We now have a JIC for mail

Joining the likes of BARB, RAJAR and PAMCo, the first ever Joint Industry Currency (JIC) for mail has launched today.

JICMAIL will measure the readership, reach and frequency of exposure to each item that comes through the letterbox, with metrics similar to what is captured for TV, radio, outdoor and press.

The audience data is captured using a diary that follows each piece of mail for four weeks in a nationally representative sample of 1,000 households per quarter across the UK.

JICMAIL has already revealed that 57% of all items are opened immediately by consumers, and that 21% of addressed mail goes on to create commercial actions, such as prompting a purchase, visiting a website or going to a physical store.
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The media industry created the Joint Industry Currencies to provide audience numbers and trading metrics for each advertising medium. They are owned and developed by advertisers, agencies and media owners who all work in collaboration to deliver one, credible and objective trading currency for each medium.

Some of the most well-known JICs are BARB (TV), RAJAR (radio) and PAMCO (published media).

As well as creating the standard metrics that serve as the bedrock for evaluating and trading advertising media, JICs also provide critical inputs that enable advertisers and their agencies to understand the effectiveness of cross-media marketing campaigns.

Crucially, how JICs are built and how they work is open to scrutiny – they are transparent in what they do. [/textbox]
Other findings show that the average reach for a piece of addressed mail is 1.2, meaning that for every 100 people receiving a mail pack it is shared with another 20.

“Traditionally, direct mail has been measured on ‘after-the-event’ impacts like ROI, but these new metrics will provide insight at the all-important planning stage, enabling it to go head-to-head with other media when budgets are being allocated,” said Chris Combemale, chair of the JICMAIL board and CEO of the DMA Group.

“Clients are increasingly demanding accountability for every penny they invest and in 2018 planners will finally be able to compare directly between mail and other media channels. The fact that this is a cross-industry initiative highlights the importance of the JICMAIL research and continued influence of the channel.”

Mike Colling, member of the JICMAIL Board, IPA member and founder and CEO MC&C added: “What JICMAIL does, for the first time, is normalise mail to bring it in-line with every other major channel.

“It gives us exactly the same data across these channels, allowing marketers to compare apples to apples when it comes to their media planning. Moving mail from being a special case being dealt with in a silo and put it in the hands of the media planners and buyers.”

The JICMAIL board is made up of representatives from key industry bodies and businesses, including the DMA, IPA, ISBA, Royal Mail and Whistl, which means it represents both the advertisers who use mail and the industry that supplies the channels.

Quarterly reports will be issued on the JICMAIL website.

Mediatel Connected subscribers also have access to direct mail here.