After conducting a neuromarketing study, True Impact Marketing, a leading neuromarketing research and strategy firm, has concluded: "digital media provides essential platforms for interaction. But all interaction has an end game: action. This hasn't changed. And this neuromarketing study proved that digital under-delivers on this front. "Direct mail, on the other hand, taps into deep-seated neurological processes that trigger action. It also offers the creative versatility to amplify action by appealing to senses beyond touch. It is better suited to close [sic] the marketing-sales loop, or the gap between interaction and action."

Here are some of the results:

• Direct mail is easier to understand and more memorable than digital media.
• Direct mail is far more persuasive than digital media.
• Direct mail is visually processed quicker than digital media.
• Direct mail is more likely to drive behaviour than digital media.

According to A Bias for Action: The neuroscience behind the response-driving power of direct mail, Canada Post, February 2015.

There are three essential elements that can drive response. Used together, they can evoke a powerful human reaction. Canada Post Smartmail Marketing™ brings together these three powerful elements to get your brand directly into a customer's hands: physicality, data and connectivity. It's a potent mixture that makes marketing more relevant and more engaging. These elements combine to inspire customers to act, allowing marketing campaigns to drive more measurable responses for every dollar of your budget.

PHYSICALITY: Physicality is just one element in Smartmail Marketing™ that brings the human factor to your message, whether in traditional formats or breakthrough pieces. It's not just intuitive that you can make more of an impression by activating multiple senses. Studies show direct mail is more easily understood than other channels. It's more tactile than digital messaging, and recent neuromarketing research confirms that a 20% higher response rate is generated by direct mail.

DATA: By combining data mining with predictive analytics, you can reach the people who matter the most to your business. Data enables you to intelligently target the right customers based on geography, demographics, or psychographics. You can then tailor your message to them, making your brand more relevant and more likely to make a connection with your customer - one that results in action. Harness the information you already have, or access the vast consumer and business database available through Canada Post - the largest single source of its kind in Canada.

CONNECTIVITY: Seamlessly increase the success potential of your overall marketing mix by adding the truly connective qualities of direct mail. With Smartmail Marketing, your message integrates flawlessly with all media because it pinpoints high-potential consumers, and it naturally directs them to the response they feel most comfortable with. This is the single connective element that amplifies a brand's overall message.

Direct mail drives traffic 71% of Canadians share the direct mail they read. But regardless of age, consumers are most likely to share catalogues, coupons and samples. 33% save the mail they read. This number rises for recognized brands. 42% of consumers save mail they'd read from local businesses and 35% save mail they'd read from known national businesses. 67% of Canadians read direct mail. Catalogues are popular and help drive sales. 69% of Canadians read catalogues and 40% hold onto them for a month or longer, keeping them on side tables, bedside stands, or other convenient places. 85% open mail that looks interesting. When you present an engaging, relevant message, your brand is more likely to get the attention of your customer. Interesting mail gets people to open it up for a closer look. 25% of all print catalogues received in the last six months triggered a website visit.