Go Big or Go Home

What do you think a good direct mail response rate would be? How about 100%? Would that be good enough for you?

While people have been mourning the death of direct mail for years, it just ain’t so. According to the Direct Marketing Association, 65% of consumers have made a purchase as a result of direct mail. *

Traditional direct mail can be great, assuming you have a defined target, good list, and take advantage of personalization and timing based on buying triggers. But that’s not what this blog is about.

Think big.

My first experience with a high impact mailer came addressed to me from a freelancer I used who was on vacation in Florida. He blew up a giant beach ball, Sharpied a note thanking me for the work that allowed him to jet off to a beach, and sent it to me. That was nearly 20 years ago, and I remember it vividly.

High impact mail has been a favorite tactic of Spoke for a long time for one simple reason: it works. We’ve sent GIANT posters, custom bobble-heads, cardboard chairs, Mad-Magazine-style fold-ins, and bricks to name a few. Sure, the cost is higher per unit, but the results are always worth it.

With ‘traditional’ direct mail, we’re thrilled if we get over a 1% response rate (thrilled). While that is a good number, and depending on what you’re trying to achieve – can have a substantial return on investment. With high impact mailers, we’ve seen responses that range from 5% to (literally) 100%.

They’re called high impact for a reason. These items don’t get thrown away, they don’t get trashed by a gatekeeper, and they make a lasting impression. Plus, thanks to Big Data, most marketers know precisely who their target is, and what marketing action they want them to take (i.e., make a purchase, visit a landing page, request more information).

Next time you have a chance, trust me. Think outside the envelope.

 

*DMA Factbook, 2013

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David Meyer

There are a lot of great story-tellers, but there aren’t enough story-understanders. When clients have trouble explaining a new value proposition, David can name that tune in fewer words than they imagined possible. When prospects come to us with a symptom, David asks the (sometimes hard) questions that get to the root of the problem. Then he solves it. After decades in account management and creative roles, David is able to bridge the gap between creatives and clients (and back). Oh, and he can tell stories, too.

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