Life After Online Cookies

As the online advertising industry scrambles to adjust to the reality that Google will soon end its support for third-party cookies, direct mail marketers are ready to fill the gap. Why? Because as digital marketers lose visibility into consumers’ online behavior, direct mail marketers are positioned to offer personalization without it. What’s their secret? They use different data types that have benefits over online cookies to deliver personalized messages. 

Let’s look at four of those advantages: 

1. Verification and accuracy of data. The data used for print marketing is sourced from verified and reliable databases, including opt-in processes, customer surveys, and direct interactions with customers. This often provides more reliable, predictable insights than online tracking, which can tell you only where someone goes online, not why or what this behavior means. 

2. Insight beyond behavioral tracking. Online cookies track user behavior across multiple websites, providing insights for personalized marketing. However, the benefits of this approach can be limited by the fragmented nature of online browsing and the increasing prevalence of ad-blockers and privacy-conscious user behaviors. In contrast, personalized print leverages demographic, transactional, and preference data to comprehensively understand customers and their needs.

3. Enhanced privacy and trust. Privacy concerns surrounding online cookies have grown in recent years. Users are becoming more cautious about online privacy and increasingly blocking or deleting cookies. Businesses can respect privacy while delivering tailored messages by utilizing offline data sources and direct customer interactions. 

4. Physical tangibility and memorability. Personalized mailers, brochures, and other print materials offer tangible and memorable experiences allowing deeper connections and engagement. Unlike online ads that can be easily dismissed or forgotten, print marketing pieces can be kept, revisited, and shared with others. This longevity helps to reinforce brand messages and maintain a lasting presence in customers’ minds.

Personalized print marketing allows businesses to target their desired audience precisely and deliver tailored messages to specific customer segments using verified reliable data. This will enable companies to ensure that their messages reach the right people at the right time, leading to high response and conversion rates—no cookies required!