How much does an audience cost?

Prices for a Direct Mail audience start at “free” and increase based on the dataset being accessed. Standard options for each mail type are listed below. More advanced data sets can be accessed from 3rd party providers like Environics.

Neighbourhood Mail Audience Options:

Canada Post Precision Targeter – free to use. Includes neighbourhood targeting based on combinations of up-to 3 demographic filters.

Personalized Mail Audience Options:

Use your own data – free. This includes PostNow doing basic cleaning of your data and running it through the National Change of Address (NCOA) to identify any bad records.
Canada Post Postal Code Name/Addresses – from $0.15/record. Use 6-digit postal codes to target all households within. Includes names and address data that can be printed by an Expert Partner. Not available for any other use.

Postal Code Targeting Audience Options:

Canada Post Postal Code Data. Included in postage. Use 6-digital postal codes to target all households within. A suppression list can be provided to remove existing customers from the final data. Data includes address only, no names.

More FAQ Archives

What are Canada Post transportation fees?

Canada Post adds a Neighbourhood Mail transportation fee to all campaigns not inducted into the exact depot(s) closest to your delivery neighbourhoods.

In other words, unless you are willing to drive your campaign mail pieces to a specific dropoff depot or depots for larger campaigns, you are covering the cost for Canada Post to distribute your campaign to the appropriate depots for final sorting/delivery.

This transportation fee is often why you will see a published Neighbourhood Mail rate of $0.187 / piece, but the final price is $0.20 when working with a mail house or Canada Post directly.

At PostNow we include the transportation fee in all campaigns automatically.

What is the best value postcard size to send?

While you can send a 4×6″ postcard with Neighbourhood Mail, which will be the cheapest to produce, it does not offer the best value.

Larger postcards will grab more attention and drive more campaign engagement, making them generate more ROI. We find the best size to send is a 5.5×8.5″ postcard due to its production costs being highly efficient and its impact being strong in a pile of flyers.

Can I target different dwelling types?

Yes! PostNow offers the complete Canada Post name and address list through our Audience Builder. Target based on Postal Codes of your customer or desired geographic target area.

Where can I use these audiences?

Only Neighbourhood Mail.

Do I get to keep the data?

We provide the audience ID so you can use it in the future, even with a different Canada Post Expert Partner.

What costs are there with Direct Mail Advertising?

When budgeting for a Direct Mail Ad Campaign you should plan for the following cost categories:

Planning & Design Costs (labour costs, asset licences, etc. )
Targeting/Data Costs (databases, licences, software, labour)
Production Costs (printing, folding, inserting, bundling, etc)
Postage/Transportation Costs

Final costs can be controlled with proper planning and targeting.