Presentaion

1
Lifting the lid on communication channels in the
Digital Age the real story.
2
A completely new way of looking at mail

• New independent research reveals how to reach
  customers and influence them to consider a
  purchase, and to actually purchase.
• Produces insights into which communication
  channels are actually most effective.
• Debunks a common view that email and SMS might
  work better than old hat paper-based
  communications
• Personally addressed, paper-based communications
  by mail remains among the most effective tools
  available to reach and influence customers and
  the outcomes business wants.

3
Research Methodology

• Qualitative
• 32 in-depth interviews with senders of
  communications
• 8 focus groups with personal and business
  communication receivers

• Quantitative
• 1,550 computer-aided telephone (CATI) interviews
• Australia wide
• 4 respondent groups
• personal receivers
• business receivers
• senders to personal
• senders to business

4
Media Channels Studied

• We included 11 key media channels in the research
  that represent most marketing communication
  activity and spending in Australia

5
Channel Attributes
Communication channels were compared on the basis
of the following attributes

• Appropriate
• Objectionable
• Annoying
• Time consuming

• Difficult to ignore
• Disruptive

• Convenient
• Acceptable
• Entertaining
• Reliable

• Easy to reject
• Enjoyable
• Trustworthy
• Informative

6
Two Perspectives

• Spoke with both Receivers and Senders of
  Marketing Communications
• Consumer segment
• Business segment
• Are there mismatches between what receivers
  prefer and what senders think receivers might
  prefer?

7
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and
Their Attributes Receivers in the Consumer
Segment

• easy to reject

8
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and
Their Attributes - Senders in the Consumer Segment

• easy to reject

9
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and
Their Attributes - Business Receivers
10
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and
Their Attributes - Business Senders
11
Part Two A Designed Experiment

• Why - to assess the relative effectiveness of
  media channels for
• Promotional offers
• Transactional communications
• How - created two credible hypothetical sales
  propositions, both of which might reasonably be
  promoted through any or all eleven media under
  consideration
• Who
• Current customer (25)
• Current non-customer (75)

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Designed Experiment Consumer Scenarios

• Scenario 1 Superannuation Promotion (50)
• Scenario 2 TV Product Information (50)
• Scenario 3 Mobile Phone Bill (100)

13
Designed Experiment (cont)

• Scenario 1 Superannuation Promotion (50)
• Imagine that a superannuation provider wants to
  communicate to you a promotion where new members
  of a particular fund are charged no fees for the
  first 12 months. Over the last ten years, the
  fund has returned an average of 7.5 per annum.
• Scenario 2 TV Product Information (50)
• Imagine that a department store wants to
  communicate to you information about a new
  wide-screen plasma TV. The TV is not expensive,
  42 inches (105cm) wide and capable of displaying
  high-definition images.

14
Designed Experiment Business Scenarios

• Scenario 1 Temp Agency Promotion (50)
• Scenario 2 Portable Projector Information (50)
• Scenario 3 Catering Invoice (100)

15
Outcomes for hypothetical scenarios
Attitudes Welcome, Pleasant
Purchase Intention Act on the offer
Interest Consider, Investigate
16
Personal Receivers
Attributes that increase business results when
sending to PERSONAL RECEIVERS
Enjoyable Entertaining Reliable Appropriat
e Not objectionable
Purchase Consider purchase Pay bill on time
17
Purchase Intentions of Receivers and Senders by
Channel Personal Receivers
18
Channel Matrices Personal Receivers

• Channels highlighted in blue are paper-based
  channels

19
Business Receivers
Attributes that increase business results when
sending to BUSINESS RECEIVERS

• Convenient
• Acceptable
• Appropriate
• Not disruptive

Purchase Consider purchase Pay bill on time
20
Purchase Intentions of Receivers and Senders by
Channel - Business Receivers
21
Channel Matrices Business Receivers
Channels highlighted in blue are paper-based
channels
22
Major findings

• It cannot be assumed that a communication channel
  is more effective because it is used more.
• Age is no barrier - regardless of age, mass
  media, personally addressed letters, catalogues /
  brochures and generically addressed letters
  outperform email and SMS.
• Disruption or cut through does not influence
  business outcomes in this study

23
Understanding the Effect of Disruption

• Case Study
• A respondent explained that he had recently
  defected from a mobile service provider to an
  alternate supplier.
• As the end of his mobile phone contract neared,
  the mobile service provider sent him an SMS
  message to encourage contract renewal.
• Sometime later and without a reply, another SMS
  message was sent with a similar message. These
  messages continued intermittently as the contract
  neared its end.
• Despite being a satisfied customer of the
  provider, the respondent decided not to renew his
  contract because he had been annoyed by the SMS
  messages.

24
Senders beliefs of which channels are best for
different communications

25
Effectiveness of Paper

• Paper-based communication
• is the preferred channel for transactional
  communications - far ahead of SMS and email.
• produces very positive outcomes for senders to
  both personal and business receivers, be they
  marketing or transactional communications.
• Payment of a bill on time more likely
• Product / service purchase more likely

Personally / generically addressed letters
outperformed email for all business outcomes
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Summary of Outcomes

• SMS / email
• Lags behind paper via mail on delivering business
  outcomes
• Email unable to match papers reliability,
  trustworthiness, tangibility
• SMS rated unfavourable against paper on all
  dimensions
• Produces lower purchase intentions

• Mass Media
• Performs very well against SMS, email, telephone
• Generally equivalent to paper-based media

• Paper-based via mail
• Performs very well against SMS, email, telephone
• Receiver is in control
• Paper is tangible, trustworthy, reliable
• Delivers superior business results compared with
  digital channels

27
Questions