Unaddressed Mail: Definition, Bedeutung & Beispiele im Direktmarketing

What is Unaddressed Mail? — Definition and Distinction

Unaddressed mail is an advertising mailpiece delivered without personal addressing by Deutsche Post letter carriers into mailboxes within a defined area. Unlike addressed advertising letters or Dialogpost, the sender doesn't need their own address database — the mailpiece reaches all households or a target group selected by area and demographic characteristics. Typical formats include flyers, brochures, catalogs, and product samples.

Deutsche Post rebranded the product "Postwurfsendung" (unaddressed mail) to POSTAKTUELL in January 2016. However, the term "Postwurfsendung" remains common in everyday language and is still used synonymously in the industry. Deutsche Post also offers POSTWURFSPEZIAL, a partially addressed variant where mailpieces are not completely unaddressed but carry a target group designation — such as "To all residents of this building" or "To all sports enthusiasts." This partially addressed unaddressed mail enables more precise targeting based on microgeographic data without requiring individual names.

The distinction from door drops by commercial distributors is straightforward: While a Postwurfsendung is distributed by Deutsche Post letter carriers, commercial door drops are delivered by third-party distribution services or newspaper deliverers. Deutsche Post's delivery quality and traceability are typically higher — Deutsche Post holds approximately 87 percent market share in the German letter market.

Three Distribution Channels Compared

Deutsche Post offers three print mailing products that differ fundamentally in addressing, costs, and use cases. Choosing the right distribution channel is one of the most important strategic decisions in direct marketing — it determines reach, response rate, and cost per order.

POSTAKTUELL (the classic unaddressed mail) targets all households in a delivery district. The smallest selection unit is a single delivery district with approximately 650 households on average. Senders can choose between two delivery types: "To all households" (every mailbox receives the mailpiece) or "To households receiving daily mail" (cheaper, since delivery occurs anyway). Formats range from simple flyers to brochures up to DIN-C4 format weighing up to 1,000 grams.

POSTWURFSPEZIAL is the partially addressed variant offering significantly finer targeting. Through Deutsche Post Direkt, over 100 microgeographic selection criteria are available — including purchasing power, housing situation, building age, academic rate, and vehicle age. From over 34 million addresses, precisely tailored target groups can be formed without requiring proprietary customer data. Minimum quantity is 5,000 pieces (Postwurfspezial Easy) or 20,000 pieces for standard shipping.

DIALOGPOST (for comparison) is the fully addressed product for companies with their own address database. Here, each recipient is addressed by name, enabling full personalization — coupon codes, personal salutation, individual offers. CMC studies show that addressed mailings to existing customers achieve significantly higher response rates than partially or unaddressed mailings.

When Does Unaddressed Mail Make Sense?

Unaddressed mail is the right tool whenever maximum reach at lowest unit costs is required — and no proprietary address database exists. Local businesses promoting their catchment area, chain stores with new locations, or companies launching new products area-wide classically use unaddressed mail. The unit price is significantly lower than that of addressed advertising letters.

However, high reach comes with higher waste coverage. Since no individual selection by interests or purchasing behavior is possible (with POSTAKTUELL), the mailpiece also reaches households with no interest in the advertised offer. Response rates for unaddressed mail typically range from 0.5 to 2 percent — significantly below the 4 to 8 percent achieved by addressed existing customer mailings in CMC studies. However, the lower unit price can more than compensate for this disadvantage: The CMC 2021 study showed that cost per order (CPO) for partially addressed unaddressed mail at €32 was approximately 30 percent lower than for fully addressed mailings at €46.

For companies systematically acquiring new customers, POSTWURFSPEZIAL offers a middle ground. Microgeographic selection significantly reduces waste coverage while keeping costs per mailpiece below those of Dialogpost. The CMC 2021 study tested both variants on 50,000 potential new customers each: The partially addressed unaddressed mail achieved a CVR of 0.9 percent with a ROAS of approximately 250 percent — every euro invested in advertising generated €2.50 in revenue.

Legal Framework — The Opt-Out Principle

Unlike email advertising, which under German Unfair Competition Act § 7 Para. 2 No. 3 requires prior express consent (opt-in), physical unaddressed mail follows the opt-out principle: mailbox advertising is generally permitted unless the recipient clearly objects. The most important objection mechanism is the "No Advertising Please" sticker on mailboxes.

The legal basis for the effectiveness of this sticker dates back to a Federal Court of Justice ruling from 1988 (Case No. VI ZR 182/88): advertisers and distributors must respect the recipient's recognizable will. Anyone inserting unaddressed advertising despite a sticker risks injunction claims. According to a BDZV survey, 30.9 percent of German mailboxes now carry such a sticker (as of 2024) — with a strongly rising trend (2015: approximately 23 percent) and major regional differences: in major cities like Munich or Stuttgart, the rate often exceeds 50 percent, while in rural areas it's below 10 percent.

Important for practice: The sticker applies equally to unaddressed and partially addressed mail — confirmed by the Higher Regional Court of Munich. Addressed advertising letters (Dialogpost), however, may be delivered despite the sticker since they are personally addressed to the recipient. For companies, this means: the effective reach of unaddressed mail is reduced by the percentage of advertising objectors — in urban areas, this can be half of all households. The German Environmental Aid organization and the "Letzte Werbung" initiative are also calling for an opt-in system modeled after Amsterdam, where such a model has saved approximately 6,000 tons of paper per year since 2018.

History of Unaddressed Mail in Germany

Unaddressed mail has almost a century of history. On March 1, 1925, the German Reichspost first allowed so-called "throw mailings" on a trial basis — with a minimum quantity of 1,000 pieces at once. In 1927, the designation was officially changed to "Postwurfsendung," while mixed mailings of printed matter and product samples became possible. During World War II, the service was discontinued and resumed in the Federal Republic in the post-war period.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Deutsche Post AG significantly expanded the product and introduced Postwurfspezial, the partially addressed variant that enabled significantly more targeted distribution through microgeographic targeting. In January 2016, the unaddressed product was rebranded from "Postwurfsendung" to POSTAKTUELL. Since January 1, 2026, only franking methods with digital matrix codes are permitted — a step toward improved controllability and traceability of delivery quality.

Unaddressed Mail Internationally

Unaddressed mail is not a purely German phenomenon. In the United Kingdom, Royal Mail offers a comparable product called "Door to Door" that reaches over 29 million households. In the USA, the USPS has delivered over 33 billion mailings through its "Every Door Direct Mail" (EDDM) program since 2011, generating over $5 billion in revenue. In Austria, the Austrian Post offers similar products, in Switzerland the Swiss Post under the name "PromoPost." All share the basic principle: area-wide advertising delivery without individual addressing.

Unaddressed Mail with AutoLetter

AutoLetter supports companies in making the transition from unaddressed mail to addressed, personalized mailings. If you already have experience with unaddressed mail and want to increase response rates, AutoLetter offers the right solution: automated campaigns with individual tracking, personalized messaging, and measurable results — without the manual effort of a traditional lettershop process.