Flyers effective but not favoured, expert concludes

Russell Parsons of Marketing Week has highlighted a potential discrepancy in recent research concerning direct marketing.

Direct marketing using flyers and other promotional materials is effective, but not necessarily liked by consumers.

This is the view of Marketing Week writer Russell Parsons, who has analysed some findings from the Marketing Channel Trends report recently conducted by the British Population Survey.

The study contained some potentially contradictory data, he stated, as it showed seven per cent of respondents saw direct mail as the most effective form of marketing - greater than television, internet and radio, which all received four per cent of votes.

However, the same study also showed 25 per cent of people think it is acceptable for businesses to use direct marketing methods, with television, radio, newspapers and magazines all deemed more acceptable.

"The message for marketers seems to be - direct mail works but don't expect consumers to like it," Mr Parsons observed.

Mark Thomson of the Royal Mail recently told the news source flyers are highly effective as they can get the full attention of a recipient.