I don't often write about this topic, for not wanting to expose myself to the "oh yes, but his agency produces DM" argument. Sod it, today I'm throwing that care out the window...
I read a great blog, as usual, on the Agitator today which talked about a paper written by Chuck Pruitt of AB Data.
And as the Agitator post states, Chuck is mad! Mad with the direct mail doomsayers who bang on about the channel being dead and buried.
Chuck makes some really good points. And yes Chuck I agree with you wholeheartedly.
The message I give people is:
- Direct mail may not be growing, but it's a big chunk for many to protect
- The best use of other media like online/social media is to support other channels, including the mail
- Do direct mail better, not less
To illustrate the point that it's not the death knell for the mail, see the chart above from our Canadian benchmarking study at Pareto Fundraising in 2008. 25% of income from the charities that participated came the year prior from the mail.
A big source of income from some large Canadian organizations.
Oh and in case you're wondering, we're seeing the same trends all over the world.
Jonathon
PS - if you want to find out more about our 2009 Canadian benchmarking study email me to register for our webinar next Tuesday, the 30th of June.
jonathon.grapsas@paretofundraising.com
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