Direct mail: Precision steering

Car manufacturers are using financial, lifestyle, gender and age data to improve their targeting.

Direct marketers are a secretive bunch. While rivals can view TV
commercials and track media schedules, direct marketing takes place
behind closed doors. Marketers are tight-lipped about data sources and

segmenting strategies and it is not easy to obtain copies of the letters

shoved through doors.

Marketing asked Nielsen Media Research to track the mailshots of leading
car manufacturers. Its panel of 10,000 consumers forwarded the direct
mail they received each month. The panel is representative of the UK
population, based on age, gender, region and consumer segmentation.

The tables below look at the volumes of direct mail sent by five
mainstream car brands in the 12 months to June 2005. The first uses the
Financial Mosaic segmentation tool, which classifies consumers according
to financial product ownership, financial behaviour and future
intentions (based on consumer polls).

The second, Mosaic Group table, classifies consumers by lifestyle, using
census data, financial history and house prices.

Volvo was the most-targeted in regard to financial behaviour, devoting
54% of its direct mail to 'good-paying realists'. This was also the
largest category for Ford (37%), Vauxhall (25%) and Renault (24%).

Volkswagen aimed to appeal to the heart as well as the head, with 35% of
its direct mail going to 'adventurous spenders' and 29% to 'capital
accumulators.'

Volvo was also the most-targeted by lifestyle group, devoting 49% to
'country dwellers'. Volkswagen allocated 54% to 'blue-collar owners'
(less-expensive areas of owner-occupied housing) and 20% to 'high-income
families'.

Analysis of the figures by gender revealed Ford was the only one of the
five to target more women (53%) than men. Two brands displayed a
definite male bias - Volkswagen (78%) and Volvo (74%). A slight male
bias was shown by Renault (54%) and Vauxhall (53%).

Broken down by age, the study found the 35-44 age group received the
most mail from Volvo (37%), with the 55-64 group on 29% and over-65s on
21%. Ford had an older bias, with 72% of its mail going to those over
45. Somewhat surprisingly, Renault directed one-third of its mail at the
over-65s. Vauxhall's major target group was aged 35-44 (40%).

DIRECT MAIL - CAR MANUFACTURERS
Demographic Ford Vauxhall Volvo
% % %
total Est total Est total Est
Financial Mosaic volume volume volume volume volume volume
Adventurous spenders 12.4 608,428 18.1 433,338 2.0 23,060
Burdened borrowers 3.0 148,064 11.4 273,522 1.0 11,545
Capital accumulators 8.2 398,926 11.2 267,848 5.7 67,184
Discerning investors 5.0 245,603 3.1 74,296 5.2 61,117
Equity-holding elders 9.5 463,255 5.7 136,267 7.6 89,307
Farm owners and traders 4.6 227,140 13.0 311,353 13.7 160,409
Good-paying realists 37.3 1,821,274 24.7 591,266 53.7 630,525
Hardened cash payers 4.9 239,231 3.2 76,282 3.0 35,170
Just about surviving 7.0 344,094 6.7 160,933 1.1 12,511
Mosaic Group
Blue-collar owners 18.8 917,654 16.8 402,325 14.2 166,420
Council flats 0.3 14,938 3.1 73,695 1.1 12,511
Country dwellers 6.8 331,373 12.5 298,130 48.5 568,916
High-income families 15.9 776,977 20.3 485,498 11.4 133,784
Independent elders 7.1 345,802 6.1 144,934 4.1 48,214
Low-rise council 5.2 254,473 6.9 164,899 3.0 35,170
Mortgaged families 5.5 267,812 9.6 228,963 2.9 34,092
Stylish singles 0.6 31,531 7.3 174,853 1.0 11,545
Suburban semis 7.9 387,728 6.4 153,893 8.7 101,723
Town houses and flats 17.4 849,220 6.0 143,666 5.2 61,401
Victorian low-status 14.3 700,860 5.0 119,920 n/a n/a

Demographic Volkswagen Renault
% %
total Est total Est
Financial Mosaic volume volume volume volume
Adventurous spenders 34.8 408,202 13.6 434,890
Burdened borrowers 0.8 9,757 12.0 382,781
Capital accumulators 29.4 345,610 5.6 177,818
Discerning investors 2.1 24,389 12.8 406,957
Equity-holding elders 4.1 48,539 6.5 207,585
Farm owners and traders 9.1 107,243 8.9 283,821
Good-paying realists 12.7 148,870 24.4 778,712
Hardened cash payers n/a n/a 4.5 144,512
Just about surviving 2.4 28,136 2.1 66,412
Mosaic Group
Blue-collar owners 53.7 630,302 15.2 485,550
Council flats n/a n/a 0.5 14,938
Country dwellers 2.7 31,927 20.9 665,001
High-income families 20.3 237,686 19.3 616,541
Independent elders 3.4 39,516 1.9 61,134
Low-rise council 3.4 39,604 4.5 143,847
Mortgaged families 0.8 9,757 11.1 355,020
Stylish singles 2.4 28,288 2.0 64,910
Suburban semis 5.0 58,481 14.3 454,306
Town houses and flats 8.4 98,160 4.9 157,486
Victorian low-status n/a n/a 5.3 169,286
Source: Nielsen Media Research Note: figures are for 12 months to June
2005