The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has released a fact sheet on advertising mail, linked to the Panorama show ‘Why hate junk mail?’ that aired last night.

In the fact sheet, the DMA draw a difference between ‘junk mail’ – untargeted mail delivered to everyone, and ‘advertising mail’ - targeted advertising for current customers.

Figures show that advertising mail is the only kind that many businesses can afford – TV, radio and billboard ads all cost much more than a leaflet.

While it is true that some view advertising mail as a pain, there are a large number of people who do read and buy things from advertising mail, either using coupons or ordering something from a catalogue.  75% of consumers like receiving vouchers or special offers through the mail, according to BMRB research.

The figures show that advertising mail generates £16billion in sales, and that according to Mail Media Centre, 17.7million people bought something from an advertising catalogue in the past 12 months.