You picture millennials—those folks between 18 and 34—being physically attached to their phones. Some of this generation has never known a time where the Internet didn’t exist, and they’ve grown up with an all-powerful mini-computer capable of connecting them to the world 24/7 in their back pockets.
This isn’t a bad thing. In some ways, they’re lucky. They’ve never had to stop at a payphone in the rain or try to wrangle a paper map while driving the car. They haven’t had to physically look up movie times in the newspaper. Information has always just been there, along with advertising.
On a yearly basis, the millennial generation comes to the table with $200 billion in spending power, making them a much-coveted audience. And since they appear to be online 24/7, digital marketing has seemed like the obvious and most logical way to get their attention. Go where they go. Meet them where they’re comfortable.
But, no. That’s actually not the case at all. Millennials are NOT fans of digital marketing. They spend loads of time online socializing and perusing information relevant to their needs, but they don’t like to be interrupted by a business. In fact, most millennials have an ad blocker on their mobile or desktop or tablet—or all three, automatically blocking pop-ups, banners, videos, and text.
Part of this is to protect their devices from malware, but it’s also because the millennials find digital direct marketing annoying. They simply block it out. Like a pesky gnat buzzing in their ear. This includes emails, too. Millennials are unlikely to open unsolicited email that finds itself in their inbox.
Block, delete, block, delete, repeat.
So what does interest millennials? Interestingly enough, it’s the old-fashioned direct mail landing in their mailbox out by the curb that millennials pay attention to. Of all things! Turns out millennials have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the Internet, and rightly so—computer viruses, fake news, information overload.
Direct mail offers none of those pitfalls. Millennials see print as more trustworthy, as having more authority. Maybe that’s because when a company decides to communicate through print, they are investing time and money to do so. Regardless, millennials take that physical, touchable mailer out of the box and connect with it. There’s no racket around it. There’s no rush. There’s no interruption. It’s all on their time.
If you’re looking to connect with one of the biggest audience’s out there, consider adding direct mail to your strategy. Because they dig it.
