Heard of partially addressed mail and want to know more? Or perhaps you’re looking to target more relevant prospects? Read on to discover all you need to know about partially addressed mail.
What is Partially Addressed Mail?
Partially addressed mail is a GDPR compliant acquisition tool. It is a method of targeting relevant prospects using geo-demographics at postcode level, without the use of customer personal data or the need for buying marketing lists.
It entails sending out an advertising mail product, using only an address and postcode, with absolutely no personal information about the recipient. The mailing is partially addressed to the ‘occupant’, ‘homeowner’ or ‘travel lover’ – or whatever you like and is suitable for your campaign.
No personal data is used when identifying or targeting the receiver. This is done by using sophisticated software that uses geo-demographic profiling to ‘top-up’ current postcodes that have a high proportion of existing customers, on the assumption that the rest of the postcode will also contain good prospects. In addition, the software can also create look-a-likes, whereby it identifies other postcodes with similar characteristics to those of current customers. You, therefore, have the ability to target multiple whole postcodes, with approximately 15 households within each.
Who is Partially Addressed Mail For?
Any business which wants to target and acquire new customers without compromising GDPR is suited to using partially addressed mail within their marketing strategy. From travel companies, dog groomers to insurance providers, as long as you have current customer postcode data then you can carry out a partially addressed mail campaign.
What are the Benefits of Partially Addressed Mail?
There are many benefits of using partially addressed mail in your acquisition marketing strategy. Here’s our top 5:
Increase Brand Awareness
Get your message out to those who may not know about your business. Increase brand awareness by targeting new customers.
Engage Customers
Choosing a relevant title to address your customer e.g. The Holiday Lover, will grab the customer’s attention and engage them. It still feels personal without the use of personal data.
Cost-Effective
With partially addressed mail you can exclude current customers, therefore reducing costs and making it much cheaper than cold mailing. You are also only targeting those who are already more likely to become a customer, based off of your current database.
Highly Targeted
By using top-up and look-a-like targeting you can be incredibly targeted in terms of who is receiving your mailing. You won’t be wasting time or money on those who don’t relate or are the wrong demographic, therefore increasing the chances of your campaign being a success.
GDPR Compliant
Partially addressed mail is completely GDPR compliant because it targets a household rather than an individual.
How Does it Work with GDPR?
As mentioned above, partially addressed mail is completely GDPR compliant because it targets a household (through the address and postcode used) rather than a specific individual. No personal data is used on the mailing or to identify them as a target. However, there are some requirements and actions that need to be taken in order to stay compliant.
What Requirements Have to be Met?
In order to remain GDPR compliant when carrying out a partially addressed mail campaign, there are a few things to consider.
- When using the Postcode Address File for the United Kingdom (PAF) to identify addresses and postcodes, you must eliminate postcodes from your targeting list that only contain a single household and/or those that contain any personal data in terms of house names.
- It is advised to keep an internal document and procedure for suppressing customer and prospect data for people that have opted out of receiving partially addressed mail. This must be updated and adhered to so that no mail is sent to those who opted-out.
- It is advised to use the Mailing Preference Service file to exclude those households that have opted out of wider level mailing rather than at just a company level.
- Add a declaration message to your mailing that assures the recipient that no personal data was used to create the mailing.
Next Steps?
Interesting in using partially addressed mail for your business? Get in touch today to discuss how we can help and support your campaign. From planning, design and strategy to GDPR compliance, data management, printing and postage, we can help from start to finish.
Get a free quote by calling us on 020 8492 5858 or contact us online here.