NEWS: Nielsen and JICMAIL announce release of re-booted mail circulation data

JICMAIL and Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, have brought to market a refreshed mail circulation measurement methodology. This replaces Nielsen’s previous panel-based volume measurement with near-census level data on Direct Mail and Door Drop volumes and ad spend.

Available via Nielsen’s powerful Ad Intel measurement system, the rebooted gold-standard mail circulation data set, endorsed by JICMAIL, takes a direct feed of advertising mail volume data from key-players on the supply-side of the mail industry, while applying a simplified set of rates to calculate spend.

Nielsen’s Ad Intel product is the most comprehensive source of competitive global advertising data available today. The platform enables advertisers, agencies, publishers and ad platforms to monitor ad activity across Mail, TV, audio, digital (including search and social in select markets), print, out of home and cinema. Ad Intel provides comprehensive cross-platform advertising intelligence with actionable insights to identify prospects, analyse brand strategies and learn from past advertising campaigns to plan for the next.

As of Q1 2024 the resulting data set provides an enhanced and highly accurate view of mail activity that will prove invaluable to media planners, measurement practitioners, client-side marketers and sell-side organisations alike.

Mail ad spend data and ad creative can now be accessed via Nielsen Ad Intel faster than previously. This will see mail ad spend released weekly and mail ad creatives released on a daily basis.

The applications of the data are numerous, and include:

1. Measuring advertiser share of voice: By calculating the share of mail ad spend versus a defined competitive set, advertisers and agencies can now gain an enhanced understanding of their visibility in homes along with the relative advantages they can gain by using the mail channel.
2. Measuring mail’s share of ad spend vs other channels: Vital insights for advertisers and agencies looking to optimise their media mix and gain a full picture of what they are spending and on which channel.
3. Tracking the number of advertisers using the mail channel: A metric that has grown throughout the first three months of 2024, this is vital for understanding channel confidence.
4. Deep-dive campaign reviews: Campaign reach and impressions can be calculated by combining circulation data with JICMAIL reach and frequency data; the phasing of campaigns both geographically and by time-period can be informed through multi-channel activity analysis; high quality scans of mail packs can be accessed for creative reviews; and in time granular volume data will be available to feed into MMM effectiveness models.

Ian Gibbs, JICMAIL’s Director of Data Leadership and Learning says, “The release of full-fat mail circulation through Nielsen Ad Intel represents a huge milestone in the suite of mail measurement tools that JICMAIL now offers the industry. Alongside JICMAIL’s panel based mail tracking, performance benchmarks via the Response Rate Tracker; plus our numerous test and learn solutions; circulation data provides the most accurate read on mail volumes yet. Through Nielsen Ad Intel planners have a great new additional tool to explore the rich potential of the mail channel.”

John Mead, Customer Experience Lead at Nielsen says, "It is great to see our enhanced Ad Intel offering, in partnership with JICMAIL, is setting new standards in direct mail advertising analytics. This advancement not only empowers our clients with deeper, more actionable insights but also underscores Nielsen's commitment to innovation and excellence in advertising data. By providing a more comprehensive view of ad spend and creative performance, we're enabling businesses to make more informed decisions that ultimately drive significant impact."

Mark Cross, JICMAIL’s Engagement Director says, ‘Our partnership and collaboration with Nielsen has resulted in a step change in the speed and accuracy of the mail data now available to media planners, with multiple-analysis now possible to better inform channel campaign planning inclusive of mail. Over recent months we have worked closely together with Nielsen to ensure that this new data set meets our gold standard requirements and I’m delighted to say that this has consistently been the case. We look forward to incorporating this important new analysis into our support for our subscribers.’ 

For more information on how you can access JICMAIL circulation data along with JICMAIL’s gold standard circulation checklist please visit Nielsen or get in touch.