We have been running leaflet distribution campaigns across the UK for a long time. Long enough to have seen most of what this industry gets up to - the good, the bad, and the parts nobody likes to talk about publicly.
So when we say we've decided to join the Marketize platform and also offer our services through it, that's not a decision we arrived at lightly. This article explains why we did it, what we think it means for our clients, and what we genuinely believe it means for the industry.
The honest version of how leaflet distribution has worked
Anyone who has been on either side of a leaflet campaign - as a client or as a distributor - knows the trust problem that sits at the centre of this industry. Clients have no reliable way to verify that their leaflets were actually delivered. Distributors have no reliable way to prove that they did the work. When something goes wrong - and it does - there's no neutral party to step in with evidence. There's just a dispute, and usually bad feelings on both sides.
We've been distributors long enough to have been on the receiving end of that distrust ourselves, even when we've done everything right. And we've seen what happens when other distributors haven't - what that does to client confidence in the industry as a whole. The problem of false accusations and unverifiable claims - from both sides - is one the industry has struggled with for years. How to avoid leaflet theft and false delivery claims covers exactly why this problem exists and how verification technology solves it for both parties.
The way things have traditionally been set up, trust has had to be established through reputation alone. Word of mouth, long-standing relationships, goodwill built up over years. All of that works up to a point. But it doesn't scale well, it doesn't protect new clients, and it doesn't protect honest distributors from being lumped in with the ones who've cut corners. We’ve had times when clients would insult us directly by claiming they dodged a bullet simply because they read one dishonest review. That would cut very deep and give us sleepless nights on how we could solve this issue. We don’t blame the client for rushing to conclusions, they have to protect their interests and are using the data at hand but we were left feeling hopeless about the issues the industry has and how these could be resolved. And then we found Marketize.
What Marketize actually does differently
Marketize is a platform that sits between clients and distributors as a neutral third party. Every campaign run through it is GPS-tracked in real time. The app records the route walked, the time spent on each street, the start and end of each session - and it stores that data locally on the distributor's phone even when there's no signal, syncing it when connection comes back. There are no blank spots to hide in.
On top of that, distributors take geo-tagged photos during their rounds that appear as pins on the client's live map. Payment is held in an escrow-like system until the campaign is verified as complete. If there's a dispute, Marketize's team reviews all the evidence - GPS proof of delivery, photos, communication logs - as an independent party. For a full explanation of exactly what this tracking captures and how the audit trail works, what is GPS tracked leaflet delivery covers every element.
We'd seen platforms claim to offer GPS tracking before. The difference with Marketize is the offline-first approach to data capture. Most tracking systems we've come across are unreliable precisely because they depend on a live connection, which drops in urban areas constantly. Marketize solved that in a way that actually holds up in the field. That's part of a broader shift in technology in leaflet distribution - from systems that were easy to game to platforms where the data is objective, continuous, and unfakeable.
Why we decided to join
The straightforward answer is that we wanted to be able to show our clients something verifiable, not just ask them to take our word for it. We've always done the job properly. Joining a platform that can prove that - with GPS data, timestamps, and real time delivery tracking on every campaign felt like the natural next step.
There's also a business case. The tools available through Marketize such as the letterbox counting, the demographic mapping, the CRM for managing clients - are things we'd have had to build or pay for separately before. With Marketize they're included, better than what we had and for an agency of our size, that matters.
And honestly, the escrow-like system protects us as much as it protects our clients. We've had situations in the past where clients have been slow to pay or disputed work that was genuinely completed. The escrow model removes that uncertainty. Payment releases when the work is verified and it's cleaner for everyone.
What this means for our clients
If you've used ASA Distribution before, the service you get from us doesn't change. We are the same team, the same areas, the same approach to doing the job properly. What changes is the layer of accountability around it.
From now on, every campaign we run through Marketize gives you access to a live GPS map of your door to door leaflet distribution, a completion report with route data and timestamps, and leaflet distribution proof in the form of photo evidence from the route where applicable. You can watch your campaign in real time. You don't have to wait for a phone call to know how it's going. They even offer the option for you to generate and add a tracking QR code to your leaflet so you can see where, by how many people and at what times these were scanned and accessed, thus giving you the ability to track response rates. Coupled with discount codes or a dedicated phone line, you should be able to assess response rates with an unparalleled level of accuracy.
If you've been considering leaflet distribution but held off because you weren't confident you'd be able to verify the work - that concern is now addressed.
A note on the broader picture
We're not naive about why the leaflet distribution industry has the reputation it does in some quarters. Some of that reputation has been earned. There are operators in this space who have taken payment for work they didn't complete fully or at all, and that has made things harder for everyone - including companies like ours who take the job seriously and for our clients who had their campaigns affected.
Platforms like Marketize don't fix that problem overnight. But they do make it significantly harder for bad practice to go undetected, and significantly easier for honest operators to prove their worth. We think that's worth supporting. Above all, it ensures that clients do not have to suffer the cost of such actions.
If you have an upcoming campaign and want to discuss running it through the platform, get in touch through the usual channels. We'll walk you through what it looks like from the client side - the live map, the GPS trail, the photo pins, and the verification report. Or if you're ready to get started, you can view available campaigns and book directly on Marketize.
ASA Distribution has been providing leaflet distribution services across the UK since 2008. To find out more or book a campaign, check us out on the ASA Distribution or Marketize website and contact us today.