±±¾©Èü³µpk10

If DM channels go through phases, the door-to-door sector is the latest enjoying a period of revival. Less popular a few years ago, door-to-door is bouncing back with a vigour that other sectors can be jealous of. According to the DMA, door-to-door expenditure in 2002-3 rose by £68 million, up to £677 million. This was on top of a rise the year before, which saw a 16 per cent hike compared to spend in 2000. Door drops are now bigger than the inserts channel at 5.5 per cent of DM spend.

And yet while the growth in door drops has been excellent news for all the key distributors there is always a flip side. Paradoxically for clients, many of the benefits from using this medium - minimal competing door drops, intrigue, good solus delivery - are all now starting to come under pressure.

More than nine billion items were distributed in 2001 - about 304 per household. This is up from 6.5 billion in 1997.

According to some, this pressure is becoming evident. Door drops have always had a choice of routes to the doormat - from Royal Mail delivery with the post, 'newshare', which puts door drops in the free newspaper distribution channel or solus by agency deliverers sent to post just that material. Each supposedly has its benefits - Royal Mail for national coverage, newspapers for more immediate distribution, and solus, which fills any holes.

But, according to the latest findings from door drop validation companies Front Door and Step Check, the solidity of these assumptions is being challenged. For the first time, newshare options in 2003 have been qualified as being more reliable in reaching households on target and on time, something which will be seen as a major blow to Royal Mail. According to some, it's symptomatic of growth in a sector that's been too fast for the channel to react to.

Scheduling problems

"We're not in panic-mode, but there are problems creeping in," argues Matthew Tamea, senior analyst at data bureau, Occam. "With Royal Mail, there are already six months between now and February 2005 that are 100 per cent booked. Two are 95 per cent filled and three are at 80 per cent. Only January is below half capacity."

And this isn't quite the whole picture, as the National Letterbox Marketing's managing director, Keith Bradley, explains: "Booked slots aren't really what they seem. They are not really booked at all as you are only given confirmation of the distribution three months before, so time slots have to be taken up that might not be used. The result is that schedules are being missed because other companies book up months that may not then be used."

If this appears complicated Bradley says clients have his sympathy. "We could well become a victim of our own success," he admits. "Especially if there is difference in delivery."

Newshare is one area he cites. The reasons clients try to book Royal Mail is because it guarantees only three deliveries a week and non-competing drops. Growth is coming from newshare but newspapers won't guarantee exclusivity.

With Royal Mail deemed less accurate than newshare, Bradley says newshare needs to adapt and offer non-competing drops too.

"It's frustrating. If we're doing door drops for Netto, I can't ask if there are others from, say, Circular Distributors for other supermarkets. I can't guarantee the responsibility of a campaign."

And yet this is the sticking point. Newshare might have more competing door drops, but it is checked by validation agencies. Royal Mail, says Mark Young, MD of The Leaflet Company, can be a different kettle of fish. "There may be less standout with newshare, but Royal Mail delivery isn't heavily checked. Publishers don't want to lose revenue by not checking if we notice one area hasn't responded - usually a sign the leaflet hasn't gone out. A query will be answered straight away. With Royal Mail it may take longer."

Growing medium

So what does Royal Mail say? Ross Drake, general manager of Royal Mail's door drop function, says he wants to grow the medium, and that one way of looking at this is by "not ruling out" increasing the number of deliveries per week from three to four.

This would have supporters. Newshare is cheaper, but response means it isn't always cost-efficient. "We have a lot of charity clients for whom cost is very important," says Tamea. "Even though it's more expensive, we still advise clients to choose Royal Mail because sending door drops with papers can degrade the message." But the benefit of Royal Mail is that numbers are restricted precisely to keep interest fresh. So, could this be a problem?

"Ultimately, this is a question of whether we are reaching saturation with door drops like we are seeing in mail," argues Nick Wells, managing director of Circular Distributors (CD). It delivers 3 billion items each year, via a variety of routes. "While we can't now guarantee material will arrive on its own, I think that we're a long way from reaching saturation. Eight items per week are sent; in other countries, like the Netherlands, it's more like 25."

What the likes of CD, The Letterbox Company and National Letterbox Marketing are all doing is developing ways to ensure that rising door drop volumes are more scientifically dispersed. "We analyse at the postcode level and are finding real links between penetration rates and method of delivery," argues Mark Young. Last month CD announced integrating the new post-Census MOSAIC classification codes into its segmentation software."

So is the future outlook really so bleak? "I'm critical of the way the distribution works, yet we are so measurable you have to ask whether these routes to the letterbox problems are really such an issue," says Young.

Maybe it's a sign of a burgeoning sector that so many questions are beginning to be asked. Door-to-door is certainly back, but care of how they grow should be the priority.

A look at the way mail is seen and email is heading image-wise are useful reminders of how growth is one thing, but remaining popular is another.

THE LAST LAUGH

Door drops are no laughing matter if they end up in the wrong place. Brought in to organise Bel UK's Laughing Cow Light campaign was Catalyst Marketing, who was charged with handling the distribution of coupons to half a million households. The targeted area was the Midlands, with a 20p-off incentive to try Laughing Cow Light. Catalyst used CD for the door drop. Because the client wanted the door drop to go out straight away at a tight regional level, newshare was the preferred option.