'This Time It's Personal' is the new study from Royal Mail MarketReach following on from 'The Private Life of Mail' study released in February 2015, which looked at what happens to mail once it enters the home. 'This Time It's Personal', finds that 'valued mail' drives value for advertisers through both direct action and positive brand effect. Mail that consumers value creates feelings which drives actions. These feelings and actions drive value for advertisers through both direct action and positive brand effect.

The findings are part of an ongoing study by Royal Mail MarketReach to improve advertiser understanding of the role of mail and its impact, beyond direct response, on brand metrics.

Research was conducted by independent agency Quadrangle with 3,000 respondents and looked in depth at six sectors: financial services, retail, public sector, charities, travel and telecoms/utilities. The new research explores the components of 'valued mail' and investigates what it makes people feel and do as a result. To define 'valued mail' consumers were asked to identify mail that they had received which they found useful and/or interesting.

'Valued mail' creates feelings which lead to actions: 92 per cent of respondents had an emotional response to mail they valued, of which 92 per cent took one or more actions. Some actions are direct: 42 per cent purchased, renewed or donated, etc. as a result. Other actions have brand benefits for advertisers, such as searching for more information online (37 per cent); discussing it with others (33 per cent); planning a future purchase (29 per cent) or holding on for future reference (73 per cent).

As long as it is personal, value can be found in almost any type of mail, whether special offers, new-product or service information, newsletters, events information, vouchers and reminders and confirmations. Even transactional or account information mail, such as statements or bills, can have value. This suggests that advertisers who treat transactional mail with marketing-led sensitivity can benefit.