What is Partially Addressed Mail (PAM)?
Partially Addressed Mail (PAM) is a discounted postal product designed to sit between door drops and advertising mail. Unlike its name suggests, it is delivered with a full postal address but without a recipient’s personal name.
It allows businesses to reach households within selected geographic areas, making it a highly effective and cost-efficient method for customer acquisition campaigns.
How Partially Addressed Mail Works
The process is simple and highly effective:
- We help define your target audience and geographic areas
- Your mail is prepared and addressed for household delivery
- Mail is distributed via Royal Mail to selected postcode sectors
- Campaigns reach multiple households within your chosen areas
This approach ensures broad yet relevant coverage, helping you introduce your brand to new potential customers efficiently.
Key Benefits of Partially Addressed Mail
PAM offers a strong balance of reach, targeting, and cost efficiency:
- Reach up to 30% more households than fully addressed mail for the same budget
- Save approximately 4p per item on standard letter advertising mail
- Save approximately 2p per item on large letter formats
- No personal data required (GDPR-friendly acquisition channel)
- Ideal for testing new markets and expanding customer reach
How Direct Mail Systems Can Help
At Direct Mail Systems, we manage the full partially addressed mail process from planning and targeting through to print, preparation, and postal submission. Our team ensures your campaign is structured correctly to maximise postal efficiency, improve targeting accuracy, and achieve strong campaign performance.
We also help integrate PAM with wider direct mail strategies such as bulk mail and postal discount services to maximise overall return on investment.
FAQs On Partially Addressed Mail
What are the requirements to qualify?
To qualify for PAM rates, a minimum of 10,000 items must be mailed, and the content must meet advertising mail standards.
How is PAM different to Door Drops?
Door drops target postcode sectors (around 2,500 households per sector), whereas PAM targets full postcodes (around 15 households per postcode on average). This makes door drops broader in reach, while PAM offers more refined targeting.
What can be sent using partially addressed mail?
Common items include postcards, brochures, catalogues, and promotional leaflets.
How is PAM targeted?
It is targeted using postcode sectors and geographic areas based on demographic and location data.
How much is the data?
Partially address mail data is considerably cheaper than contact named data and can be sourced through Direct Mail Systems at significantly reduced rates. Speak to one of our specialists to find out more.
What kind of creative can I send?
You can test and send all kinds of creative to suit your brand and your audience, just as you can with standard advertising mail. You just need to make sure you factor in the potential cost per acquisition when considering the format, such as postcards versus envelopes.
Can Direct Mail Systems Help With Targeting?
Yes, talk to our targeting specialists on 01179 341 600. We have the skills, tools and services to help you plan an effective Partially Addressed Mail campaign with the right creative and messaging to help produce the best results.
What response rate could I get?
Like any marketing campaign, response rates can vary depending on the product or service, message and offer. The key in any acquisition activity is to get to an acceptable cost per acquisition (CPA) and the benefit of Partially Addressed Mail is that it allows you to test and refine both targeting and creative to optimise performance.
Is there anything else I need to know?
All Partially Addressed Mail has to carry a declaration message to reassure the recipient that their personal details haven’t been used to create the mailing. You can display this on the inside or outside of your mail pack, but it must be outside of the required clear zones in the footnote area. An example declaration would be "No personal data about recipients has been used in the creation of this mailing".
Start Your Partially Addressed Mail Campaign Today
If you’re interested in a partially addressed direct mail campaign, get in touch with the DMS team today. We will discuss your campaign requirements and will provide you with a free quote. Reach your audience effectively while respecting their privacy with our innovative and results-driven service. Call us on 0117 934 1600 or contact us online here.