Unaddressed mail and direct response

Delivery of unaddressed items through letterboxes ("direct mail without the stamp") takes place in large numbers throughout Canada, the USA and EU. Deliveries are either made via the postal service, independent delivery companies or local newspaper publishers.

It is a lower-cost alternative to direct mail and therefore can produce a lower cost per response for the advertiser. It can be used as part of a mixed media campaign, e.g. with TV or Radio.

A recent study in the UK by CACI found that "Door Drops" generated the highest purchasing results when compared to Direct Mail, Phone and Email. (10.8% Unaddressed, 8.9% Direct Mail, 8.3% Email, 3.5% Phone - for single purchases). Even for repeat purchases it was level at 12.9% with Email.

20% of Canada Post employee incomes are paid with unaddressed admail revenue. Corporate strategies have shifted to compensate for new technologies retrofitting declining Lettermail volumes. Canadian law gives its citizens "Consumers Choice" for receiving Unaddressed Admail, however, politically hued and community based leaflets are mandatorily delivered. Unaddressed Admail is commonly seen by many Canadians as a nuissance.

Attrition for delivery by Canada Post employess, as of fall 2006, typically hovers at 50-75%. The corporations' method of tracing and monitoring "Admail desiring households" relies on very old and poor technology. Businesses printing "flyers" are subjected to largely unfair costs to recieve up-to-date customer counts.

This often results in over-printing (costing small business's money) and environmental concerns. Needless paper, inks, plastics, printing press machinery and shipping procedures are unaccounted for in the Canada Post environmental game plan. Stickers are typically found bolstering eco-friendly slogans on the fronts of mailboxes and panel slots to indicate Admail refusal.

These are commonly printed and distributed by environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and many others. Finally, some consider Unaddressed Admail a form of psychological pollution. It has been thought to be a key element in growing depression rates of consumer affluent societies.