Yes, I Love Junk Mail! How About You?

It’s funny how direct mail pops up in my life in the most unexpected ways.

Much of my job involves reading through stacks and stacks of it and putting that analysis into our Who’s Mailing What! database. I’ve been doing it for more than a few years now, and I’m used to the reaction I sometimes get when I talk about it.

“Direct mail … you mean, junk mail? Huh.”

I don’t bristle much at the term “junk mail.” Denny Hatch, founder of Who’s Mailing What! has pointed out, “Junk is a very positive word. If you collect antiques, you love junk shops. If you collect old cars, you love junkyards.”

As Newman said on "Seinfeld," “There really is no junk mail.”

True enough.

Junk mail is in the eye of the beholder, right?  What works for you, either as a consumer or marketer, may be good only for the recycling bin for others. I like finding that out.

What gave me pause and sparked this post was a news story about the results of the latest presidential survey by the firm Public Policy Polling (PPP). It was conducted on Aug. 26-28 and questioned 881 likely voters.

Among PPP's findings were that Donald Trump’s unfavorability ratings were higher or lower versus assorted “unpleasant/unpopular” things like mosquitoes, Ryan Lochte, Bubonic Plague, and middle seats on airplanes.

And “junk mail.”

So, it turns out that Trump is viewed more favorably than junk mail 47/43, with 10% as “not sure.” Much of that is heavily skewed by Trump supporters; 92% chose him over mail. On the other hand, 67% of respondents in the 18-29 age group had a higher opinion of junk mail.

Tom Jensen of PPP told me that the mail question was one of many suggestions from social media, and yeah, they’re pretty funny. I get it, I think.

But I do love junk mail.

It's a $50 billion industry that is far from dead. I see a bright future as it becomes more relevant, more programmatic, and more engaging thanks to technology and print. All of that helps many of you marketers and fundraisers be more successful in your work.

So, if you get a lot of junk mail at home, or at work, but you just don’t want to deal any more, you have a couple of choices.

For anyone who’s had enough, take a look at DMAchoice. Our friends at the DMA have a great service that provides flexibility about the types of mail you get.

Or, you can box it up and send it to me.

Seriously.

What's in it for you? I’ll pay for your postage, as well as work out some incentives for your help. Just reach out to me via email.

I’d love to hear from you!