Retail brands flood our inboxes and social media feeds every November and December with a blizzard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions. But while retail may be the star of the holiday season, it isn't the only industry that ramps up its outreach toward the end of the year. Whether you're a financial institution preparing for tax season, a healthcare or insurance provider deep in open enrollment, or a car dealer advertising end-of-year deals, wrapping up the calendar year means crunch time.
All that extra activity puts added pressure on organizations to be strategic about how they reach their audiences online and in person. Successful brands are stepping up with personalized, omnichannel strategies that include direct mail to connect with customers on a deeper level – and become unforgettable without over-sending.
At Lob, we get an inside look at how businesses use direct mail to make their marketing stand out – especially during the busiest times of the year. Here are some of the trends we’re seeing and what they mean for engaging your audience when it matters most.
Take a glance at your inbox or browse the web, and it’s clear: organizations are sending more holiday season messages than ever before. However, the most successful brands aren’t just blasting digital promotions; they’re communicating across channels.
The numbers back it up. According to the cloud-based communications platform Twilio Sendgrid, email volume was up 13.5% year over year during Black Friday. But even as buyer activity becomes increasingly digital, holiday season direct mail has continued to grow. 2024 saw major growth, increasing 13% for all industries from 2023 according to our data, in line with increases seen in email.
If the trend continues in 2025, marketing volumes will increase across the board. That means more noise and more nuance and sophistication needed to capture consumer attention. The winners in this crowded landscape will need to move even further from the batch-and-blast or single campaigns of old to dynamic, data-informed campaigns that reach customers across the full variety of channels they frequent.
To maximize success, brands should integrate tools like Lob with the rest of their marketing stack to fully leverage customer data and create seamless, personalized experiences. By automating direct mail alongside digital campaigns, businesses can ensure timely, data-driven outreach that enhances engagement and strengthens customer relationships. This integration allows for more precise targeting, better tracking of campaign performance, and a more cohesive customer journey across all touchpoints.
Just as brands have evolved their digital marketing strategies to be more personalized and data-driven, direct mail is following suit. In November and December 2024, we saw a significant shift toward customized mail formats designed to better align with consumer behaviors and preferences. Postcards were 7% more popular, while letters were more than 20% more popular year over year and the most popular format overall.
In industries like healthcare and insurance that rely on building personal, one-to-one (and compliant) connections, letters were even more popular over the holidays, growing 71% and 74% since 2023 respectively. Postcards, which can be easily personalized to share promotions and build brand affinity, experienced seismic growth in real estate and finance, more than doubling for each industry.
To stay ahead in 2025, brands must embrace the power of tailored direct mail formats to make meaningful connections with their audience. Selecting the right mail format based on industry and customer preferences will be critical – letters for personal and compliant communication, postcards for quick, high-impact messages, and self-mailers and booklets for more immersive storytelling. With Lob, any of these formats can be personalized with unique products, copy, and imagery for even more impact.
Consumers are demanding more relevant and personalized experiences, and brands are responding by leveraging data-driven strategies to tailor their outreach. Over the 2024 holiday season, we saw a notable shift toward highly customized direct mail campaigns incorporating individualized offers, location-based messaging, and dynamic content.
Almost 60% of all mail sent through Lob during the Holiday season included advanced personalization through highly customizable HTML templates. That number jumped to 88% in the highly regulated financial services industry and over 83% in the competitive automotive industry. Brands were able to create personalized pieces such as customized postcards featuring a recipient’s name, past purchase history, or targeted regional promotions.
To stay ahead, brands must double down on personalization by harnessing first-party data and automation tools to create hyper-targeted direct mail campaigns. By leveraging AI-driven insights, businesses can craft messaging that resonates with individual consumers, ensuring that every piece of mail delivers value. Integrating direct mail with digital analytics will also be key, enabling brands to track responses in real time and optimize future campaigns based on performance data.
Ultimately, success in 2025 will hinge on seamlessly blending personalization, automation, and omnichannel strategies – ensuring that direct mail remains a powerful, engaging, and highly relevant marketing tool.
No matter when your busy season falls, ensuring flawless campaign execution during crunch times requires the proper preparation, partners, and tools to maximize your efficiency and results.
Closing out a successful busy season, no matter when that falls for your business and industry, requires more than just executing a great campaign – it’s about learning, adapting, and preparing for the future. As consumer expectations continue to evolve, brands that stay agile and leverage data-driven insights will be the ones that stand out.
Want a head start on your strategy for your next busy season? Check out our webinar, 2025 State of Direct Mail: Winning strategies from high-ROI teams.
