Who Said Direct Mail has to be Boring?

Who said Direct Mail has to be boring?

Not only will many people out there try to convince you that Direct Mail is archaic, but most people think of mail as “boring.” We’re not disputing that there are probably some boring pieces of mail circulating around out there; plain white postcards and letters with black Times Roman Numeral font that address something you won’t remember and maybe have a couple photos.  However, Direct Mail has evolved right along with technology. This doesn’t just concern the better graphics our high quality printers can create, but the tangible aspects of mail.

The classics aren’t going anywhere, but they constantly evolve to adapt to the times! The classic formats of Direct Mail –postcards, brochures, booklets and coupons can be jazzed up. These most commonly came in a rectangular shape. Nowadays, they can come in pretty much any shape you wish thanks to a technique called “die cutting.” This can be used simply to round the edges of a document, cut shapes out or completely transform a rectangle into the shape of a flower or butterfly, etc. Postcards don’t have to be flat, you can get a postcard that folds and they range in sizes from 3.5×5 to 6×11!. Booklets with perforated coupons are more likely to be used because they can easily be torn out and saved –no scissors needed. There are “crazy” brochures that have pop out pages like in in the image “Crazy Brochure.”

Direct Mail can even be taken to the next level… The three dimensional level. Have you considered nixing envelopes and paper goods, and instead going with boxes, bags, tubes or even balloons? Not only are these memorable but potentially usable. Consumers love free things they can use and are likely to reuse those boxes and bags which will keep you on their mind and attract other potential consumers. Forms of mail such as a balloon are useful for audiences like families- a happy kid usually equals a happy parent.

Customers enjoy receiving mail, so give them something to be excited about! Dare to be different. Whoever said Direct Mail has to be boring was wrong.