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Crowning reasons why Direct Mail is still King!

8 February 2020 Stuart Nimmo Customer Engagement, Direct Mail, Print Marketing No Comments

Long before radio, television and digital marketing, direct mail ruled.

Ask a senior relative about mail order catalogues and they will probably remember the Littlewoods catalogue first published in May 1932, they went on to change shopping across the millennium. Look to the current day, the one that regularly arrives on my doormat is Screwfix, guaranteed with all the usual methods to encourage further engagement.

Today direct mail has received a bit of a bad reputation. The term “junk mail” isn’t exactly a compliment! Some refer to direct mail as an “old” form of advertising, thinking of direct mail as antiquated or off-target. However, when carefully crafted, directed to the right recipient through good use of learned data or other metrics can deliver results which outshine other methods.

The fact is, many companies do use direct marketing. According to recent studies, almost 60% of total mail volume was comprised of direct mail pieces.

Response levels to direct mail continues to be strong every year, generating leads for businesses across a range of industries. Whilst any data set can be described as statistics, the level of these customer response rates to common marketing methods give some cause for reflection.

1.2%	Online Displays
0.6%	Social Media
0.8%	Paid Search
0.35%	E-mail Marketing
6.0%	Direct Mail to a recipient

Why is Direct Mail Effective?

Direct mail is easy.

Direct mail marketing is easy to process. In an age of digital noise, the tactile presence of a physical mailing is feeding your recipient’s non-digital senses. Engaging touch, even a little bit of smell and physical actions of handling an item. Helps the recipient process more, in an efficient manner. One study found it takes 21% less cognitive effort to process physical mail.

Direct mail is interesting.

Almost half of Millennials thrive on the unique experience of physical mail.

According to the leading industry experts, 18-21 year-olds’ response rates to direct mail are as high as 15%. Utilising this within a carefully crafted marketing strategy, utilising a clever progression of other marketing touchpoints millennials are more than likely to engage and respond!

Direct mail is memorable.

People who spend time with physical marketing materials have a stronger emotional response and a better memory of these engagements. A fascinating message goes a long way too when you develop your campaign with direct mail, the longevity increases. Creating colourful, memorable messages, with good written and visual content can start a great fast-tracked progression.

A good example of this is; IKEA as a global player in retail fully understands how to engage through clever mailings. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is writing a book on all the methods which IKEA have illustrated through their campaigns. From cleverly words press advertisements through to engaging pop-up mailers for LACK side tables, the postcard perfectly demonstrated one of IKEA’s clever design concepts. IKEA’s postcard allowed users to experience the simple assembly of the LACK table, which left a deep, memorable impression.

Just one example of IKEA’s unique approach: https://youtu.be/18lZImt1L9Q

Achieve Face-to-Face with appropriate Direct Mail

Emails are increasingly getting well known for having low open rates, as many users have inboxes brimming at the seams with un-opened mail. When you use direct mail, some will offer you one-on-one attention they wouldn’t give to any other medium. Ask any seasoned marketing expert and they will be the first to tell you direct mail because it stands tall in a digital generation.

Apart from the many catalogues that fill our mailboxes between Halloween and Christmas, most of us receive very little traditional mail. When you make your piece of direct mail stand out from the rest of the mail and get noticed; using a unique design, shapes, different enclosing methods, along with personalisation to maximise the impact.

If you need help creating the perfect direct mail piece that will stand out, we can help you every step of the way.

Find out more about building a connected marketing strategy with print catalysts and digital integrations, sign up for our white paper at http://eepurl.com/gIVF7v

Evolution, not revolution!

4 January 2020 Stuart Nimmo Banners, Large Format Print, Print for display graphics, Signage print No Comments

Nothing ever stands still, the gentle rhythm keeps moving forward. We have a responsibility to progress to bring the right benefits to what we offer you. Change a big part of any business or organisation, we’ve helped enough to introduce new concepts or products.

In the period when most people are winding down for Christmas, we were in the final throws of installing our new HP Latex large format printer.

After a substantial period of research, debate and planning, we made a change ourselves, upgrading our large format printer. Many key items were behind the change

Greater material opportunities, compatibility of contemporary materials and our previous (ageing) Latex printer was getting more challenging. Our new machine provides greater support for a wider range of materials.
Environmental, modern devices have a better ecological footprint, using less power and less impact on the items they produce.
Improved production performance
Improved manufacturer product support.

This results in a broader product offering from us for you to utilise. Point of sale display, whether Pull-up banners, the great X-Banners, complete display systems or even wall art installations. We have great aspirations to move forward with new products into 2020. Initial product tests are proving interesting; the potential we have now in front of us is more substantial in the scope of materials and solutions we can offer.

However, you chose to get your message out there in 2020, being big and bold can , be one of the methods.

Get Kinaesthetic with your print and outshine the competition!

20 October 2019 Stuart Nimmo Physical marketing, Print in the marketing mix, Print Marketing No Comments

The battle for our attention is real.

Recent research concludes the average smartphone user checks their device 47 times a day! However how much can truly be remembered? In a digitally addicted generation, print brings a burst of fresh air.

Did you know that 92% of smartphone users say they still prefer print when making purchasing decisions? Carefully presented print media, with the right calls to action, can lead to greater conversion in a sales process. Using vouchers, sign-ups for exclusive must-have materials or access to the latest news and offers can be a great way to measure and lead to further customer engagement and sales.

American marketing guru Dan Kennedy challenges companies to ditch the “chase” mentality in marketing while focusing on helpful, value-giving ways that attract your audience instead.

Coupon advertising is far from dead. A 2018 American study showed that 91% of people ages 35-54 use coupons and 87% of millennials used coupons in the last year. And businesses benefit in a big way: stores are eight times more likely to make a sale when coupons are in play! Equally loyalty cards are another win, especially when the sign-up process allows you to legitimately acquire the customers’ contact details, allowing for further selected techniques of marketing to be used. I still think the best example of this is Screwfix, whose regular mailshots keep me thinking of their store.

This might seem like old school marketing, but in an environment where less of these techniques is happening, you have more chance of standing out, by being different. Marketing is often referred to as a toolbox of techniques. Evolution happens, but thinking about the customer journey and the touchpoints along the way.

Print is a time-served tool in the marketing toolbox, we have seen various ideas and concepts along the way. Connecting them with other marketing actions is key to build your customer journey. We are always open to having a conversation with you to help you innovate your business’s or organisation’s marketing.