All channels have their place, says Trish Dominy.

List managers and brokers have to be ‘agnostic’ about media channels – which means they can stand back and watch the debate about whether online or offline delivers best results.

 In fact, the term ‘debate’ is probably a bit of an understatement; maybe ‘war’ would be a better description of the fierce rivalry between the ‘old’ world and ‘new media’.

But, sitting firmly on the fence, I would say I have a pretty good view and – in common with some of the most experienced international marketers – I have come to the conclusion that all channels have their place.

The UK’s Royal Mail has recently entered the fray with some interesting commentary about how different channels – specifically email and direct mail – work together. Email is a great way of announcing and spreading the word quickly, but when it comes to presenting a complex offer (especially when there is an immediate financial commitment), paper still works best.

Combining email and the phone can also bring some great results with the impact of two approaches way exceeding a single shot. They used to call this ‘multiplying the media effect’ but the new buzzword is ‘media blending’.
Email ‘teasers’ it’s said, can improve response to direct mail by up to 40 per cent and studies have shown that consumers actually like the multi-channel approach and have a greater propensity to spend more if they receive multiple messages (so long as they are all well timed and properly targeted).
 

Meanwhile, figures from the Adestra Email Marketing Census 2009, show there is a steady swing in email usage towards  retention with other channels being used for initial prospecting (including search and online).
 

Response analysis
Of course, one of the challenges of media-blending is the complex response analysis which is needed to sort out exactly what is working for the brand. Many direct marketers I speak to struggle to get this right.
This can, of course, mean that the impact of one channel over another is distorted.
 

But, if a media-blended world is your idea of prospecting nirvana, you do have another challenge ahead; many data sources can only give you one-dimensional access to the consumer or business prospect you are looking for and this is particularly true   of international data sources.
Those multi-channel databases that do exist are goldmines and many of the data owners are now offering lease prices which include contact details for all channels on a multi-use basis.
My advice would be to seek out a combined source and play the media field until you find your optimum blend.

Trish Dominy is list manager at RSA Direct – the UK partner within the Lists4Europe network. Email: trish.dominy@rsadirect.com