The Red Queen Effect In Marketing

Humanity is always adapting to the ever-present external pressures of their environment. But with any civilization that constantly innovates, there are bound to be technologies left behind in the name of progress.  

While the technology itself is not sentient to these outward pressures, it is often comparable to the Red Queen Effect of nature, in which species are required to adapt or face extinction. 

Direct mail is an excellent example of one such medium that is constantly adapting and changing to stay ahead of the marketing evolutionary process. 

But how does something that has been the gold standard of marketing for centuries evolve?

When exploring this question, it’s important to understand just what the Red Queen Hypothesis is, and likewise, learn how marketers have adapted to this phenomenon in advertising. 

Related: 15 Examples of Guerrilla Marketing in Direct Mail Campaigns

The Red Queen Hypothesis

The Red Queen is a character in the 1871 Lewis Carrol novel, Through the Looking Glass. This novel is a sequel to one of Carrol’s most popular books, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, published only five years prior.  

The Queen’s first appearance takes place in chapter two, where Alice meets her after traveling to the world beyond her bedroom mirror. 

In this world, everything is seemingly the opposite. Poems are printed backward, and walking towards something leads one further away. 

The Red Queen is very similar to this whimsical world within the mirror. This characterization is further shown in her first few conversations with Alice, where she counteracts everything Alice remarks upon with even more outlandish claims. 

After talking for some time, the Red Queen begins to run with Alice. No matter how fast Alice tries to run, the Queen is quick to outpace her, although the environment never seems to change around them:

“Alice never could quite make out, in thinking it over afterwards, how it was that they began: all she remembers is, that they were running hand in hand, and the Queen went so fast that it was all she could do to keep up with her: and still the Queen kept crying “Faster! Faster!” but Alice felt she could not go faster, though she had not breath left to say so.

The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and the other things round them never changed their places at all: however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything. “I wonder if all the things move along with us?” thought poor puzzled Alice. And the Queen seemed to guess her thoughts, for she cried, “Faster! Don’t try to talk!” (Chapter 2)

After some time, the Red Queen stops running to allow Alice to rest against a tree. Alice remarks that the tree is the same one that was present at the start of their journey, almost as if they ran in the same place the entire time. 

Baffled, the Queen asks why this is strange to Alice.

“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.”

“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” (Chapter 2)

Essentially what the Red Queen is describing is a treadmill that constantly increases in speed, forcing the runner to keep running faster just to stay in place.

This concept later became the main component of what came to be known as the Red Queen Hypothesis.

The Law of Constant Extinction

The 1871 “Red Queen” concept rose in popularity nearly 100 years later when evolutionary biologist Leigh Van Valen popularized the term “Red Queen Hypothesis” in his paper “A New Evolutionary Law” in 1973. 

While the world of Through the Looking Glass may baffle readers with its nonconformity, Van Valen saw it as a metaphor for the phenomenon that he called “the law of constant extinction”.

This theory explains how prey is constantly becoming faster – due to slower prey being eaten by predators – whereas predators are also forced to become faster and stronger to catch faster prey. 

In both cases, Van Valen explains how each creature must adapt for its ongoing survival. This constant struggle is the foundation for his hypothesis in the context of evolution. Species are constantly adapting to new pressures by responding to them and evolving. 

Those that do not, fall behind as the treadmill keeps increasing in speed and eventually get left behind and go extinct.

What Does “The Red Queen Effect” Mean For Marketers?

Just as animals are constantly evolving in nature, so too does technology and innovation evolve to accommodate the changing marketing landscape. As a result, some technology is rendered obsolete as better alternatives emerge. 

Items like the sundial or typewriters were no longer needed once clocks and computers became more widespread.

Similarly, advertisements such as fax ads or door-to-door salesmen virtually became a thing of the past once new marketing mediums developed and government regulation limited these older forms of advertising. 

Just as every technology adapts to change, marketing trends often follow. For advertisers, the “Red Queen Effect” requires constant advancement to stay ahead of the rise and fall of tech, algorithms, and new platforms to maintain brand recognition and keep response rates healthy.

Remaining complacent means falling behind in a world that constantly pushes forward. Which is why marketers must look to mediums that are easily adaptable to maintain profitability and rise above the competition.

How Direct Mail Thrives Against “The Red Queen Effect”

It’s important to remember though, that success in both evolution – and marketing – does not always mean chasing the latest flavor of the week. Sharks, for example, have barely changed in hundreds of millions of years and yet have ruled the seas since the age of the dinosaurs. 

And while birds continue to evolve, they have such a huge competitive advantage over land-bound animals that their evolutionary pace was able to slow dramatically. Birds and sharks effectively were able to slow the treadmill down.

Likewise, unlike many flash-in-the-pan marketing tactics, the ability of direct mail to consistently target real people, at their real addresses, and avoid spam filters, or ad-blockers gives it such a competitive advantage over everything else, that it only requires minor updates to remain the gold standard even as the environment changes wildly.

With the development of data modeling for efficient audience targeting, new guerrilla marketing tactics, and omnichannel adaptability, direct mail remains a driving force in the marketing landscape. 

Related: The Evolution – And Future – of Direct Mail Marketing

1.) Data Modeling for Audience Targeting

How is data modeling accomplished? Instead of sending mailers to every household within a zip code, direct mail can target a company’s ideal prospects by identifying similar attributes – such as buying habits, preferences, and characteristics – that mirror their best customers. 

Furthermore, instead of targeting by zip code, a data model will create a lookalike list at the individual household level. In doing so, a campaign list becomes highly targeted by focusing on the prospects that are most like a company’s current customer base. 

By understanding a company’s customers through data, direct mail can cut through the clutter of typical campaigns to generate highly profitable leads without unnecessary mail volume.

Related: What is Data Modeling in Marketing Campaigns?

2.) Less Susceptible to Disruptions from New Regulations

One important factor in implementing an efficient marketing strategy is accounting for potential new government regulations that have the potential to entirely upend some components of it.

Companies that market on TikTok, for example, are greatly advised to diversify their channel before the looming TikTok ban in the United States. Despite the ban being pushed back for 75 days, the future of the platform is still unknown. 

Other marketing channels such as telemarketing are also under the constant threat of new government regulations or additional scrutiny.

These marketing tactics are much more invasive than a simple mail message and therefore upset more recipients, leading to new laws and rules that limit their efficacy.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has made active strides in regulating this marketing medium in response to spam calls and spoof numbers that plague American citizens. Examples include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1991 and the national do-not-call list in 2003. 

And while the FCC’s latest regulation which closed the “lead generator loophole” was postponed, time is running out for many forms of marketing that relied on this tactic to be successful.

While government regulation can be beneficial for the population, marketers are constantly in the “Red Queen” race to adapt their platforms and strategies to these new changes. 

Conversely, direct mail is one channel that has had a stable regulatory environment for years. Marketers are able to plan future campaigns without concerns for a sudden mail ban or significant changes in how they identify and connect with prospects.

Related: 2025 Lead Gen CHALLENGES (And How Direct Mail Rectifies Them)

3.) Omnichannel Adaptability

In addition to superior audience targeting and less intrusive government regulations, another way direct mail has managed to stay ahead of the evolutionary curve is it’s omnichannel adaptability with other forms of marketing.

For instance, by pairing a direct mail campaign with services like USPS Informed Delivery, customers can view campaign mailers through their email before their mail is delivered to their physical mailbox. 

This system provides two marketing touchpoints, one when a prospect is notified through email, and another when a prospect receives the advertisement in the mail. 

But this is not the only way direct mail can be incorporated into an omnichannel strategy. 

A direct mail campaign can follow a digital campaign, such as sending a “thank you” letter after a successful online donation. Or it can target nearby households after a tree removal (or other home) service was provided within that neighborhood. 

There are many ways direct mail can adapt to fit a company’s unique marketing goals and message, and any campaign that implements direct mail into its omnichannel campaign has another avenue to connect with its intended audience. 

Related: The Omnichannel Approach to Direct Mail Retargeting