The Human Touch: How Mail is Engaging New Audiences
In an increasingly digital world, is there still a seat at the table for print and direct mail?
According to the people I met at the recent National Postal Forum (NPF), the answer is yes! And I heard plenty of success stories to prove it.
This year’s NPF in Nashville had the highest attendance in 15 years, with more than 5,000 attendees. The biggest themes were improved engagement with mail, tactile experiences and leveraging artificial intelligence to improve logistics and ROI. People came to learn and find new solutions, services, and products for mail and shipping. First-time exhibitors included companies providing logistics services and robotics for moving mail. There was a shared excitement about the future of mail and shipping. Big themes at the NPF were improved engagement with mail, tactile experiences, and leveraging AI to improve logistics and ROI.
In an increasingly digital world, attendees, speakers and exhibitors shared direct mail success stories and ROI results far exceeding those of digital communication channels. Direct mail enables tactile and sensory experiences that digital channels can't replicate. NPF conference sessions and exhibitors highlighted mail's unique ability to engage younger audiences through sensory enhancements and personalized experiences. Physical mail provides a break from digital screens, offering a personal and physical experience. Research indicates receiving mail feels special and noteworthy compared to digital channels.
Changing Perceptions
Contrary to assumptions, younger demographics are showing increased responsiveness to physical mail. SG360°, a large direct marketing service provider, previewed results of their soon-to-be published report, The Future of Direct Mail 2025. Research shows consumers love mail. And 18–34-year-olds have the highest engagement with direct mail, 31% more than GenXers and Baby Boomers.
The research demonstrates direct mail also provides a 10% higher conversion rate (CVR) than any other channel. 88% of marketers responding to the survey reported that the lifetime value of customers (LTV) is highest from direct mail compared to acquisition methods in digital channels.
Psychology Leads to Direct Mail ROI
There were many sessions demonstrating the power and ROI results of direct mail. Lloyd Bashkin and Lisa Formica presented a session on the psychology behind successful direct mail campaigns. They provided examples of brand perceptions, innovation, and how our brains make thousands of sub-conscious decisions in 2–3 seconds. The psychology of brand association proved how enhanced visual design and messaging produced dramatic increases in response rates and conversions. These strategies have enabled prestigious brands to break through the noise and forge lasting connections with consumers. The speakers shared success stories of brands across multiple vertical markets leveraging the psychology of authority, social acceptance, repetition, and scarcity to produce outstanding direct marketing results.
Tactile and Sensory Engagement
The USPS Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive Promotion (TSI) encourages marketers to incorporate sensory and interactive elements into mailpieces to enhance customer engagement and receive a 4% postage discount. The TSI promotion includes the use of specialty papers and substrates like soft-touch or textured stocks; special inks and coatings such as scented varnishes or thermochromic inks. And interactive elements including pop-ups, dimensional features, QR codes and Augmented Reality (AR) linking to digital experiences.
Mailpieces with sensory elements have shown higher open, response, and conversion rates, plus increased brand engagement and brand recall. QR codes provide trackable engagement metrics and seamless transition from physical to digital channels. AR enables personalized interactive experiences via smartphones. While QR codes and AR technologies have been available for many years, the TSI promotion is driving increased adoption among brands and products across many sectors.
What Do You Smell?
Scent marketing has increased dramatically for product categories that do not include fragrance. With the opportunity to save 4% in postage, brands from the financial services, luxury retail, cars, real estate, travel and hospitality markets have added scents to their direct mail packages to create immersive experiences while driving increased ROI for their campaigns.
For many years, mail and promotions have included scratch and sniff scent applications for products that included fragrance as part of the product formulation. Scentisphere a first-time NPF exhibitor, is a leader in scented printing technologies and printable scent coatings. At their booth, and at booths of their customers, they showcased examples of successful case studies with their Rub’nSmell®, Scent-A-Peel® postcards and labels and Scent-A-Coat® technologies for envelopes and package inserts.
Scents evoke memories and feelings which strengthen the bond between brand and consumer. Success stories include a global credit card brand which executed a Rub’nSmell® direct mail acquisition campaign to prospective consumers. By integrating a clean fresh air fragrance and branded scent, response rates were 47% higher than identical unscented mailers. With these dramatic results, the brand has committed to ongoing programs with scented mailers. Other success stories include hotels sending ocean-scented postcards to entice bookings and retail stores using product-scented mailers to drive in-store visits. Research demonstrates that readership of advertising copy increased 136% when a scent is included on printed materials.
Use of AI will expand in many areas of our lives and work. Humans desire and remember sensory engagement that we see, hear, touch, feel, and smell. Direct mail with digital channels is driving new levels of customer experience. Plan to attend the next NPF May 3–6, 2026, in Phoenix, Ariz.