Direct mail was never really lost but that doesn’t prevent companies from rediscovering it. The latest is Postie, which has just launched an integrated system combining access to a 320 million-name database; connections with a company’s own CRM, Web, and other systems; look-alike prospect modeling; rule- and event-based trigger campaigns; and more. Users upload creative and do everything else within the system. Sweet.

More cheerful news: the CDP industry continued its sharp growth in the past six months, with employment increasing by 31% over the period and 76% over twelve months. Data is from the CDP Institute’s just-released industry update. Increases reflect entry of new vendors as well as organic growth by existing vendors.

Just over half of consumers (54%) like to receive personalized messages because they show the consumers are known to the brand, plus they can be time savers. The rest (46%) find it at best unimportant, at worst creepy. Relevance far outstrips personalization when it comes to driving email opens (54% vs. 19%). Takeaway: treat each customer the way they prefer.