Gen Z Touch Grass Marketing and how it works with Mail

Marketreach’s panel at the Festival of Marketing may have taken place in a crowded room within a converted brewery, but there was still scope to “touch grass.” 

The session took us away from screens for face-to-face conversations, knowledge sharing and the enjoyment of human interactions. That’s what Touch Grass is about - connecting back to the physical world. It is a trend gaining traction, especially with Gen Z, as young people show a real hunger for tangible experiences to balance out the digital bombardment of the online world. 

To explore what the trend might mean for brands and marketing, I was joined on stage by content creator and writer Myth Bridger (he has a real name too) and Sarah Gass, CMO Europe for online home furnishings company Wayfair.

We began with a dive into the unique characteristics of Gen Z. They were born into a digital environment, but I think we too easily assume they want everything to be digital. Young people (and others) are pushing back against a constant flow of digital ads and the ‘always on’ culture that can be overwhelming. 

Widespread media reports indicate Gen Z are interested in getting off their phones to enjoy walking, going to the gym and ‘slow hobbies’ like book clubs, while ad blocker research shows that 99% of Gen Z said that given the option they would skip ads and 63% said they actively use ad blockers (Marketing Beat 2025).¹

Mail can work alongside other media 

Of course, media channels used in a smart way support each other and social media helps people learn about and organise around their activities and passions. Myth Bridger founded his fantasy community on social media but also engages them directly through storytelling with a beautiful monthly printed mailing.

He said his subscribers “really want and try to find brands that offer a space where they can just disconnect from the screen at least for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, once a month even. It’s a dedicated moment that is special and unique that stands out for them throughout the month.” Sarah pointed out that online only retailers like Wayfair work with both online and offline channels in a considered way. 

She said, “It's important for us to reach customers at major life milestone moments … we've tried to use in real life marketing like direct mail to reach customers specifically in that moment of high intent when customers are potentially furnishing their home. But we view that as a way to complement our digital marketing and digital ads that are working hard for us in the background.” 

There’s no doubt mail with its tactile attributes and novelty value can cut through and earn Gen Z’s attention. The medium builds trust and Gen Z makes up 40% of those who say they feel valued by brands who send mail to them. That’s up from 16% in 2021 according to TGI Trends.²

Personalised mail messages prompt action 

Sarah explained why mail is an effective channel within multimedia campaigns; its incremental ROI impact is measurable, and it can be integrated with sophisticated targeting and personalisation strategies. “We can be very precise in what we target customers with, specifically across our target audience, and then with what relevant content.”

Her team set up a control and test experiment to prove the value of mail to her C-suite. A group of new home buyers received a discount offer in the post and the redemption rate was compared to the online control. She told the audience: “The first phase was super successful for us. We were seeing a lot higher uplift on order rate, repeat rate, average order value - just everything was higher with that cohort that got the direct mail mailer.” 

Wayfair now has the confidence to scale up its mail activity and is exploring new mail formats to introduce more creativity into its messaging. 

I was delighted to tell the audience the story of Dash Water³, a subscription-based flavoured water company, as a way of showing how mail can be used to support varied marketing objectives and tie into digital behaviour. 

The brand wanted to establish itself as the “next best product” choice to drive up sales, implement a win back programme for lost customers and to tackle abandoned baskets. It worked with an automation platform for a campaign that automatically triggered targeted programmatic mail pieces to past customers or those that had not followed through after filling their basket.   

The campaign delivered a phenomenal result with a 125% increase in sales and a 57% return rate back to Dash’s site for the lapsed customers. 

Fang-tastic opportunities for creativity 

The creative canvas offered by mail allows brands to get playful with consumers and fully immerse them in the experience, which can be more memorable. Myth Bridger embraces this in his monthly mail out to subscribers. His Halloween-themed pack has an envelope cut around the flap so it looks like a pair of vampire fangs.

He said, “The actual packaging can also be something that you are looking forward to, because it looks very cool and you want to keep it around, not just throw it away once you open it.” 

The designs are a win-win because they also have the benefit of looking visually stunning for sharing on social media.

The session covered a lot of ground but the key takeaways for me were: 

• The Touch Grass trend is intergenerational, and brands should think about how to build both physical and digital touchpoints into campaigns. Go beyond stereotypes and understand that Gen Z want a balance of physical and digital. 
• Show up in the moments that are important to your customers with the right message, creative and offer. Be thoughtful about how you use all media, including mail. 
• Don’t just send people the same message that can be found online. Think about how to make mail an immersive experience, whether it’s the content or the packaging. 

With Gen Z and Millennials set to account for 74% of the global economy by 20303, it’s a good time to embrace a more balanced media diet. 

You can learn more about Touch Grass and Gen Z marketing here.