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

Printing is Different and Different is Good

This morning I finally got around to reading the print and communication industry articles that have been piling up in my feed for a few days. Of all of the headlines and synopses, this one in particular caught my eye; US Commercial Printing Shipments Have Strong February, +5.2%, by WhatTheyThink.com’s Dr. Joe Webb. As a marketing communications guy who leans more toward the creative and problem solving side of things, economics isn’t normally shiny enough to get my attention. That being said, even though I am not what you would call a number cruncher, I do have a knack for identifying trends based on observations out in the wild. This particular article seemed to be aligned to one of those observations. Plus, Dr. Joe’s analysis is generally straightforward, concise and often entertaining; so I clicked.

I’m not going to restate everything in the article here, you should check it out yourself, but I will summarize one key point. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that after a good January, February’s printing shipments were up over $300 million year-to-year. This means different things to different people. For printers who, as Dr. Joe notes, may still be facing reduced profits, it could mean some wiggle room as they adapt to a changing marketplace. For the people and organizations that put commercial printing to use, it supports the observation that print is not dead, it is alive and viable, but it is different.

Creative impact and efficiency – in terms of production and distribution – along with convenience and visibility – in terms of audience consumption – often drive tactical and media choices in marketing communication. What we print today is different from what we printed in the past. Many of the more pedestrian or throwaway items of the past have shifted to digital formats. It’s efficient and convenient. We can crank those out and reach the audience wherever they are at any time by doing it this way. But what is being printed today, and the people who are behind it, is impressive and surprising. We are printing on surfaces that, when I began my career two decades ago, were unheard of. We are combining print with technology that didn’t even exist ten years ago using processes that seem to be right out of mid-20th century science fiction. Organizations that you normally wouldn’t think to use in the same sentence as printing; companies like Google, eBay and Amazon, have successfully combined big data and high levels of personalization with extremely creative printing.

We may not be printing as much as we used to. What we are printing is more complex, more unique and more strategic than ever before. Organizations that are pouring their hearts, souls, dollars and trust into these projects need access to printers that are adopting new efficiencies and investing in new technologies to meet the needs of today’s print buyer. Print projects, and all of the people who play a role in them, need to be given the recognition and support they deserve. The numbers don’t lie. We are seeing a rebound in commercial printing and it’s not because we’ve given up digital communication and reverted back to ink and paper. It’s because we’re using print in wonderful new ways that, now more than ever, demand stronger marketing supply chains with purpose-built tools and methods for achieving the best possible results.

Printing is Different and Different is Good

Five Reasons Why Printed Marketing Materials are Still Important

Despite the fact that we seem to live so much of our lives online, we are still physical beings living in a physical world. Regardless of how attached are to social media we still crave physical communication. For that reason alone, printed marketing materials are still important in today’s digitally saturated environment. Let’s take a look at some of the many reasons that even the simplest of printed marketing communications like direct mail are highly effective in an organization’s outreach strategy.

Exposure

Printed marketing communications offer a great magnitude of exposure and create lasting impact. Their physical form has staying power that allows the audience to interact with them anytime. A publication or even a brochure left on a table has reach well beyond the individual to whom it was sent. This kind of pass-along can be very effective as it occurs in a natural and casual manner driven by genuine interest on the part of the individual.

Targeting

Because of its maturity as a strategy and the vast amount of data that is collected on people and organizations in their physical environments, printed marketing communications can be directed to highly targeted audiences. Variable printing, personalization and mail automation technologies enable even massive direct mail campaigns to be customized and targeted with pinpoint accuracy. This allows outreach and engagement with an audience at a highly effective, personal level without the often creepy feeling that highly personal social media outreach can have.

Branding

Printed marketing communications strengthen a brand by bringing a unified image used across other channels into direct physical contact with the audience. Because print is physical and able to be placed into the hands of prospects and customers it allows for outside of the box creativity such as the inclusion of samples and even multimedia. Printed marketing communication’s physical nature lend it a premium characteristic that can be used to convey quality and luxury. This physical nature can be used to appeal to the senses, like touch, smell, and with some creativity, taste that can not be accessed via other channels. For brands that exist strictly online, print is the perfect way to gain local presence without the need for brick and mortar facilities.

Measurability

Everyone knows that, thanks to tracking codes, online marketing communication is easy to measure. Print communication is the granddaddy of measurability. Coupons, redemption vouchers and other forms of tracking have proven the effectiveness of printed marketing for generations. Tracking and measurability of print campaigns can be done with automated technology or it can be as simple and low-tech as counting coupons or the number of enquiries made.The effectiveness of a print marketing campaign can be easily measured using simple techniques.

Flexibility

The best thing about print marketing is that it can easily be used in a combination with online tools. Not only is it perfect for reaching audiences not engaged with social media, it can be used to connect the physical and online worlds. Scanning technologies and augmented reality make a direct connection between print and digital. Even simple codes can be used to drive customers and prospects to a website. Print can actually be one of the most effective ways to convert offline customers to online and drive repeat or increased online engagement. Believe it or not, printed marketing communication is used frequently and very effectively by online giants like Google, eBay and Amazon.

While advances in media and marketing technology get all of the glory, classic approaches like print are still going strong. It gives access to audience segments, creates impact and builds awareness that will bring new life into any marketing strategy.

Five Reasons Why Printed Marketing Materials are Still Important

The Magic of Print - IKEA Gets It - and Makes Us Laugh Too!

Common Sense – In Furniture and Marketing

Leave it up to a company that has successfully made knock-down furniture, hex key wrenches and one-word names packed with Nordic accent marks stylish to not only get what makes printed communication important, but to make it sexy and desirable too. Taking a jab at the hype surrounding the upcoming fall releases of new products from the high-tech world, Swedish furniture purveyor IKEA has decided to call attention to all of the positive and user-friendly aspects of its printed catalog.

Experience the Power of…a Catalog!

IKEA’s launch video for the latest edition of its catalog has already been hailed for parodying the style of tech giants like Apple. Its dry humor presenting a traditional printed piece using terminology common to technology has made it a viral smash. But it also strikes a chord for marketers who know that printed communication is still a vital part of their promotional mix. While it may be funny to see a catalog being described as if it were an iPad; it brings awareness to the fact everything that digital media has to live up to was, and still is, based in good old-fashioned print. IKEA definitely gets it – print and digital communication can not only live side by side, they can drive one another as well. Check out the video below.

The Magic of Print - IKEA Gets It - and Makes Us Laugh Too!