Direct Mail Spending to Plummet, E-mail to Soar: Borrell

CM Comment: The shift for direct mail to email is building momentum. Will the casino industry keep pace?

May 20, 2009: summarized from Direct Magazine -- Direct mail spending will drop 39% during the next five years from $49.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion in 2013, according to a study released yesterday by media research and consulting firm Borrell Associates.

"Direct mail has begun spiraling into what we believe is a precipitous decline from which it will never fully recover," the study said.

Not surprisingly, the study predicts e-mail will pick up some of the slack.

According to Borrell, marketers last year spent $12.1 billion on e-mail, more than they spent on either display/banner advertising or search.

"We're predicting that e-mail will continue to distance itself from other online advertising formats over the next five years, growing to $15.7 billion and remaining the preferred channel among many marketers," the study said.

Most of the growth in e-mail marketing will be local as businesses begin to abandon direct-mail couponing and promotional offers in favor of more cost effective e-mail, the study said.

The study continued: "All signs point to the demise of direct mail. And when a local business owner looks for other ways to spend that $5,000 to $20,000 per year that doesn't seem to work in direct mail, targeted e-mail with online promotions and couponing seems the perfect fit at the right price point."

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/p7mcca