Trade Talk: Direct mail a direct line to Hispanics

A study from Baltimore-based Vertis Communications shows that of the Hispanic adults surveyed who read direct mail, 64 percent say they responded to direct mail advertising in the past 30 days, compared to just 46 percent of the general U.S. population.

The study, Customer Focus OPINIONES, also found that 72 percent of U.S. Hispanic adults surveyed who speak English at home read direct mail advertising, compared to 69 percent who speak only Spanish at home and 58 percent who speak Spanish inside and out of the home. “We are finding that while more Hispanics are reading direct mail advertising than non-Hispanics, a majority of these readers are primary English speakers, even when at home with their families,” said Jim Litwin, vice president of market insights at Vertis Communications, in a press release. “However, findings also reveal that direct mail response rates are higher among those who primarily speak Spanish inside the home, indicating the need for marketers to continue creating bilingual marketing pieces. U.S. direct mail is predominantly English, so when Hispanics do see bilingual pieces in their mailboxes that speak their language, the urge to respond is significantly higher.”

Looking across direct mail response rates, the findings revealed that 70 percent of Hispanic adults who speak only Spanish at home have responded to direct mail advertising in the past 30 days, while 60 percent of Hispanics who speak English at home have responded. Further, of the total Hispanic adults who have responded to direct mail items in the past month, 31 percent have done so by visiting the sender’s Web site, while 27 percent visited the nearest store location and 15 percent called an 800 number listed on the mailing.

The study, which surveyed 500 Hispanic adults via telephone in August/September 2006, also revealed the following, as taken from Vertis press materials:

• Hispanic adults are more likely to make purchases through direct mail: 75 percent of Hispanic adults living in the United States have made a purchase through direct mail, compared to 62 percent of the non-Hispanic U.S. population. Findings also show that of the 75 percent of Hispanics who have made direct mail purchases, 14 percent first learned about the offering from television, compared to 9 percent of non-Hispanic adults.

Additionally, 19 percent of Spanish-speaking Hispanics who’ve purchased through direct mail first learned of the offering via television, compared to 11 percent of at-home English-speaking Hispanics.

• Interests in direct mail vary by Hispanic country of origin, but retail direct mail is popular throughout. Of all Hispanic adults surveyed who read direct mail, 48 percent of non-Mexican Hispanics indicated they read direct mail regarding books, clubs or music, compared to 39 percent of those surveyed with Mexican heritage who indicated they read similar direct mail items.

While 29 percent of non-Mexican Hispanics surveyed read direct mail advertising for financial services or institutions, just 20 percent of people with Mexican heritage indicated they read this type of financial direct mail. Additionally, 20 percent of non-Mexican Hispanics read direct mail items from telecommunications companies, compared to 10 percent of Mexicans.

And while readership for other forms of direct mail varies, retail direct mail remains popular throughout, with 69 percent of Mexicans and 70 percent of non-Mexican Hispanics surveyed indicating they read retail direct mail.

• The offer of a gift with purchase is a strong incentive. Of the Hispanic adults surveyed who read retail direct mail, 43 percent indicated they’ve responded to direct mail advertisements that offer a gift with purchase, compared to just 31 percent of the non-Hispanic population.

Mexican retail direct mail readers seem to be less responsive to discounts off one single item, as 50 percent indicate they have responded to direct mail items offering this incentive, compared to 65 percent of non-Mexican Hispanics who have responded to a similar direct mail offer. However, non-Mexican Hispanics surveyed who read retail direct mail seem more responsive to coupons, with 69 percent indicating they’ve responded to coupon direct mail offers, as opposed to 56 percent of Mexicans surveyed.