This is not Junk Mail.

Posted by Luis Paez on November 11th, 2009 | 2 Responses

I received this on Monday and was enamored by the “whole package” of this campaign – from the colors to the personalization.  This is one of the most clever direct mail campaigns I’ve seen in a while, because it makes people stop.  Think.  Re-consider.  Below is the envelope which features in stark letters “This is not Junk Mail.” , a clever tactic considering that many people consider direct mail to be junk mail.  We can argue about the proper term, but this envelope does a better job than we ever could.  It pushes back at a prejudiced notion that anything that comes through the mailbox is “junk mail”.  It makes people re-consider that this advertising message is of value to them.  That they should open & consider it.

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Once you open the envelope, it contains a folded letter, a folded flyer and a small insert.  All three pieces re-iterate the value proposition, that of fast mobile internet access at a price point way below what other wireless companies would charge you.  It did it’s magic – I myself am considering the service because I’m impressed with their value prop & message in addition to the marketing of it all. Read More »

Frederick Herot on Personalizing Direct Mail

Posted by Luis Paez on September 15th, 2009 | 1 Response

At the Marketing Innovation Summit 2009

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The “Auto-personalize Your Mailing” Mailing

Posted by Luis Paez on August 19th, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I have to say, this is a clever idea.  As a campaign to promote the ad agency Rapp, and their new name/image, Rapp sent out this interesting piece which consisted of a “box” which contained a button.  That button, once you pushed it down, rubber stamped the recipient’s name onto the top of the letter.  Oh, wait, I didn’t tell you… The “box” unfolds into a letter, which expresses their desire for their clients to be “personally involved” with the image.  The reason that I am writing a blog post about this, is that it’s clever, but I think it could have been more clever in the right context.  This campaign made no mention of the topic of personalization and variable data… but it should have.

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Imagine how effective this campaign would have been if the goal was to explain the idea of personalization (and variable data) and how “it doesn’t have to be this hard”.  It probably cost a bundle per piece especially with creating rubber stamps with all the recipients’ names on them, but could get across the notion that if a company is not tailoring their letters, direct mail, or any one -to-one printed collateral – as well as emails – that they really haven’t opened their eyes as to how easy it is to implement this type of communication.  Looking at QuantumDigital‘s platform, we make basic “address field” personalization available to all customers as part of our normal cost of doing business, but more advanced technology (right now you have to call in to request this) would create a personalized mailing which recognizes a recipients’ lifestyle, ethnic group – or maybe just their name in different places on the piece – has been setup for clients in the past.

So in essence, this is a great piece and concept, but has it’s limits because of the high cost per piece and the limited novelty factor.  But if you’re in love with rubber stamps with every mailing, I’m not going to stop you :)

I’ve Got to Say it Again… Direct Mail is Far From Dead

Posted by Cynthia Fedor on July 14th, 2009 | 1 Response

On a recent MarketingSherpa blog post, the author, Adam T. Sutton, summarizes a conversation he had with Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell Associates, regarding the decline of direct mail. You can read the post here.

I think that Borrell is missing an important shift in direct mail marketing today and his point of view seems skewed based on the products and services he’s offering. Just because volume of direct mail is expected to decline, that doesn’t mean using direct mail as part of a complete and well-balanced marketing effort will die.

According to a recent survey conducted by BtoB Magazine, “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans,” almost 50% of marketers will increase spending on targeted direct mail and email marketing with the intended purpose of acquiring more qualified leads, followed by brand awareness and customer retention. A similar survey, the 2008 Ad-ology “Small Business Marketing Outlook,” revealed the continuation of this trend among small business owners in the U.S. Over half of small business advertisers surveyed will maintain or increase marketing spend on direct mail in 2009.

What he’s failing to acknowledge is why the direct mail landscape today is changing, and how. The integration of new technologies in direct mail processes is making extreme personalization, pinpoint targeting and database-driven triggered direct mail campaigns not only possible, but timely, affordable and effective.

To completely dismiss direct mail as a valid and effective part of a well-crafted marketing plan is, well, ignorant. Rather than explaining a potential decrease in direct mail volume as proof that direct mail is no longer a cost-effective medium that generates results, Borrell should consider that because of new technology, it’s possible for businesses to spend less while seeing better results.

Additionally, Borrell argues that:

The disruptor (for direct mail) is Internet marketing in general, and email marketing in particular…

To some extent, this is true. However, the statement he makes just prior to the above comment cannibalizes his theory:

When something grows really fast and gets up to a high level, and there’s a disrupter in the market place, some other technology that provides pretty much the same level of service but in a more efficient way, then you can expect there to be a roller coaster decline.

I challenge Borrell to take the time to explore how technology is making direct mail a power player in the marketing industry and how integrating it with other off-line and online efforts can make him a believer in direct mail today.

Direct Marketing Best Practice: Quality Over Quantity Always Rules

Posted by Cynthia Fedor on July 6th, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Over the past couple of weeks, I was witness to a competition amongst two of my officemates. They were in a battle to see who could reach 2,000 followers on Twitter first. Every so often I’d hear about their strategies for building an audience or when they’d reached “milestone” quantities of followers. Let me tell you, this contest was ridiculous. Sure, they may have been growing in followers… but what kind?

I read a great post on Michelle’s Blog titled, “How Someone with 2,000 Twitter Followers Can Be More Powerful than a Person with 25,000.” In plain, common-sense English, she outlines why quality over quantity matters.

In almost every case, especially in direct marketing, this will be true. Whether you’re developing an email marketing campaign, lead-generation direct mail campaign, viral marketing campaign, etc.-scrutinize your lists and make sure your spending time and money on people that matter to your business and on people that care about what you have to say or offer. Not only are your chances for getting higher response rates better, but that audience will be the best evangelists for your brand.

Here are some quick tips that can help you develop quality through your direct marketing efforts:

  1. Try to pre-qualify incoming leads when building your prospect database. Segment leads based on where the lead was found and/or ask key questions to help determine if a particular lead is a cold, warm or hot prospect.
  2. Continue to segment lists, grouping responders from non-responders and those who engage from those that do not.
  3. When choosing an advertising venue, explore all targeting options available to you and ask yourself, “Will marketing through this venue offer me more general exposure or will it allow me to target prospects with specific qualities?”

As always, I wish you a productive week.

Postcards in Space!

Posted by Eric Welch on April 21st, 2009 | 1 Response

Back on April 1st, we issued a press release that had all the trappings of an April Fools prank.  But, as it is often said, good humor always contains a grain of truth.  That grain of truth is now revealed by world-renowned space adventurer and video game developer Richard Garriott in a video interview from May 2008.  Mr. Garriott had requested we keep this under wraps until well after his return from his stay aboard the ISS because of a time-sensitive magic trick involving the postcards.  Watch and be amazed!

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Now, we’re not absolutely sure, but we think QuantumDigital might very well be the first company to conduct a direct mail campaign through space.  Anyone out there care to verify or dispute that claim?

Tough Road Ahead for USPS

Posted by Freddie Baird on April 16th, 2009 | Leave a Comment

If we are taking bets on who gets the next bailout, my money would rest squarely on the United States Postal Service. I’m not saying they deserve taxpayer help, but fairness rarely determines who gets a handout from Uncle Sam. When you look at the dreadfully negative financial situation of the USPS, things seem eerily similar to our beleaguered American auto industry.

Obviously hard hit by the current recession, like most companies large and small, the USPS seems to be in crash and burn mode. If the recent appearance of Postmaster General Jack Potter before a congressional oversight committee is any indication, desperation is here. Potter said, “We need your help because our actions, by themselves, will be insufficient to offset a declining financial situation. The gap between revenue and costs has become a chasm, widening each day. We are facing losses of historic proportions. Our situation is critical.” After two straight years of losses totalling nearly $8 billion—yes that’s right, billion with a big B—there’s little difference between these guys and GM.

Potter’s solution to this crisis is to cut mail delivery to five days from the current six. Of course, there’s no expectation this change, which wasn’t warmly received by Washington, will completely stop the slide toward a $3 billion deficit for this fiscal year and an expected $6 billion in 2010.

First class mail volume has been plummeting for five straight years due to consumers opting for electronic communication (email, text, Facebook and Twitter) and online bill pay. But until a sharp 22 percent decline in the recent quarter, standard mail was growing at a healthy pace. That sharp decline in advertising mail caused a big “uh-oh” in the direct marketing industry that has not only had to withstand annual increases in postal rates, but higher overhead to qualify for the best discounts. While the mailer community is weathering a weak economy through tough cost-cutting moves such as plant closures and layoffs, the postal service has largely escaped the pain with a mere 3 percent reduction in spending in 2008.

To be clear, direct labor costs account for much of the financial imbalance at the USPS. Out of every dollar it collects, an estimated $.80 goes to employee pay and benefits. The scary thing is that other industries, to survive, have leaned on technology to reduce production and labor costs, but the USPS has maintained the same bloated labor structure for 30 years. Also, what smart private business would raise its prices while its business slides into the abyss? Not many who hope to survive. Don’t get me wrong…at QuantumDigital, we respect the work that the USPS does and we certainly want them to remain a viable delivery service. But they need drastic changes to their model.

For starters, they should get out of the Express package delivery service where they are a distant third among major carriers. As long as they are last, this service seems to be more of a distraction than a positive. Secondly, they need sweeping labor cuts that will certainly cause the service level to decline in some markets. This would include doing away with many rural delivery routes as well as shuttering many local postal offices that aren’t making money. Consumers will need to face the reality that they will drive a little more to buy postage or put a package in the mail. But there are many options for that now with online postage and privately owned “pack and ship” stores. Finally, the USPS should consider reducing rates for high volume customers, not constantly raising them. On that last note, they seem to be coming around; maybe my other suggestions will follow.

Be Shocking and Outrageous for Direct Mail That Works

Posted by Luis Paez on April 15th, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Tough times breed marketing focus.  If anyone tells you that what all companies need is slick, modern creative pieces – walk away.  What you need is simply what works (and what fits with your brand identity).  When you really think of all the advertising that you can recall – think back to ads you saw a year ago – I think you’ll agree that it either was entertaining, emotional or shocking in some way.  Some of the marketing that tends to stop people in their tracks uses something unexpected.  Yes, you can put a chocolate bar in an envelope and send it through the mail, though it would be very unexpected, it’s likely that hot summer days might ruin the impression you wanted to make.

Here I’ll focus simply on conceptual marketing that used “shocking” tactics to impress and create a lasting impression:

Make your company’s value PERSONAL

An Indian placement agency called The Profiler needed to attract the best and brightest marketing professionals so that they could boost the talent base they marketed to their agency clients.

Their campaign was simply to send their ideal candidates (marketing professionals, themselves) 15 business cards.  These weren’t just any business cards,  they were 15 business cards with the candidates’ name on them, and their design was in the corporate style of each of the top 15 Advertising Agencies in the area.

Besides the fact that almost all of the targeted candidates responded to the company, the question it leaves for us is – how can we bring our marketing message and our business’ value to an audience in a very personal way?

Use the Ridiculous

epromos blogged about a great example of using ridiculous tactics to impress.  They showed how Vodaphone sent out a blank instruction manual to demonstrate the simplicity of their new broadband modem.

This is great execution, and by using an existing concept that everyone is familiar with, they are able to widely create buzz.  The only thing I would also caution here, is that when you employ a ridiculous tactic, also include something at the end of the experience that explains yourself clearly.  There will always be those sticklers who may need the concept explained to them.

Relax – and be Outrageous

When I say outrageous, I don’t mean profane.  For example, what if you received this message:

When I saw this, the first thing I thought was “Wow – are there actually people who really hate sheep?”  Next on my mind was “Why exactly do they hate sheep – one of the cutest animals imaginable?”  Reading on, I learn more about this particular marketing company that preaches that brands should “make themselves remarkable”.  I like them already! You can read more about this Clever Man-campaign on Advergirl (and to be fair, the agency who employed this approach was Sullivan Higdon & Sink); however, the reason I bring it up is though this approach was implemented as a website it could easily be repurposed for direct mail and print.

The central idea here is to take your core message and boil it down so that it borders on the extreme.  If you can’t think of anything immediately, try boiling your message down to three words.  It worked for the sheep-haters.

Go Far, but not Too Far

There are campaigns that go too far, so that they may be considered deceptive.  The Direct Creative blog outlines one here.  If you have any questions on whether your approach borders on the illegal, ask other marketers that you respect.  Usually this “peer reviewed” common sense will keep your campaign on the right side of the law.

Revelations: Portrait of a Direct Mail Campaign

Posted by Eric Welch on April 14th, 2009 | 3 Responses

Hiya!  Yes, it’s that time again.  But instead of a lengthy dissertation on something related to direct mail, this week I’ve decided to do a lengthy video on something related to direct mail!  Well, not that lengthy… only 4 minutes or so.  Enjoy!

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So, what did you think?  Should I do more blog posts this way?  Or will my hopes of being the next viral video star be dashed upon the sharp rocks that line the shores of social media?

Creating a Neighborhood Association or Blockwatch Party

Posted by Luis Paez on March 11th, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Recently, my home was burglarized and after the grief of losing several computer and electronic possessions, I started to think about how I would prevent this from happening in the future.  Immediately, I bought a basic alarm protection package – but the more that I read about the subject, the more I am realizing that my neighbors are really the best type of protection.  Even some co-workers who live in Round Rock, and consider it the safest city in the U.S., had to bear a rash of robberies conducted during broad daylight, and could stand some neighborhood co-operation.

I found a neighborhood website that referenced a checklist issued by the local police department on what to do to form a “blockwatch” or “neighborhood watch” and here are the first 3 steps:

  1. Talk with immediate neighbors and get their buy in as being part of a core group of people
  2. Contact your police department district representative office.  They may be available to speak or consult with concerns.
  3. Design a flyer to promote the neighborhood meetings (but don’t place in the mailbox if it doesn’t have a stamp – the U.S. post office is touchy about this).

Reading those initial steps seem easy enough and at the very least will give neighbors more awareness of who you are and the existence of a neighborhood group.  The thing that struck me as very “old world” was handing out flyers door to door.  It would take 1/10th the time to just use a postcard and the MapMail product.  Just draw out your neighborhood boundaries on a Google map and send a simple announcement card, completely online.

If you want to get a little more advanced, or just wanted to commiserate with homeowners about all the renters in your neighborhood, you could even set up a simple demographic filter like the one below, so you only contact homeowners.

After the first few meetings, you’ll likely have enough email addresses that you can just create a small email list to contact the active neighbors.  But there may be a need to do new mailings every few months just to involve those new to the neighborhood or whose interest level changes.  Anyway, knowing your neighbors is valuable not just in terms of security, but also in creating a sense of community for yourself and for your family.  (Wow, can you tell I’m about to be a new dad? :) )