Eighty-six percent of registered voters check their mailboxes at least 5 times per week, according to a newly released joint paper from the United States Postal Service® and the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). But how do Americans interact with their mail as they sort, read and process it?
After an election cycle where political mail volume and spending reached record highs, the Postal Service teamed up with AAPC to find out. Together, we produced a paper on American behaviors and attitudes toward mail and what it means for political campaigns.
Based on listening sessions with AAPC member political consultants, we heard the mail moment is more important than ever: “People are consistently inundated with information in the 24-hour news cycle,” says one Democratic political consultant. “Mail can be really helpful because it is physical and feels real. Voters slow down and will actually look at a piece of mail.”
“Our firm found that targeting with mail is more precise than with any other form of media,” says a Republican political consultant. “It allows you to get hyper-targeted with messages. There can be a lot of waste in radio and TV advertising, the geographic targeting is not as precise as you can be with mail.”
From these discussions with AAPC members and recent surveys on how Americans interact with mail, we identified 5 insights every campaign must know.
To learn more, including how to convert these insights to opportunities, please see the newly released joint paper, “Voters and Mail: Five Insights to Boost Campaign Impact.”
At the Postal Service, we are listening and learning to help you secure the best opportunities for reaching people through mail. If you have an inquiry about direct mail, want to talk to a direct mail coordinator or need help designing a political mailer, please contact us.