Last updated October 20, 2026
Summary
- Unaddressed Mail is printed marketing delivered to every letterbox in the areas you choose, without a named recipient
- With Oppizi, it is delivered through NZ Post to residential and business addresses, and no mailing list is needed
- Cost depends on volume, format, coverage, and frequency, and campaigns are quoted per mail item in NZD
- Letterbox Drops, not Unaddressed Mail, is the channel to use if you want demographic targeting
Unaddressed Mail is printed marketing material delivered to every letterbox in the areas you choose, without a named recipient. With Oppizi, it is delivered through NZ Post on its regular delivery runs, to residential and business addresses.
You do not need a mailing list or a customer database. You choose the coverage, and every letterbox on those runs receives your mail item. This guide covers how the channel works, what drives the cost, accepted formats, targeting, rules, and how to measure results.
What is unaddressed mail in New Zealand?
Unaddressed mail is a printed piece, such as a flyer, catalogue, or offer card, delivered to letterboxes without a name or address on it. If you have found a supermarket catalogue or a takeaway menu in your letterbox that was not addressed to you, that was unaddressed mail.
With Oppizi, Unaddressed Mail is planned, printed, and tracked in one platform. For advertisers, it works like a media buy. You buy coverage by the delivery run, the way you might buy radio or outdoor placements, and the unit of coverage is the run rather than the individual household. Retail, grocery, QSR, and franchise brands use it when they want everyone in an area rather than a named list.
Common uses include:
- Retail promotions: store openings, seasonal sales, and clearance events
- Franchise marketing: coordinated campaigns around several locations
- Catalogue distribution: reaching every household across whole neighbourhoods
How does unaddressed mail reach letterboxes in New Zealand?
Your mail item travels with NZ Post on its scheduled delivery runs and goes into every letterbox on the runs you select, regardless of who lives or works there. Coverage is purely geographic.
A campaign with Oppizi follows four steps:
- Prepare the artwork in an accepted format, or build it in Creative Studio.
- Select your delivery runs on the map, residential, business, or both.
- Print and hand over: Oppizi prints the run and lodges it with NZ Post for delivery.
- Measure the response through unique codes, dedicated URLs, or QR codes.
Who receives unaddressed mail?
Residential delivery runs
Residential runs cover homes in the neighbourhoods you choose. For consumer brands in grocery, retail, QSR, or home services, this is where the audience lives. Everyone on the run receives the mail item: there is no filtering by household type at this level, which is the point of the channel.
Business delivery runs
Unaddressed Mail reaches businesses as well as homes. That opens up trade promotions, commercial services, and offers aimed at business premises, using the same delivery-run model with a different mix of letterboxes.
What does unaddressed mail cost in New Zealand?
Unaddressed Mail is quoted per campaign, priced per mail item, print and delivery included. Where your campaign lands depends on:
- Volume: higher quantities lower the cost per mail item
- Format: smaller formats such as A6 and DL cost less to print than A5
- Coverage: concentrated runs are usually more efficient than scattered ones
- Frequency: repeat campaigns can bring the rate down
A single-neighbourhood test costs more per item than a campaign across many runs. Starting small and scaling on results is a common approach. For an exact figure, share your areas and volume and ask for an all-in quote in NZD.
What formats can you send?
New Zealand uses metric formats. If you are working from US specifications, convert them before artwork goes to print.
- A6 (148 x 105 mm): compact, suited to a single offer or coupon
- A5 (210 x 148 mm): more room for imagery and detail, popular with retail and QSR brands
- DL (210 x 100 mm): a long, slim format that fits letterbox slots easily
Oppizi's Creative Studio includes templates sized for flyers, addressed mail, and unaddressed mail, and our team of designers can build print-ready artwork for you.
How do you target an unaddressed mail campaign?
Targeting is geographic. You select delivery runs based on where your audience lives or works, with no list and no audience data required.
- Run selection: choose the runs that cover your target neighbourhoods
- Residential or business focus: weight your selection toward homes, business premises, or both
- National reach: start locally and add runs anywhere in New Zealand as results come in
If you want to layer demographic data onto household distribution, that is a different channel: Letterbox Drops, delivered by Oppizi flyer distributors, supports third-party demographic targeting. Unaddressed Mail does not.
How do you measure unaddressed mail?
Offline marketing is measurable when tracking is built into the piece.
- Unique codes: one code per campaign for redemption tracking
- Dedicated URLs: a campaign-specific landing page
- QR codes: a trackable QR code for instant mobile response and scan-level reporting
- In-store redemption: coupon use and footfall at your locations
The goal is to measure impact, not impressions.
New Zealand has no local response benchmark, so the closest reference is UK-measured. Door drops average a 0.3% response rate, per the JICMAIL Response Rate Tracker, and up to as high as 1.8% in some campaigns. A door drop also stays in the home for 5.6 days on average, is picked up 3.0 times, and holds 57 seconds of attention, per JICMAIL's Q1 2026 data.
How does unaddressed mail compare with other offline channels?
| Channel | Targeting | Delivered by | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unaddressed Mail | Delivery runs, residential and business | NZ Post | Broad area coverage, no list needed |
| Letterbox Drops | Suburb and area, third-party demographic data | Oppizi flyer distributors | Targeted neighbourhood campaigns |
| Addressed Mail | Named recipients, first-party data only | NZ Post | Existing customers, personalised offers |
| Hand-to-Hand Flyering | High-traffic locations | Oppizi Brand Ambassadors | Foot traffic and event activations |
Unaddressed Mail vs Letterbox Drops: both reach letterboxes, but Unaddressed Mail is bought by the delivery run and delivered through NZ Post, while Letterbox Drops are delivered by Oppizi flyer distributors with suburb, area, and demographic targeting.
Unaddressed Mail vs Addressed Mail: Addressed Mail goes to named people and, in New Zealand, runs on first-party data only, so you mail people already in your database. Unaddressed Mail needs no list, which makes it a channel for new customer acquisition and broad awareness. For a fuller side-by-side, see direct mail vs unaddressed mail.
Unaddressed Mail vs Hand-to-Hand Flyering: Hand-to-Hand Flyering puts a flyer into someone's hand at a busy location, while Unaddressed Mail reaches them at home or at work, where they have more time to consider the offer.
What are the rules for unaddressed mail in New Zealand?
Unaddressed mail in New Zealand is covered by the National Code of Practice for the Distribution of Unaddressed Mail, published through the Marketing Association.
- Letterbox signs: distributors should not deliver unaddressed mail to letterboxes with signs such as "No Junk Mail", "No Circulars", or "Addressed Mail Only".
- Complaints: residents who receive unaddressed mail despite a sign can report it through the process the Marketing Association sets out.
For advertisers, respecting those signs keeps a campaign compliant and focuses spend on households open to receiving offers.
How do you launch an unaddressed mail campaign with Oppizi?
- Choose your coverage: select residential and business delivery runs anywhere in New Zealand.
- Upload or design your artwork: use Creative Studio, or upload print-ready files in A6, A5, or DL.
- Book the runs: confirm quantities and timing in Oppizi OS, and we handle print and hand-over to NZ Post.
- Track the response: follow codes, URLs, and QR scans in one dashboard.
Ready to plan a campaign? Get started with Oppizi.
Frequently asked questions
- Is unaddressed mail the same as junk mail?
"Junk mail" is the everyday name some people use, but unaddressed mail is a planned advertising channel. It reaches every letterbox on the delivery runs you choose, without a named recipient, and can be measured with codes, dedicated URLs, and QR scans, so you can see what each campaign returned.
- Who delivers unaddressed mail for Oppizi in New Zealand?
Oppizi's Unaddressed Mail is delivered through NZ Post on its regular delivery runs, to residential and business addresses. Oppizi handles the planning, printing, hand-over, and tracking, so you choose the coverage and the artwork, and we manage the rest of the campaign from one platform.
- Can unaddressed mail reach businesses as well as homes?
Yes. Unaddressed Mail in New Zealand covers both residential and business delivery runs, so it suits consumer offers and business-to-business campaigns alike. You can weight your selection toward homes, business premises, or a mix, depending on who your campaign is for and where they are.
- How do "No Junk Mail" signs affect my campaign's reach?
Distributors should skip letterboxes with signs such as "No Junk Mail", "No Circulars", or "Addressed Mail Only". That trims total reach slightly, but it keeps your campaign compliant with the national code of practice and focuses your spend on households that are open to receiving offers.
- Can unaddressed mail run alongside other offline channels?
Yes. Unaddressed Mail can run on its own or as part of a broader offline campaign with Letterbox Drops, Hand-to-Hand Flyering, Addressed Mail, or Out of Home (OOH). Planning them in one platform lets you compare results across channels and adjust the mix as you go.
