PRINT | Direct Marketing Guide 2012
Why direct mail marketing
still matters in the digital age
Dave Scott, Marketfish
Direct mail was once the darling of savvy market- ers, but with the rise of
social media and email market-
ing, the tactic is often overlooked
for something sexier. It’s truly
a shame, because direct mail is
still an exciting tool for acquiring
customers, and it has its place in
the modern marketing mix.
n Engagement. Direct
mail has a few core attributes
working in its favor. Namely, it’s
a physical object. Physical mail
has this habit of sticking around,
lying on a desk or table, while
unwanted emails are quickly
deleted and Web pages can be
abandoned.
A mailer may go unnoticed at
first, but repeat mailings often
yield increased response rates.
In fact, the U.S. Postal Service’s
2007 “Household Diary Study”
states that 80% of households
read or scan advertising mail.
n Take direct mail
digital. Direct mail pieces are
easily updated for the digital
customer. Simply include a
quick response code or a
personalized URL on each
mailer. These techniques allow
your customer to engage with
your brand online, taking your
marketing strategy down the
multichannel funnel. These
digital strategies also allow you to better track the metrics asso- ciated with each mailing piece. n Deliverability. With email marketing, you always have deliverability challenges. Will your email even make it into the recipient’s inbox, or will it be quarantined in the SPAM folder? With direct mail, deliver- ability isn’t an issue. If you send a piece of mail to a valid ad- dress, it’s going to be delivered. n Physicality. There’s
just something special about
receiving a piece of print media.
Dave Scott is founder
and CEO of Marketfish.
Reach him at dave@
marketfish.com.
Insert media offers revenue
stream through distribution
Leon Henry, Leon Henry Inc.
The news from the insert media front is bright and getting brighter. Even
with social media and related
Internet activities, insert media
is expanding its reach.
Many companies know a
source of revenue is available by
partnering with logical and non-
competitive advertisers. These
companies understand that
income from distributing inserts
in their outgoing packages, state-
ments and catalogs more than
offsets the set up and distribu-
tion costs. A cataloger with 1
million shipments yearly stands
to earn $240,000 on a net basis.
Mailers that need to reach spe-
cific markets find that there are
many companies offering insert
distribution services. It’s easy to
reach millions of senior citizens
or new homeowners among
many categories.
The U.S. Postal Service has
acknowledged that there is an
income stream by encouraging
inserts in various venues, specifi-
cally statements. Large utilities,
banks, Visa card companies
and other major senders of
monthly statements will get an
extra ounce of advertising to
sell to insert mailers. The ad-
ditional postage will be minimal,
encouraging statement mailers to
participate with those companies
offering the service. Since major
advertisers have experience in
using statements, this is a win-
win situation for all concerned.
Leon Henry is chairman
and CEO of Leon Henry
Inc. Reach him at
lh@leonhenry.com.
