30% of charity mail unopened, says Marketing magazine
Howard Lake | 12 October 2006 | News
A survey of 10,000 consumers by Nielsen Media Research for Marketing magazine has found that charity direct mail is one of the most likely types of direct mail to be thrown away without being opened.
Overall, the consumers said they threw away 22% of all direct mail sent to them in the year to June 2006.
Only direct mail sent by drinks companies and gardening and agriculture organisations was more likely than charities’ direct mail to be thrown away unopened.
Advertisement
This represents 150 million items of charity mail being thrown away unopened, “at a cost of £64 million”.
The poor open rate matters not just because of public perception but also because direct mail accounts for over 70% of charities’ marketing budgets, according to the research.
According to the research Cancer Research UK was the largest charity to use direct mail, distributing 18 million items in the year. It was ranked number 30 in terms of volume, just behind NatWest, Littlewoods, and Unilever.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.