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mail delivered to their home from the brand whose site they recently visited.
Imagine the following scenario: you log onto a retailer’s website to take a closer look
at a watch you’re interested in. You view one other timepiece and are unsure which you prefer. You’ve placed the original in your shopping cart, but you exit the site unsure if you want to make the purchase. Later that week you receive a fully customized postcard in the mail, complete with eye-catching photos and descriptions of the two watches you were comparing and a free shipping offer to encourage you to return to the site to claim your watch.
Transforming activity on a website into
a postal address and dynamically printing
a personalized piece of direct mail affords marketers the opportunity to marry the best
of digital marketing with the impact of physical direct mail.
ONLINE-FIRST COMPANIES SCORE BIG WITH DIRECT MAIL We’re all familiar with the usual suspects who use direct mail: financial institutions, universities, political groups, not-for-profits, automotive brands, etc. But in addition to these entities, a surprising number of digitally native organizations are experimenting with direct mail campaigns.
It may seem counterintuitive that online-first companies are reaching out to audiences via a medium that dates back decades, but logically, it makes sense: direct-to-consumer startups such as Casper, Dollar Shave Club, and Blue Apron
are prime candidates for print and direct mail marketing success. After all, home delivery of their subscription-based products is foundational to their business models.
HelloFresh, a meal-kit delivery service, is a prime example of a brand that’s mastered direct mail. In a recent campaign, the company sent out a piece that included a suggested recipe and a $50-off offer. From the packaging—a brown-and- green envelope that exuded “freshness” and was reminiscent of a shopping bag—to its carefully crafted copy—“Ugh. Grocery shopping. Eliminate the hassle and save time.”—every element was engineered to stand out among a stack of boring white envelopes. The piece hit the trifecta of direct mail success utilizing an automatically
tipped-in discount card, an applied personalized post-it note, and a custom envelope carrier.
QR CODES ARE WORKS OF ART
Did you know that every Twitter app has a QR code reader? Introduced by Twitter at the end of 2016, it works for any QR code, not just Twitter account links (like Snapcodes). That means that over 328 million people have a QR scanner in their pockets. In addition, all iPhones running iOS 11 (or later) and most Android phones have native QR code functionality built-in to their cameras.
Enter the new generation of QR codes—literal works of art.
With the rise of popularity of video as a content marketing format, and personalized customer experiences being at the forefront of every marketers’ campaigns, consumers of all ages seek easier ways to engage with brands and their content. QR codes can connect a consumer to video, registrations, personalized microsites and more from a non-digital medium like direct mail.
Enter the new generation of QR codes—literal works of art. With the ability to custom-design a QR code, branded specifically to your organization, cause, or campaign, you now have a unique and irresistible gateway between the tangible direct mail and an online experience.
THE NEXT GENERATION OF DIRECT MAIL CATALOGS
B2C direct mail catalogs soared in popularity in 2017, particularly among small and medium-sized
businesses. This resurgence is in part because custom catalogs have become more affordable; advanced print and production capabilities have taken the cost and complexity out of tailoring versions; and they are now driven by consumer data gathered through multiple marketing channels, allowing you to target the right customers at the right time with the right content.
According to an article published by USPSDelivers.com, the hottest catalog format trends include: micro-catalogs—a perfect vehicle to feature a specific selection of your products that you want to promote; magalogs—a mix of magazine and catalog that combine product information with editorial content; and mini- catalogs. Mailing at approximately the same cost of a standard automated letter, minis can provide up to ten pages to promote products and drive customers to company websites and custom landing pages.
Smaller brands may not have the marketing dollars to conduct such lavish experiments, but there are still a variety of resources that allow them to get creative with direct mail, including print techniques and software solutions that let marketers add elements of interactivity to ink and paper. Platforms that specialize in programmatic IP targeting and increasingly cost-effective ways of tapping into AR/VR interactivity (think Google Cardboard and mobile-first AR apps such as Uncovr) mean that game-changing technologies may be within reach sooner than marketers ever thought possible.
Here’s a scenario from the not-too-distant future: You get home from work and scoop your mail, only to notice a flashy card from one of your favorite online retailers. Curious, you follow the CTA prompt—which promises $ off—and use your mobile device to scan an illustration. You watch as a cartoon animation comes to life on-screen, simultaneously displaying a discount code. At the end of the video, you’re transported to your online shopping cart, where you find yourself staring at the very product you’ve been eyeing online for weeks.
The above hypothetical is far from far-fetched. For marketers, we’re living in a brave new world of technology meeting tangibility, digital and direct mail working in harmony, and the screen and the mailboxsynced. n
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