Who am I to write about programmatic direct mail & Gen Z?
I’m Mostafa Ahmed, Business Management student at Cass Business School and the newest intern for Paperplanes. I was looking for an internship during summer to get some work experience and came across Paperplanes. I was attracted by Paperplanes as it’s a vibrant start-up and it’s the only provider of programmatic direct mail in the UK, Which means that the possibilities for growth are vast. If you haven’t already guessed, since I’m a university student during this strange and uncertain time I definitely represent Gen Z.
What do I think about programmatic direct mail as Gen Z?
To begin with, programmatic direct mail is sending direct mail to your anonymous online visitors after they have reached specific triggers or behaviours. For example, you browse a website and put some items in your basket but never check out. You will eventually get direct mail incentivizing you to complete the check-out process or maybe even suggesting some items that you might be interested in. I think this is a unique way of marketing. Considering the fact that nearly every business is using digital and social media marketing, flooding you with emails and your social media feed with advertisements to a point it can be considered as spam. Not to forget to mention that, you end up ignoring most of these advertisements if not all of them for many reasons.
The 2 main reasons usually being either you saw the ad too many times or the ad is just not relevant to you. When it comes to programmatic direct mail, it overcomes these 2 main issues. The content is usually sent out once a month or once every few months so it isn’t repetitive, and the content you receive in your post mail is specifically tailored towards you. This makes me believe that programmatic direct mail is the way for improved and higher personalization of content.
Is programmatic direct mail creepy?
The first thing that popped up in my head when I read about the services that Paperplanes provide is that, isn’t it a bit creepy to browse for something online and then a couple of days later find content about it in your mailbox?. Well, it might sound creepy at first thought, but thinking about it again, isn’t it nice to get personalised tangible content for yourself? And then potentially even attached with a promo code or discount offer so you can save money on items you want to buy. You might even receive a nice birthday card on your birthday with an offer made only for you.
At the end of the day, I’m confident that programmatic direct mail can disrupt the advertising and marketing industry and that it will be easy for Gen Z to accept it as a form of communication. I am confident that Paperplanes can achieve this as the content they send for clients is highly relevant and personalised around how I interact as a customer. Their technology enables brands to understand me as a customer which eliminates any needless waste and makes it much more.
Ready to talk personalised direct mail?
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