The New Glamour of an Old Friend – Direct Mail

There are times you don’t even want to open your email app because of all the ads you have to sift through to find what is important to you.

In response, big companies are recognizing the value of incorporating direct mail into their marketing campaigns.  

            Did I say “direct mail?”

Yes I did.

            But didn’t that die out with the dinosaurs?

Ah, but it’s been resurrected by Millenials who have overwhelmingly embraced the US Post Office’s Informed Delivery that lets users see what mail awaits them in their mailboxes – often before it has even been physically delivered.

And that is exactly where the opportunity awaits.

It’s no secret that ever since email was introduced as a viable marketing tool, direct mail has seen a decline.  You may have noticed yourself that fewer and fewer advertisements show up in your mailbox (the physical one, I mean – you know, the one outside your door that is visited occasionally by that vaguely familiar person in the USPS uniform?)

So, rather than just tossing direct mail flyers and postcards away, consumers are more likely to be paying attention today because of their relative rarity. The tides have turned – once email was novelty, now snail mail catches the eye.

Case in point: MB Financial used personalized direct mail to grow its business in Chicago – a notoriously cut-throat competitive market for banking.  Perceived as a big bank that only catered to large businesses, the bank sent out direct mail targeted to neighborhoods, with personal statements written by local branch managers. Putting a local face on a mega-bank opened the door to smaller businesses who now felt that they would be as welcome as the bigger guys.

Direct Mail for the Digital Age

But this isn’t the direct mail of your grandpa’s days.  The USPS allows direct mailers to attach a digital “Ride Along” that moves their mailer to the top of the viewing and includes extra info about the mailer, usually an image, as well as clickable links.

Already have awesome internet presence?  Then you are in a prime position to benefit from the direct mail of the future. And if you’re still working on your presence, determining your direct mail target audience can be highly valuable in helping you to find that laser-like focus for your website.

This type of minutely targeted advertising is something that digital printing presses handle with ease and finesse.

Scantech Graphics, located in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, has the necessary equipment to get you started.

Look for direct mail opportunities to grow in the 2020’s.

Many thanks to TargetMarketingmag.com for information used in this article.