Digital marketing budgets dominate. Emails flood inboxes. In this noisy landscape, the concept of a “Super Touchpoint” has become critical for cutting through the clutter.
JICMAIL’s groundbreaking 2025 report reveals something surprising. Print mail isn’t just surviving in our digital-first era: it’s thriving as one of the most powerful channels for building meaningful customer connections.
What Makes a Super Touchpoint?
A super touchpoint does something special. It merges smart audience planning with creative insight. The result? Better outcomes for consumers and brands alike.
It creates deeper emotional connections. It delivers experiences that grab attention. It gives advertisers a platform for storytelling. And it inspires people to start conversations.
Any channel can be a Super Touchpoint. But it must tick three boxes. It needs proper measurement tools. It must create genuine customer insights. And it should drive impact at all stages of the purchase cycle.
Here’s what the research reveals. Mail doesn’t just qualify as a Super Touchpoint. It excels at it.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Mail Gets Real Attention
Mail commands 108 seconds of attention on average. That dwarfs the under-2-second attention spans for most social display advertising. This isn’t brief exposure, it’s meaningful engagement that creates lasting impressions.
Mail delivers exceptional value too. Direct Mail delivers exceptional value at £0.11 cost per minute of attention, Business Mail at £0.12, and Door Drops at just £0.07. Compare that to social display at £0.31 or desktop display at £0.15!
Younger Generations Love Physical Mail
Here’s a shocker. 65% of 18-24 year olds are likely to give mail their full attention, compared to 35% who said the same about email. This generation grew up digital. Yet they’re actively seeking the authentic experience that physical mail provides.
Response Rates Tell the Real Story
Direct mail gets a 9% response rate. Email manages just 1%. Social media? A mere 0.6%. This highlights that campaign results aren’t just about mass reach. You need meaningful connections that drive action.
The latest JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker data from 2025 shows this trend continuing, with Cold Direct Mail response rates and Door Drop campaign ROI increasing in 2024. Mail is becoming more effective, not less.
Mail Sticks Around
Mail has serious staying power. 60% of people say mail keeps brands fresh in their minds. 39% of households have a designated area to store and display mail.
People spend 2-3 minutes reading mail compared to just 15-20 seconds on email. That difference translates into deeper brand engagement and stronger recall.
Mail’s Three Super Powers
1. Grabbing Consumer Attention
Direct Mail has a 96% engagement rate. Door Drops achieve 80%. That’s impressive by any standard.
Here’s the clincher. 99% of mail gets read alone. Only 1% gets read while watching TV or listening to radio. Recipients give mail their undivided focus.
Mail is also the most trusted media among 18-34 year olds. That’s crucial credibility in an era of online scepticism.
2. Building Customer Relationships
The data shows clear differences between warm and cold communications. Addressed mail gets 45% more interactions than unaddressed mail. It stays in homes for 8 days on average.
For customer retention, 12% of warm direct mail drives a website visit. Warm mail is twice as likely to drive store footfall compared to cold mail.
The ROI is compelling. Warm retail direct mail has a 3.5% response rate and £7.20 ROI.
3. Starting Conversations
Mail’s reach extends beyond the first recipient. The average warm direct mail piece engages 1.13 people per household. That’s natural amplification.
19% of business mail prompts discussions about the contents. 17% of warm direct mail does the same. Mail that gets discussed is 71% more likely to prompt purchases.
Mail Enhances Digital
Mail doesn’t compete with digital channels. It enhances them. People primed by mail spend 30% longer looking at social ads. Adding mail to the marketing mix boosts ROI by 12%.
Direct mail has a 90% open rate. That makes it invaluable for creating personal connections in a crowded digital world. Integrating mail enables you to create a more complete and effective marketing ecosystem.
The Business Case for Mail in Your Marketing Mix
Today’s print marketing has evolved; it’s not about mass mailings. Data profiling creates campaigns that truly resonate.
- Personalised mail is 30% more likely to be opened than generic mail
- Personalising mail can increase response rates by 135%
Meanwhile, triggered mail achieves one-to-one conversations at scale. Specific events trigger perfectly timed communications. Online interactions, purchases, or subscription renewals can all trigger relevant mail.
When customers receive mail that speaks directly to them, addressing their specific pain points and offering tailored solutions, they feel seen and valued.
Mail works for businesses of all sizes. It’s not just for large players. In fact, rich geo-targeting makes it ideal for local advertisers. Door Drop effectiveness for local tradespeople has been rising for two years.
The evidence is overwhelming: Mail effectiveness isn’t just the preserve of the largest players in the market. Its rich geo-targeting capabilities make it the ideal solution for local advertisers. The data shows the effectiveness of Door Drops driving business for local tradespeople has been rising for two years. Plus, JICMAIL found that the number of advertisers using mail grew 9% quarter-on-quarter in early 2024.
The JICMAIL Framework
JICMAIL provides tools to evaluate channels using STEP ratings – that’s Super Touchpoints Evaluation Points. Planners can adapt this approach to their specific needs.
JICMAIL has used this opportunity to take a fresh look at data compiled from eight years of mail measurement on its panel of 1,100 UK households. They combined this with campaign benchmarks from its Response Rate Tracker and Nielsen circulation data: the case for mail as a Super Touchpoint becomes undeniable.
The “Mail: The Super Touchpoint” report from JICMAIL builds out the channel’s credentials as a highly measurable and transparent channel for marketers. Working with print partners such as KPM, advertisers can test different creative versions and get data on reach, frequency, lifespan, attention and commercial impact.
Time to Act
Employing a robust marketing mix in 2025 centres on value exchange. Every contact with audiences must deliver genuine value. It’s critical to identify touchpoints that deliver disproportionate effect.
The data is clear. Mail isn’t just surviving in our digital world; it’s thriving as a Super Touchpoint. It creates attention, builds relationships, and drives conversations in ways digital channels simply cannot match.
For marketers ready to move beyond purely digital strategies, mail offers a proven path. It cuts through noise and creates meaningful customer connections that drive long-term business growth. The question isn’t whether you can afford to include mail in your marketing mix. It’s whether you can afford to keep ignoring one of the most effective Super Touchpoints available.
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