Go Big Or Go Home

5 Big Brands That Are Mastering Print Direct Marketing in the Digital Age

If you’re asking yourself, “Does print marketing even work in 2017?”  this report from Forbes should sum things up. The answer is an absolute yes!

At Metrovista we always tell our clients to go big when it comes to direct mail. We want their postcard or brochure to be the biggest thing in their prospects’ mailbox, whether they are sending a postcard, sales letter or product portfolio.

Imagine your direct marketing piece as the Subject Line of an email. If the envelope isn’t big enough to get attention, does it really matter what is written inside?

Just as you should spend a lot of time writing a good email Subject Line, you should also spend a good amount of time on the size of your print marketing piece, the teaser copy inside and (of course) the quality of the graphics.

Not only do you need a stand-out message, but you also need stand-out design. The bigger the better!

This month, we wanted to share with you 5 examples of incredible direct mail pieces that are helping companies make tons of ROI – yes, even in 2017.

1.  Chipotle Uses Direct Mail to Restore their Public Image

Sometimes direct mail is not only smart but necessary. After the brand experienced nationwide backlash from the 2016 salmonella crisis that hit a Denver location. Not much could be said to fix the issue, and the company reporter its first quarter loss. Customers from Boston to San Diego assumed their food was unsafe.

They had to find a way to let people know it wasn’t. So, they offered free food! With an oversized direct-mailer and simple, high-resolution images of the burrito bowl, a best-seller, the image was sent loud and clear. It must have worked because Chipotle stock is slowly inching back up.

2.  Florida Hospital Builds a Brand that Lasts

The medical industry and direct mail marketing go together like peanut butter and jelly. Most dentists and doctors we work with have a monthly dedicated direct mail budget. But we often look to the big guys, like Florida Hospital, to remind us how to do it right.

Friendly, inviting images of smiling doctors and key staff members promise the patient they will be in good hands. Clean lines and simple content reinforce that promise in a way that is easy to understand. “The Right Care. Right Here. Right Now.” Can it get any simpler? Yet it works so well.  We follow similar formulas to help our medical and dental clients attract their attention of their target prospect, whether through direct mail or their digital presence.

3.  Jeep Masters the Art of Subliminal Messaging

This is a brilliant example of how to send “clunky” mail or a mail piece with a grabber item that sends a subconscious message about your brain.

The keychain in the shape of a jeep reminds people of the simple fact that they need a place to hold their keys and those keys might as well be to a Jeep. It’s simple, yet sophisticated.

4.  Bed Bath & Beyond Keeps ‘Em Coming!

We might not all have the direct mail budget of Bed Bath & Beyond (that sends out these big-ticket mailers at least once a month). However, we can all learn something from the home goods chain. When you get a Bed Bath & Beyond postcard in your mailbox, it’s almost guaranteed to be the biggest item in the pile. Our brains are wired to give more value to items larger in size, so we are more inclined to keep it on our dining table or fridge to use for later.

Also, by providing customers with such a flexible offer (20% off ANY item) they make it appealing to anyone – a mother in search of that new zucchini spiralizer or a new college student buying his or her first set of dish towels. It stands out against every item in the mailbox and appeals to every customer it reaches. This is a clear direct mail win.

5.  GAP Inc. Pivots Towards Personalization

They also know their audience very, very well. Most people who frequent this clothing retailer have been loyal to them for years, as GAP had its heyday in the 1980s-1990s and caters to the baby boomer crowd. To make sure these boomers feel the love, they send GAP credit cardholders special gifts, like this birthday offer below. Who wouldn’t stay loyal to a brand that knows exactly what day its thousands of card holders were born? The 25% off is literally the “icing” on the cake of having a big name like GAP remember your special day.

No matter how many people Instagram posts or Tweets dominate our news feeds, our brains are still wired for print. The average customer sees thousands of advertisements online each day. Yet, one well-designed postcard or brochure in their mailbox can be more powerful than all of these messages combined.

Forbes drove this report home in 2015, claiming “Science clearly shows paper can be more impactful and memorable than digital.”

The question is not whether to run a direct mail campaign. It’s how to do it in a way that delivers you more ROI.  Contact us to learn more about our direct mail printing services. We also offer web design, custom banners and promotional products!