Survey Finds E-mail Best at Driving Shoppers

Marketing messages received via e-mail are most likely to get us to shop, according to a new survey from ExactTarget. Some 66% of respondents said they'd made purchases as a result of ads or offers received through e-mail. Of course, direct mail was right on the heels of e-mail, with 65% saying they'd purchased thanks to a direct-mail message. But the trailing media in the race for shoppers may be more surprising. Only 24% cited telemarketing, and just 20% gave credit to Facebook, even though ExactTarget counted friend or family recommendations on offers as "marketing messages." For more on the study, see http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-04-04/news/31286188_1_web-friend-social-media-direct-mail

Immediate-Annuity Direct Mail Spikes

A wave of aging Baby Boomers is heading for the retirement income harbor, and direct mail is riding the crest by touting single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs). Sales of SPIAs, which guarantee buyers an income stream for the rest of their lives based on a single upfront payment, hit all-time highs in 2011. Correspondingly, direct-mail volume for SPIAs was 18% higher in 2011 than in 2010, reports Mintel Comperemedia. Direct-mail marketing of SPIAs clearly has taken off compared with deferred counterparts and comprised 75% of all annuity acquisition direct mail to consumers in 2011, up from 62% in 2007. Although most annuities are still sold by agents, some carriers are even seizing the opportunity to go direct to consumers with SPIA direct mail. For Mintel's report, see
http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/press-releases/848/single-premium-immediate-annuity-direct-mail-volume-18-percent-higher-in-2011-than-2010