From endless emails and video calls to continual scrolling on our devices to the possibilities of virtual reality—our everyday lives seem to be growing more and more entwined with the digital spaces we inhabit. And while these digital spaces allow endless opportunities for brands to interact with their target audiences, there is a potentially overlooked traditional marketing tool that could offer your brand a deeper, more authentic connection with your audience. Direct mail offers a unique opportunity to cut through the digital clutter and meet your audience in a way that feels more personal, tangible, and memorable.
Advantages of Personalized Direct Mail
While it may not be delivered at the speed of your fingertips, direct mail gets read. Unlike the flood of marketing emails that often go unopened, direct mail boasts an average open rate of 42.2% and, in turn, an impressive ROI compared to many other marketing mediums. For most Americans, clearing an inbox feels like a chore, and marketing emails are easily ignored in a rush to get through the list. In contrast, over 56% of Americans are excited to check their mailbox each day and are interested in the mail they receive.
Direct mail offers the unique advantage of speaking to your audience on their own terms—in their own homes or offices and on their own time. According to recent studies, 73% of consumers report that they prefer the tangibility of direct mail for brand communications over digital ads. While an important part of your marketing strategy, digital marketing efforts can be overlooked or perceived as intrusive, hindering users from accomplishing tasks or enjoying entertainment (like social media ads cluttering the feed, digital banners distracting from an article, or streaming ads interrupting your playlist). While these efforts can be quickly scrolled past and forgotten, recipients interact with mail at their own convenience, and direct mail pieces often remain in a recipient’s home or on their desk, serving as a visible reminder until they are ready to view them.
73% of consumers report that they prefer the tangibility of direct mail for brand communications over digital ads.
This tangible, physical quality of direct mail also offers brands an opportunity to establish a personal connection with their audience. 70% of consumers find direct mail to be much more personal than digital interactions. According to the USPS, even digitally native millennials and Gen Z say that receiving engaging direct mail makes them feel special. Beyond a compelling design and relevant message, physical qualities such as paper quality, size, and shape allow readers to interact with the piece in a deeper way, creating a physical and emotional connection with your audience and increasing memorability.
Considerations for an Effective Direct Mail Campaign
While personalized direct mail can be a strong addition to your marketing strategy, an effective direct mail campaign requires more than an address list. There are several aspects to consider when creating a direct mail piece that will stand out from the stack and impact your audience.
- Tangible Touches - While visual design and messaging may be the foremost considerations, physical qualities such as dimensions and format also play a key role in helping your piece get noticed. Flat mailers are often more likely to be read over letters or pamphlets tucked into envelopes. Generally, larger pieces tend to be noticed before smaller postcard sizes and are harder to lose on a cluttered desk or coffee table. Even the tactility of paper texture or coatings can set a piece apart.
- Integration with a Comprehensive Campaign - Direct mail is most effective when combined with other marketing efforts. A personalized direct mail piece can be an invitation for your audience to interact with your brand in the digital space. Include QR codes, URLs, and social media integration to encourage interaction and follow up your direct mail campaign with an email to enhance recognition and further engage the audience.
- Creating a Personal Connection - Personalization emerges as a key factor in driving engagement. Simply including a first and last name can boost open rates by 135%. By incorporating personal touches such as the recipient's name, relevant offers, and customized messaging, you can create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impression.
Cygnal Direct Mail Efforts
Stamp utilized the power of personalization with direct mail efforts for Cygnal, one of the nation’s fastest-growing and most accurate private political polling firms. We created a series of direct mail pieces delivered to campaign managers leading up to and continuing throughout the 2020 election cycle. The brightly colored and oversized mailers were sure to stand out against other mail pieces. The headline of each piece casually addressed campaign managers by first name with questions specific to their role. Further messaging encouraged recipients to reach out to continue the conversation. This friendly, personalized approach demonstrated Cygnal’s understanding of their audience’s pain points and the customized needs of each of their customers.
Standard Roofing Happy Birthday Direct Mail Campaign
When Standard Commercial Roofing & Envelope Solutions was looking to expand their preventative roof maintenance program, Stamp produced a targeted direct mail campaign with clever, personalized messaging that would create a memorable experience for recipients.
Targeting former and potential customers who had purchased new roofs five years previously, we created a custom birthday card announcing that their roof was now five years old and inviting them to consider a maintenance plan to protect this important asset. A celebratory envelope piqued recipients’ interest with a Happy Birthday message. The envelope housed a traditional birthday card featuring a tall commercial building resembling a birthday cake. The interior of the card followed the pattern of a typical greeting card, with a thoughtful tribute to the important role a roof serves in providing shelter followed by a personal invitation to consider the maintenance program signed by a Standard sales contact.
This highly personalized effort created a unique experience for the target audience and established the Standard brand as friendly, proactive, and reliable. Evoking the surprise of receiving a birthday treat in the mail and offering the tangible experience of opening the piece, this campaign exemplifies the personalized experience and impactful brand connection that can be achieved through a creative direct mail campaign.
Visit Columbus, GA Visitor Persona Direct Mail Campaign
Stamp developed a direct mail campaign for Visit Columbus, GA that presented the destination to meeting planners as the perfect spot for potential meetings. Through our trusted Marketing Action Planning process, Stamp identified four key personas representing Columbus, GA’s ideal visitors. These personas were developed to personify the target market segments that would be a good fit for this destination and allow meeting planners to visualize exactly who this destination would appeal to.
The personas were leveraged into a series of four postcards clearly illustrating all that Columbus had to offer potential meeting attendees. Stamp created mailers to introduce meeting planners to each persona. The front of the mailers featured custom conceptual photography to bring each persona to life and spark the recipient’s imagination. The mailers encouraged digital engagement by directing recipients to a microsite designed specifically for meeting planners. The final piece of this direct mail campaign was an oversized fold-out poster of the market giving an overview of all the destination has to offer and highlighting how area attractions would appeal to each of the personas introduced in the original mailers.
Saint James School New Student Welcome Box
When Saint James, an independent Pre-K through 12 private school, wanted a fun way to welcome newly accepted students, we developed a personalized spirit box to excite them about their new school. We created a custom box with spirited messaging that could be customized with a label on the inside with a message addressed to the new student. The box was filled with spirit items like shakers, water bottles, stickers, and more on top of a welcome brochure. Stamp worked within a small budget to make a big, personalized impact.