Get Your Strategy On
Just out of curiosity…
- What was the last piece of direct mail advertising that caught your attention (your church doesn’t count)?
- What was the direct mail piece advertising?
- How did it catch your attention?
- Did it prompt you to take an action?
And, if you can’t answer these questions, I’d like to know that as well. In other words, this is an all play.
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- Tags: marketing
47 Responses to “Direct Mail”
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Tony Morgan is a pastor and the Chief Strategic Officer at NewSpring Church where he develops creative solutions for communications, technology and NewSpring Ministries--the church's ministry that equips other church leaders.
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Tony Steward
July 15th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I leave my junk mail in my mail box each week until Thursday when I bring out the trash for pick up, and then I just dump it in there. 0% of direct mail gets my attention.
Tim Lemons
July 15th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Honestly, I don’t think any direct mail piece has caught my eye in a long time.
Maybe one that was designed to look like a FEDEX Shipping Envelope. That made me open it, but I threw it away when I realized it was a trick.
Sandy Gibbes
July 15th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Moe’s. Free Food. I took action immediately.
W. Mark Whitlock
July 15th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
One caught my eye in a BAD way. A major ministry sent a package that LOOKED like USPS Priority Mail. It also included a return envelope (real Priority Mail) with postage pre-paid. I read the headline on the THREE-PAGE letter and didn’t read the rest. The ministry was raising funds and had a matching gift. I quickly added up that the ministry spent at least $7 dollars just in postage, another $1.50 - $2 on packaging, and who knows how much to the firm to write, pack, and ship. If they can spend that much, they don’t need my donation–they need to STOP SENDING stupid mail like this.
The best piece of direct mail I ever received was a foil wrapped box with a green bottle inside sealed with a cork. Inside the bottle was a rolled-up parchment with a hand-calligraphied invitation to JONAH, the first VeggieTales movie. That one was sticky.
I also got a coconut in the mail once. Did you know that you can mail coconuts or bananas without any extra packaging? The coconut came with an address label on it. I took it outside and cracked it open. Nothing inside. Three days later, I got a box from the same address with a photo of a coconut on it. I opened it for sure. I have no idea WHAT was being promoted. I remember that I was impressed by the campaign, but I did not buy the product.
I have a friend who just sent out five iPod Nanos. Each had a unique, customized video for the recipient from Michael W. Smith. Trust me, those got opened.
Erik
July 15th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
1. A Jason’s Deli postcard
2. Free gallon of tea with 10 or more somethingrathers…
3. I was hoping it was for free food, but also, it was very clean looking.
4. no.
Bill (cycleguy)
July 15th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
1- Direct TV
2-I reckon direct TV
3-it junk mail that I am not supposed to receive
4-Yes. I immediately threw it in the garbage.
Rachel
July 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
1. Supermarket coupon for $5 off $20 spent.
2. Food
3. Bright green with big lettering (but not cheesy Comic Sans it looked classy)
4. No I shredded it.
Quite frankly, I can’t remember the last time I got direct mail advertising that caused me to do something other than shred it. Mostly I just get annoyed.
bobby mcgee
July 15th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Direct mail is NOT it for me. Word of mouth IS the real deal. Check out this latest marketing/advertising.
http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/?ShowMe=Latest
it is titled “WHERE DOES AMERICA SPEND ITS AD DOLLARS.
ryan guard
July 15th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
We throw all of it away…
dana kidder
July 15th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
The envelope looked like it was from a professional “religious” organization, inside the letter read:
Dear Dana,
It is my pleasure to inform you that you are being considered for inclusion into the 2008/2009 Cambridge Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women in Religious Services “Honors Edition” section of the Registry.
I’m a dude.
I don’t think mail should be addressed to Mr./Ms./Mrs….if they get it right it is merely polite, if they get it wrong they are insulting and go directly to the trash.
Postscript
July 15th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
It was for Esquire magazine. It had a guy at the beach with a girl sitting on his sholders (topless but facing the opposite way) as he walks in the surf. The outside teaser was “How to tell you’re a man without looking down . . .” I don’t think I even opened the envelope but I thought it was right on for their target audience. I did keep it for awhile just trying to figure out how to get the same reaction for the ministry.
Tracie Coppedge
July 15th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I pull out the bills, and the rest goes in the dumpster outside.
Deneen
July 15th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Direct mail elicits one response from me: trash. I find it really annoying, whether at home or at work. I do like it better than the phone tree, though…
Joel Megee
July 15th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I just got a 9 x 12 envelope in the mail that said “A Special Invitation from MIT” on it. I opened it immediately because I found it so strange that MIT would be inviting me to something. It was an invitation to subscribe to a technology/research magazine. I threw it away.
Dave Anderson (moviepastor)
July 15th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
all my direct mail goes in the trash with barely a glance - unless its a church and I try not to make fun of it - really. But I have thought about doing a direct mail piece. Why is that? I should mail coconuts.
Someone can mail me an iPod - or an iPhone. THAT will get my attention.
stephen parris
July 15th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
1. Bed Bath & Beyond 20% off coupon
2. Their store and monthly special
3. A REALLY BIG “20% OFF”
4. Yes. We get them regularly and kind of plan purchases based on knowing we’ll get one eventually. Everything else goes in the trash (unless it has a coupon… My wife is a coupon genius)
rob lovell
July 15th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I was just discussing direct mail with our staff, we haven’t done direct mailing for some time. Our main discussion was the rising cost of postage vs. it’s effectiveness. Concensus(sp.?) was it wasn’t worth it.
Shain Brady
July 15th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Interesting piece caught my eye yesterday from Nelson Ministry Services. They are pushing for The Million People Prayer Challenge titled “What If .. Every believer in our nation prayed the 40 days leading up to the election” in reference to the Presidential election on November 4th.
In the offer, they included a free copy “If My People … A 40-day Prayer Guide for Our Nation.”
I’ve never received anything from them before
David (Marketing Integrity)
July 15th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I am a marketing guy, but deal more in electronic marketing than print with my clients. I do have a folder of print piece samples I have collected over the years…I thought for sure I would find some direct mail pieces of excellence in there…
Sadly, I found none. All of my samples are of catalogs, business cards, posters, etc. Nothing direct mail. Hmmm sad statement no? I guess direct mail fails to inspire even a marketing guy like me!
TiNA
July 15th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I agree with many here that direct mailings do not really catch my eye. If it’s not in a Netflix envelope… I don’t even look.
Lori Bailey
July 15th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
It was a gorgeous direct mail piece from Dodge…super colorful, creative, using text message lingo. The problem: the front said OMG and when you open it up it says, “Oh my God.” So, I was intrigued, I opened it up, and then I was put off. Someone (not me) blogged about it here with pix: http://tinyurl.com/5qvj2v. Other than that, pizza coupons get my attention ;)
Travis Thompson
July 15th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I can’t remember paying attention to junk mail in years.
I just asked my wife and she can’t either.
Scott Swartzentruber
July 16th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Being in the real estate profession I pay attention to marketing and the last stats I saw on direct mail was a 1% response best case scenario. I can’t remember the last direct mail piece that made it past the trash can on my curb.
Joey Smith
July 16th, 2008 at 7:32 am
My family recently moved to another neighborhood here in Anderson (Westside area) and within first week we received a just-better-than-generic invitation to a local church (with personal written invitation). It stood out because it was the only mailer or invite of any kind we received. The action I took was an encouraging e-mail assuring them that they were the only one’s to contact us, to continue mailers because I let them know that if we were not already happy and plugged in at Newspring, we would have been at his church that Sunday.
nathandiehl
July 16th, 2008 at 7:46 am
1. A piece for a car dealership’s service department.
2. Coupons and rates for service work.
3. I needed something to catch my toenails as I trimmed them.
4. Other than trimming my toenails? No.
Jesse
July 16th, 2008 at 8:28 am
The last piece I really enjoyed was from Passion in Atlanta. It was a small 3 x 6 piece that folded out from the center to 12 x 6 (or something along these lines). Very simple piece of cardboard, but the design (with all those flourishy things, and stuff) was breathtaking for me (not the most recent one, the one before that, it was orange and white I think).
2. passion cds and videos
3. design was awesome for me
4. no strong call to action, just told me what products were available.
Doug
July 16th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Honestly, there has been no direct-mail piece that has caused me to “pull it out of the stack” in a VERY long time. Am I just jaded, or has no one found a way to “cut through the noise?”
(Exceptions are personal interests–churches, guitars, etc.)
Kyle Davis
July 16th, 2008 at 9:20 am
1. A flyer for a pizza delivery
2. Pizza
3. I was hungry and saw the logo
4. Yes. I got something to eat
The flyer spoke to me where I was in need, and because of it caused me ot react to it. Had I not gotten the flyer I would still have eaten dinner sometime, but it would not have been from that source.
charles
July 16th, 2008 at 9:26 am
anything that can save me $$$$ or threatens too, will catch my attention.
Brian Crisman
July 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am
1. AT&T Moblile
2. half price on phones
3. Need a new phone plan to save moolah
4. No, I’m bound to Verizon until Feb ‘08
Michael Harrison
July 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am
It was a mailing from Life Outreach with a quick story about water wells. Action was to stay connected. Most direct mail just does not get my attention. Our church is not spending much money in this way.
Ben Milstead
July 16th, 2008 at 10:33 am
1) Verizon - free phone for the kids. I didn’t have to open it. All the information I needed was right there on the front so I had to read it.
2) “Final Foreclosure Notice” from my mortgage holder. (just kidding)
charles
July 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Like Sandy the Free Food get my eye.
But the best thing I ever got was a plain white business style envelope that other than my name and address the return address said in smallish print on the left side : Warning; this contains a 500 lb powered gorilla please use caution to keep dry while opening.
It contained a sales pitch about a condo timeshare.
And I read the whole thing.
Jill
July 16th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
“Last Chance to win this bike” from Skip Fordyce Harley Davidson (yesterday). The edgy font caught my eye. I showed it to my husband; his current hobby of interest is leather-tooling check-list covers for other pilots in his squadron. He looked up the font. I threw the piece in the trash.
Jodi
July 16th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I can’t even think of anything that’s caught my eye lately - we get so much junk mail/trash that if it’s not clearly something important, it pretty much gets ripped in half and goes into the trash immediately…if not, the mail would take over the house…
Jeff Gibson
July 16th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
The last one was a Pei Wei Chinese Restaurant piece that had a coupon for one free entree.
Peter Bishop
July 16th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
While I appreciate the design aspects of certain pieces. Most notably the Catalyst stuff and what Sweetwater does. I have never been swayed to act based on any piece of direct mail. In the trash it goes. WOM #1.
Matt
July 16th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
postcard from another church in the area. the front was a girl sitting at a school desk and something that read “weneedschoolsupplies.com”. on the back there were stats about how many ‘needy’ kids we have in the area. it was asking for me to help provide supplies. i thought it was good.
Joseph Sangl
July 16th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
20% off Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I set it aside. I never used it. It got thrown away.
TJ Goff
July 16th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Pretty much anything from Guitar Center catches my attention. I think the reason is that even if I’m not in the market for any new equipment, I can still look at it like a coffee table book. A few months ago I got one featuring the new Fender Stratocaster and a couple of weeks later, I owned it. So that was a $1000 action it prompted.
troy marshall
July 16th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I got an envelope that said, “do not throw away, valuables inside”. I said, “yeah right”, opened it and there was a dollar bill inside! I don’t remember who sent it and I threw away the envelope and letter. (I put the dollar in my pocket)
Dan White
July 16th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Preferred customer or current occupant…this always makes me feel special
Jeff Vandergiessen
July 16th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
i don’t remember the last time that direct mail got my attention - even that from my church… for that matter even web advertising doesn’t get my attention.
Skip
July 16th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Tony,
We used Direct Mail as the main part of our advertising for over 8 solid years and it “worked” very well. Tracking the numbers very carefully we consistently saw a return (people visiting say they came because of the mail piece) of 1/4 of 1%. This may seem low but when we sent 100,000 pieces and saw 250 visitors we were pretty excited. Out of the 40 or so responses here there is only one that actually followed through with the mailer. I bet you’ll see 1 out of 400 follow through with the “Ask” on a mail piece. Is that worth the money? That is a great question. As our church became more known in the community our mailers became much more topical to let people know about something special that was coming up. Great topic! Be Blessed!
jamie
July 16th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
That 20% off bed, bath, & beyond. Because they clutter my mailbox monthly, I have sworn never to shop there.
How did i get on that list? Better yet, how do I get off that list?
Corbett
July 17th, 2008 at 11:15 am
1) Just yesterday I went through the mail and pulled out an ad from a local Honda dealership.
2) It was advertising savings in their service department.
3) It caught my attention by noting right on front that I drive a 1997 Honda, which means it was more than just a mailer sent to a typical zipcode mailing list.
4) It would have prompted me to take my car in, had I needed any of the services that they were advertising savings on. I threw it away, but only after reading it completely to see if there was a benefit to me.
Hal Hunter
July 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
1) A post card piece from a recent church start near my home- they were using a “custom” item from one of the specialty church outreach outfits.
2) They were announcing their launch.
3) The church name was very prominent and caught my eye- but probably wouldn’t have if I were not predisposed to “see” church-related information.
4) No- but a curious person already looking for a church (a recently relocated Christian looking for a contemporary worship church close by) might have responded.
Alas, whatever they spent wound up going into the trash along with several other useless and even less looked-at items. Other than printing emails and web articles to file them (a pet peeve of mine) direct mail is the most egregious tree-killer on the planet.