to declines in many other types of physical correspondence. The main reason? It makes money for the people who deliver our mail. All those catalogs and credit card applications could soon be relegated to the recycling bin of history. Technological innovations and shifts in marketing strategies, not to mention the impacts of a [global pandemic](, may finally be catching up to the direct mail industry. Don’t toss this newsletter in the trash just yet. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [25%:]( Share of all mail delivered in the US in 1972 that was junk mail [63%:]( Share of all mail delivered in the US in 2019 that was junk mail [$13.9 billion:]( USPS revenue on marketing mail in 2020 (pdf) [50%:]( Share of US junk mail that is read before ending up in the trash [$0.58:]( Cost to send a single letter in the US [$0.17:]( Cost per item for certain marketing mail sent in bulk in the US [>5,000:]( Pieces of junk mail a UK postal worker hid instead of delivering over a five-year period [300:]( Hours of unpaid labor that postal worker was sentenced to as punishment [80:]( Scottish postal workers who went on strike in March 2020 over having to deliver junk mail during the pandemic [61%:]( Share of Germans in a May 2020 survey who think unsolicited advertising brochures should be banned Reuters / Phil Noble Explain it like I’m 5! How postal services got hooked on junk mail --------------------------------------------------------------- Simply put, the US Postal Service and the Royal Mail make junk mail work for marketers because they need the money. While marketing mail had been steadily growing for decades, the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 [led to a surge]( in junk mail in the US. Newly corporatized and deprived of government funds, the rebranded USPS began offering deep discounts for items that were [sent in bulk]( to incentivize advertisers to increase the volume of mail they were sending. In 2020, marketing mail accounted for [around 20%]( (pdf) of USPS operating revenue. In recent years, the USPS has helped businesses better target marketing mail using US Census demographic data. Its [Every Door Direct Mail service]( has brought in $3.8 billion in revenue from more than 20 billion pieces of mail since 2011. The UK’s Royal Mail saw a similar uptick in junk mail around the time it was privatized in 2013. The following fiscal year, the service delivered close to [3.2 billion items of unaddressed mail](, up from 1.7 billion five years prior, while revenue from marketing mail totaled £1.1 billion ($1.5 billion). Royal Mail also profits from its [Door to Door service]( that helps businesses reach consumers. Charted(Quartz) Giphy Pop quiz Which profession should you target with marketing mail on Mondays? ClergyDoctorsBankersFarmers Correct. A 1944 Saturday Evening Post article noted Monday is probably the worst day to schedule marketing mail—unless it’s for clergy, for whom the day is “minister’s Sunday.” Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. The way we 📬 now Although Americans may not feel like they’re getting any less junk mail, the volume sent via USPS declined 38% from 2007 to 2020, dropping from [103.5 billion]( to [64.1 billion]( pieces of marketing mail. The [biggest hit]( (pdf) came during the Great Recession, but today’s advertisers are also working smarter, not harder, thanks to better targeting. “Instead of blanketing a whole town with ads (what the industry calls ‘prospecting’), a local tailor can just send postcards to professional men between 35 and 45 with high credit scores,” Heather Kelly [writes]( in the Washington Post. Royal Mail’s revenue from direct mail advertising has [similarly fallen off](, as businesses sent fewer flyers due to [Brexit uncertainty]( and [data privacy concerns]( associated with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. On both sides of the Atlantic, the pandemic caused [sharp declines]( in marketing mail—and the [associated revenue](. While it may be bad news for USPS and Royal Mail, many are hoping their emptier mailboxes are [here to stay](. Fun fact! The writer O. Henry made $2 a day [addressing envelopes]( for mailing list compiler W.S. Ponton. Brief history [Mid-1800s:]( Junk mailers address advertisements to the local postmaster, with instructions to deliver to the appropriate party, such as “the leading wall paper dealers” or “any school teacher.” [1885:]( Wilbur Simpson Ponton begins maintaining and selling lists of addresses to marketers; his eponymous company still operates today. [1930s:]( The US government uses direct mail to advertise its first savings bonds (pdf). [1960s:]( Spending on direct mail marketing in the US rivals the money being poured into TV ads. [1970:]( The US passes the Postal Reorganization Act, cutting off federal subsidies to the postal service while demanding it continue to deliver mail to all Americans. [1978:]( US postmaster general William Bolger announces that companies that presort their mail will receive deep discounts on postage. [1980s:]( The increasing use of computers allows junk mailers to better target their ads, making it more profitable to send more of them. [2007:]( Marketing mail sent via USPS peaks at 103.5 billion pieces a year. [2013:]( The UK government offloads 70% of its stake in Royal Mail. By 2015, the service is [fully privatized](. [2015:]( Royal Mail pilots a program allowing retailers to send marketing mail to consumers based on their online shopping habits. [Similar tactics]( are employed in the US. Reuters/Carlos Barria DIY Cut back on your junk mail --------------------------------------------------------------- There are a few things you can do to reduce the amount of direct mail you receive. In the US, the [Data & Marketing Association]( will take your name off national mailing lists for 10 years (for a $2 fee). You can also register with the [Consumer Credit Reporting Industry]( to stop receiving credit card and insurance offers. In the UK, you can ask the [Royal Mail]( to stop unaddressed mail (sent “To the Occupier”), and register with the [Data & Marketing Association]( (pdf) to stop receiving other unaddressed mail for two years. Additionally, registering with DMA’s [Mailing Preference Service]( will halt marketing mail addressed to you. Signing up with the [Fundraising Preference Service]( prevents charities from contacting you. Lastly, you can ask your local electoral office to take you off the “[open register](,” which is a list of addresses marketers buy to send junk mail. Youtube Watch this! Kramer protests the post office --------------------------------------------------------------- Fed up with the amount of junk mail he receives, Seinfeld’s Kramer attempts to cancel his mail delivery entirely. His ensuing campaign earns him a trip to a post office interrogation room and a visit from (fictional) postmaster general Henry Atkins. Giphy Poll How do you feel about junk mail now? [Click here to vote]( So many credit card offers, so little timeAs long as it keeps the postal service running...Please make it stop 💬 let's talk! In last week’s poll about [social bonds](, 41% of you said you’re interested in investing in them, 25% of you are not, and 34% of you are going to wait and see how the market plays out. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20Junk%20Mail&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Liz Webber](, edited by [Annaliese Griffin](, and produced by [Jordan Weinstock](. [facebook]([twitter]([external-link]( The correct answer to the quiz is Clergy. 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