Direct Mail Marketers Get Gifts from USPS

The United States Postal Service just experienced what it projected as its busiest day of 2015. Of course in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the post office is on the minds of many as they await the delivery of gifts purchased online and from catalogs. This year, in addition to an ever-growing quantity of mail-order purchases, the USPS is also delivering some interesting gifts to direct mail marketers.

Although it is only available as a pilot in certain New York City ZIP Codes, the USPS has rolled out what it is calling the Informed Delivery app. App users will be able to see images of their mail each day before it arrives in their mailboxes. For now, the app uses the basic black-and-white photos the USPS captures of the front of every letter it handles.

However, according to a recent article in Direct Marketing News, services could be expanded. One of the possibilities mentioned is a value-added service where direct mail marketers can have links placed in the photos of their mail that the recipient can click. In the near term, the article cites the ability for recipients to see the mail that is intended to reach them before someone else in the household disregards it as unimportant. During an earlier, smaller test of the service, response rates to direct mail were said to be nearly twelve times higher among app users compared to non-users.

On broader scale, the USPS has also planned promotions for direct mail marketers in the coming calendar year. Building upon the promotions it offered in 2015, the 2016 plan includes incentives for the use of advanced printing technologies as well as crossovers between print and digital.

In the Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Mailpiece Engagement promotion, the USPS will offer a postage discount for registered marketers employing innovative use of advanced printing techniques. Techniques including specialty inks, sensory elements, textured papers, folds, die cuts and other elements can be interacted with and manipulated by the recipient.

As part of the Emerging and Advanced Technology/Video in Print promotion, mailers incorporating Near Field Communication (NFC), Augmented Reality (AR), or integrated video in their mailpiece can earn an upfront postage discount of 2%. In addition, mailers will be able to receive the same discount for A-B testing of response rates between versions with and without the advanced technologies.

Aside from a nice discount, what does this mean for organizations that rely on direct mail for marketing communication? For one it provides a strong sense of encouragement for marketers, designers and print buyers to think outside of the box. Additionally, it further proves that print is not only adaptable to today’s digital society, but that it actually helps drive it. As the demands and expectations placed on printed marketing communications become more complex, so do the specifications, schedules, files and production needs that bring them to fruition. Managing all of this is no simple task. It requires the flexibility, power and know-how that only specialty training and purpose-built tools can provide. It’s another page in a long history of print leading the way in graphic communication innovation and one that those of us dedicated to it are excited to turn.

Direct Mail Marketers Get Gifts from USPS

Einstein Didn"t Fail Math Either. Sorry.

Does everyone know Einstein’s definition of insanity?

It’s repeating the same misattributed quote over and over again as if Google doesn’t exist.

Page 474 of The Ultimate Quotable Einstein says the insanity quote originates on page 68 of Sudden Death a novel by Rita Mae Brown published in 1983. I checked. You can see it here. One of the characters in the book attributes the quote to a person named Jane Fulton.

But then, on Quora and Wikipedia, I see mention of how the quote may have originated with either Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous.

Let’s just agree it was said by someone anonymous. But not Einstein.

Anonymous providers are fine when sourcing ornaments for insipid rhetoric, but when it comes to custom print, the buyers eLynxx works with want to know their vendors. Putting aside the overhead associated with buying print through brokers, our clients value direct relationships. Reliable printers, who know their buyer’s business, and keep them up-to-date on relevant technologies, know how mushy some print buyers can sound talking about them. It’s cute.

And because the eLynxx software allows print buyers to “trust but verify,” print buyers cultivate direct relationships while achieving the transparency, control, and superior business results to ward off the print management firms their bosses might meet on a golf course.

They might see us on the golf course too, but we’re #teamprintbuyer. You’re safe with us.

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“Trust but verify.” Who said that? T. Thomas Fortune? Fydor Dostoyevsky? Ada Lovelace?

To Google!

Einstein Didn"t Fail Math Either. Sorry.

Who is Going to Notice Inconsistencies in Your Branding?

The place eLynxx Solutions calls home, like many small cities, has been re-envisioned several times in its existence. Booming industry and the bustling downtown that supported it have given way to new things like technology, historical tourism and a renewed focus on local agriculture, craftsmanship and art. Today, besides being home to a wonderfully innovative software company, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania is also home to an award-winning microbrewery and a newly-opened artists’ collective. Hipsters have even been spotted downtown. I suppose that’s par for the course.

I’m pretty passionate about the place I live and work. So when new things like the artists’ collective open downtown I take notice. I’m also pretty passionate about branding and marketing communications. So when I see quality, consistency and continuity, as well as a lack thereof, I take notice.

Walking downtown from my house a few weekends ago I noticed the artists’ collective was taking up residence on a busy Main Street corner in what is possibly one of the most interesting Victorian-era storefronts in town. I stopped to look at the display windows which were still being setup. There were some truly nice creations, which isn’t surprising considering the talent around these parts. They also had very well-done posters that revealed something that is so often lacking in community-based efforts – branding – actual, honest-to-goodness branding.

These posters featured an attractive, modern logo along with clean photography and a sleek layout. They were very contemporary and high-end looking. The printing of the posters and the stock they were on looked to be of high quality making a nod to traditional methods and quality. They were carefully mounted on boards and placed on wooden easels conveying a sense of handmade craftsmanship. Overall, the posters in the display windows communicated a clear brand message: handmade art that is contemporary but of traditional quality. It seemed to fit well and appeared to be a sign of good things to come.

With the passing of a few weeks I found myself stopped at the traffic light where the collective sits and I noticed something different. The signs from the long-departed business that were on the building had been replaced with new ones for the collective. Unfortunately they just didn’t send me the same message as the window posters. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not horrible. They told me the name of the shop and what it does and they certainly caught my eye because I noticed them. But they did not convey that same sense of contemporary style and quality as the posters.

The intent of this story isn’t to put down a local group that’s no doubt going to do great things in our community. On the contrary, I’m very impressed with everything else I’ve seen and I am excited about it. Rather, the intent is to put into perspective an issue that eLynxx has helped organizations deal with for years. Consistency and quality in the presentation of a brand is crucial regardless of the medium or communication channel. When there’s a bit of a breakdown in consistency or quality between the rather well-done posters and the DIY sign of a local art gallery, a local marketing nerd like me may notice. When the breakdown happens with a major organization, the world notices.

Who is Going to Notice Inconsistencies in Your Branding?