What drives success?
Working with door-to-door campaigns, a lot of questions come to mind. Which area of focus is more important: What is the optimal frequency of distribution? How many pages will I use? Is inspiration & design worth the effort? Should we use a theme for our leaflet?
Accurat is a leader in consumer behaviour insights, and near real-time evolutions. To answer these questions, we analysed 122 Belgian leaflet campaigns and their impact, and we studied how different factors influence their success. Measuring door-to-door impact is one of our specialties and we do this using location data. Do you want to learn more on how we do this? Read this article on door-to-door impact.
1. No Middle Ground: Focus or Diversify
Leaflets are most effective when they take a clear approach. Either spotlight a single standout promotion or showcase a broad variety of products. Trying to do both often dilutes the impact. Leaflets in the analysis with less than 2, or more than 6 products on the cover performed best.
2. The Power of Discounts
Low prices are compelling and work well, but offering discounts adds an extra layer of motivation for consumers. Interestingly, higher discounts don't always guarantee higher engagement—strategic discounting is key.
3. Eye-Catching Design Wins
The more visually striking your leaflet, the more likely it is to grab attention and drive action. Bold colours, creative layouts, and impactful imagery make a real difference.
4. "Less is More" Holds True
Leaflets with fewer pages outperform longer ones. Focused messaging with curated content tends to resonate better with readers, avoiding information overload. Door-to-door activation with less than 20 pages performed best in our analysis.
5. Seasonal and Themed Leaflets Spark Interest
Timing matters. Leaflets tied to seasons, holidays, or specific themes have a stronger activation effect, drawing consumers into stores with relevant, timely offers.
6. Inspirational Content Adds Value
Leaflets that go beyond pure promotion, and that offer tips, ideas, or inspiration, achieve higher engagement. Consumers value content that sparks ideas, making them more likely to take action.
7. Garden & Pet Retail Outperforms
Surprisingly, retailers in the Garden & Pet segment, despite distributing leaflets less frequently, achieve better results than their food retail counterparts.
Want to know more?
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Analysis
In this analysis, we summarised the impact of different parameters and how they compare to the average folder impact. The analysis was done by evaluating impact across different parameters in
4 different fields:
- Sector
- Folder
- Content
- Promotions
In the table below, we summarise the impact of the different parameters and how they compare to the average drive-to-store impact of all leaflets in the analysis. The drive-to-store impact scores have been normalised for their category. Each folder was compared to its category average instead of the overall average. Variables with scores over 100 outperform the average, while scores below 100 perform below average.
Analysis Summarized
Additional Figures
In this section, we dive into some general standout metrics from our analysis, shedding light on the performance of door-to-door campaigns and providing benchmarks to measure success.
1.4 Million Net Boxes Reached
This figure represents the average number of actual addresses reached in a campaign—where leaflets and brochures were physically distributed. It's a vital metric for gauging distribution effectiveness. Another way to frame this is through reach: the total number of potential readers exposed to your leaflet.
76,000 Incremental Visits
On average, each leaflet campaign generated 76,000 additional visits. This metric highlights the direct drive-to-store impact of your door-to-door strategy, attributing the extra visits to the campaign alone. While it’s a strong benchmark, this number varies across sectors, as we’ll explore later in the article.
3.6 Products on the Cover
The average leaflet front page featured 3.6 promotional products. These eye-catching deals are placed to draw in consumers and maximise the leaflet's appeal. Keep reading to find out more about the ideal amount of promotions on your door-to-door cover page.
23.6% Average Discount
Promotions featured in these campaigns offered an average discount of 23.6%. Striking the right balance between value and profitability, this figure provides insight into competitive pricing strategies that drive results.
We understand consumer behaviour
Accurat is a leader in retail, media and real estate location intelligence, active in BeNeLux and Germany. By understanding real-world consumer behaviour, we empower brands to improve decision-making.