You might be surprised to learn that despite being an advocate of digital marketing, I still believe there is a place for old fashioned Direct Mail, delivered through the post.
There is still great power in the tactility of receiving something to your hands, and it’s power to interrupt (we still all check our post, and it’s quite rare to receive any physical post nowadays even bills) is unbeatable.
In truth, good Direct Mail is like any good marketing, it’s about getting the details right - targeting and execution. We’ve all received a white envelope addressed to “The Resident” and instantly know the contents are going to be irrelevant to our lives.
The image shows the envelope I received last week from my alma mater, Aston University.
It engaged me instantly.
I could see immediately there would be something interesting inside. After all, if they had gone to such great length to design the envelope, then what would the contents be?
Inside was my regular, quarterly update magazine, so I was slightly disappointed, but nonetheless I read it from cover to cover there and then.
It looked like they’d gone the extra mile with content this time and it was a better read than normal and I took out the clear message that they are looking to raise money for more scholarships.
The reality is that it’s not the medium that matters, it’s about the power of 1 to 1 marketing, where you know your customer/recipient and can deliver a clear, effective message to them. Not always getting them to act immediately but sometimes just doing brand building work.
In this case the extra cost of the printed envelope (and customisation is getting cheaper by the year) delivered a significant increase in engagement and memorability.
It’s all about the details.....