You’ve Got Data and the Message. Vehicle Delivery Needed.
“Ha! You’ve got to be kidding. You can barely walk the dog without getting winded and you think you can run a 10 K….”
My inner struggle begins with a glance at a piece of mail.
“Sure you used to play baseball back in the day but that was when you had a sliver of athletic ability and now all you have is a giant slice of chocolate cake…”
The tabbed, four color, self-mailer had caught my attention and demanded that I open and read further.
“Why are you still reading this?”
The compelling images and messaging had hooked me, it was too late, there was nothing I could do but continue reading.
“Well, this does look like a good idea and the money raised will help a lot of people who don’t get no respect, no respect at all.”
The call to action was too strong for me to resist and soon the doubting voice in my head, which oddly enough sounds like Rodney Dangerfield, began to subside.
“You know what? Let’s do this!”
And boom, just like that, a piece of unsolicited mail compelled me to part with a few $10 dollar bills and run 10 kilometers.
You’ve got the data and you’ve got the message, now all you need is a vehicle to deliver that message to your audience. So what options do you have? Well, as Cheryl showed me, LOTS!
At the June 21st, DMAW Lunch and Learn, Cheryl Keedy from Production Solutions brought the wide world of direct mail design to the forefront. Our luncheon tables were strewn with dozens of mail pieces (a nice touch) which showed tangible examples of the many options at our disposal.
Cheryl broke down the many types of mailings we may run across (e.g. statement, high dollar, premium, etc.). She showed hundreds of examples that helped illustrate “what’s mailing now”. Cheryl has her finger firmly on the pulse of today’s direct mail market and while I had seen many of the examples, in one form or another, she informed us of which design options were working well and the markets where they were successful.
Knowing what has been successful and what consumers are responding too is a vital key in planning your mail piece. Because, in the end, all marketers want the same thing, for their mail piece to be relevant and compelling enough to be opened.
Direct mail remains a relevant and powerful marketing tool, one capable of getting me to run 10 gut busting kilometers. Cherly is right, whatever, your message; whatever, your challenge. Direct mail has a design option that will help you get to the finish line.
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Garrett Reid is an Account Executive at RMS Direct and is in the Customer Service Department. He can be reached at 240.436.1007 or greid@rmsdirectinc.com.