Category: Custom Design & Printing

A surprise in the mail, my favorite design

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Direct Mail Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

The key to a high response, regardless of the medium, is engagement. You need to engage the user in a meaningful way to prompt them to take notice and, if relevant, take action. Though Structural Graphics creates engaging marketing solutions using a variety of mediums, the core of our business is our printed direct mail work.

From the time we first started designing dimensional paper mechanisms in a small office in eastern Connecticut over 30 years ago, we have always pursued one objective; to get our direct mail designs noticed. Since that time we have grown and spanned out across the globe. We jumped on the digital bandwagon and with our clients, explored new and exciting marketing opportunities. Now we can create powerful integrated campaigns that take from the best of both worlds, traditional direct mail and interactive digital solutions.

One of the first designs I held in my hand, on the day of my interview back in 2004, quickly became my favorite. I remember it because it was startling and I was a bit embarrassed. Well, embarrassed in the way that it’s embarrassing to be woken up from a quick doze on the train by a stranger. For that “surprise-factor”, the Book-Cube™ is a favorite of many of our clients as well.

bookcube1Our Book-Cube design is unique because it actually mails flat, then springs into life once the user opens it. Using rubber bands to activate the “pop”, the recipient is instantly engaged, surprised, startled and amused… all at the same time.

The Book-Cube design has been successfully used by a variety of industries. Colleges have used it to grab the attention of the hard-to-reach teenager. Pharmaceutical companies have used it to stand out in the piles of mail that doctors receive. Automotive companies have used it to create engagement with car buyers and dealers. I could go on, but you get the point.

If you haven’t seen a Book-Cube I encourage you to contact us so we can send you one. It may or may not be the right design for your next campaign, but the experience alone will help you to understand how Structural Graphics can help you add an element of surprise into your direct mail; and you’ll know immediately why it remains my favorite design.

Extra: See how a 3 year old reacts to the Book-Cube design.

Article: Market With Messages That Tap Into Man’s Primal Urges

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Dimensional Print Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

I wanted to share this article with our community because we talk a lot about how our work tells a story when delivering a message. Our high-impact dimensional print solutions are great at delivering marketing messages, but also in telling a story. In this article, the author talks about tapping into primal urges to deliver your message. In a slightly simplistic, but humorous way, he is talking about telling your marketing story in an easy to understand way.

Read the article

Check out other articles on telling a story with your marketing:

Four Designs that Offer a Great User Experience

How direct mail can tell a story

Delivering impact with Direct Mail

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Direct Mail MarketingPosted By:

Many of the marketing solutions we develop for clients include some type of digital component, either an email or landing page. When we are designing a landing page or an email there is one inescapable truth that hangs over the design process like a black cloud. You canspammy spend days or even weeks perfecting the design and usability of a landing page or an email. But when it’s time to release it to the world you are faced with the reality that the recipient may only spend a split second with your fabulous design. You’re given one chance (and a short one at that) to make an impression and keep the recipient’s attention.

It is this shortcoming of landing pages and email where I believe direct mail truly stands out. Yes, we have all sorted through a pile of mail and quickly discarded things that were of no interest. But with direct mail the recipient has something tangible he or she can touch. If you make an impression with the recipient, your piece has the opportunity to stick around for longer than the time it takes to click delete.

describe the imageOur clients know that direct mail can do more than deliver a message and be tossed in the trash. When you make an immediate impression with the recipient you have the opportunity to not only delivery your message, but also make a lasting impact. In marketing, impact usually equates to response; which is why our direct mail delivers average response rates of 8.51%.

This doesn’t mean that all direct mail is created equal. I can discard a postcard or letter nearly as fast as I can delete an email or click off a landing page. But when I receive a nice package that is engaging, I spend much more time with it, even if I’m not interested in the company that sent it.

Every week, without question, I will receive two or three letters from insurance and financial companies. Ever since our first child was born we have had a target on our mailbox and many companies are convinced we need more insurance or savings. They’re right, but that’s not the point. The point is that 90% of these solicitations are delivered as plain white envelopes with a long letter. There is no attempt on the marketer’s part to engage me or give me much of a reason to pay attention.

Take a look at some of the direct mail that does create impact and engagement with the recipient. You won’t see any envelopes or postcards.

MORE:

Direct Mail Response Rate Fact Sheet (pdf)

Case Studies

Article: Direct Mail’s Resurgence and New Role in Integrated Marketing

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Direct Mail MarketingPosted By:

There is a great article on Target Marketing’s website, posted by Brian Wagner on April 23rd. Brian discusses the struggles that direct mail went through during the economic downturn of recent years. Interestingly, he also discusses how well direct mail fits in with your digital strategy. In a time when direct mail takes a bit of heat for not being the new kids on the block, smart marketers understand that they need to use direct mail allong with their online efforts to create truly effective integrated campaigns.

It’s a quick read, well worth a few minutes of your time.

“Direct mail is very much alive today and continues to be the workhorse for many brand marketing efforts. It has been, and continues to be, at the very heart and soul of direct response marketing.” read more…

 

Is Magazine Advertising Coming Back?

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Dimensional Print Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

pgIt was announced last month that Proctor & Gamble is shifting much of its TV dollars to magazine advertising. P&G is the largest national advertiser and largest TV advertiser; however in 2011 their marketing budget showed a 5.4% decrease in TV advertising, in favor of magazine. Marketing experts agree that the move is to focus on more targeted mediums. Magazine allows you to target very specific markets and demographics.

For an industry that has long been considered on the decline, does this signal a shift to more traditional and reliable marketing mediums? Sound off in our comments section below.

Read original story from the Business Courier

See examples of great Magazine Advertising

Article: Social Media Rocks But Don’t Forget About Direct Mail

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Direct Mail Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

Social media is certainly an important component in most B-to-C campaigns these days. This article confirms the ROI value of social media but also makes compelling points about the value of direct mail.

Direct mail surprisingly transcends the age demographic, with younger consumers (the 18- to 34-year-old demographic) preferring to learn about marketing offers via postal mail rather than online sources, according to national survey research from ICOM,” said Lisa Formica, president of FMI, a direct mail marketing and advertising firm.

Read the full article

Being Different but ending up the same

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Design, Dimensional Print Marketing, Direct Mail Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

A few weeks ago, while strolling past the House of Blues in Orlando, I was reminded of an important distinction when it comes to being different. The band playing the night I happened to walk by was Falling in Reverse. The crowd was wrapped around the entire building anxiously waiting for the doors to open. I saw at least a thousand people. Nearly everyone was decked out in full-blown “Goth.” Those of you not familiar with the look need only Google the term to see exactly what I mean. There were so many people sporting black shirts, black or purple dyed hair and painted nails and faces that those more conservatively dressed concert-goers stuck out like a sore thumb.

As we soaked in some of the best people-watching around, I turned to my wife and asked her why she thought people wanted to be so different. She turned to me looking a bit puzzled and replied, “What do you mean, they’re all exactly the same?” She was right; no one in the crowd was being different, at least not in their world.

When it comes to marketing, being different is usually a good thing. However, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to be different, stand out, get noticed, that you end up being exactly the same. I remember when mailers began using “Express Mail” look-alike envelopes for their mailings. Who’s going to ignore an important overnight express envelope? Then, the trend caught on and fizzled out just as quickly. I assume once people got used to seeing fake looking express packages in their mailbox, response rates began to drop.

People I talk to at tradeshows or in presentations want Structural Graphics to help them “do something different.” But, being different should not be the goal of your campaign. The goal is a higher response and return on your investment and to achieve that, you need to engage your audience. To engage your audience you need to be unexpected and relevant; not different.

There is no doubt we help our clients get noticed; sometimes by being different. Many of our packages stand out because they are dimensional and unexpected, but that’s not where all of the marketing magic is. We don’t create our designs just to be different, but rather to engage the recipient and drive a response. The designs we recommend, whether it’s a new custom solution or a proven classic design like the Flapper, are chosen for their ability to deliver your message in an impactful, engaging and relevant way.

For example, Drexel University wanted to capture the attention of college-bound students.DrexelUniversity These students are used to receiving dozens of mailers from lots of different schools, so they knew they had to stand out. But they also had to be memorable and engaging. Drexel achieved this using our Flat Book-Cube design. It shipped flat but when the recipient opened it they were treated to a huge surprise as the piece jumped out at them. It got their attention and the campaign was a great success.

Essilor, the world’s leading provider of eyeglass lenses, was looking to promote a new brand along with a rewards program. They used the Rolling Cube design to grab the recipient’s attention, provide information about the program and drive them to a sweepstakes site. The integrated campaign was a success and garnered a 31% response rate. You can read more about the Essilor campaign in our case study.

My point was not to take you through a list of companies that have used Structural Graphics to build their brands, launch products, engage recipients and produce better ROI. It was to remind you that being different isn’t always that different. Your goal is to be engaging and relevant. When we were in Orlando I probably could have painted my nails black, worn some dark clothes and dyed my hair; and I would have stood out as we walked through Disney’s beautiful Downtown area, but if I had been there to see a concert at the House of Blues that night, I would have only been another face in the crowd.

To learn more about engaging your customers check out our Industry Specific High-Impact Marketing Guide. You’ll be able to download several case studies and learn more about how we serve your industry’s marketing needs.

The Future of the QR Code

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Webkeys / QR CodesPosted By:

Last week I was driving through eastern Pennsylvania, on a long trip from Maryland to New York. I was somewhere between Allentown and Scranton when I pulled off to find something to eat. My driving companion was an audiobook I had just purchased and, ironically, it was Steven King’s latest thriller, 11.23.63. Like most of his books, this one was primarily set in a sleepy town in Maine. I hadn’t gotten to the part of the book that takes place in Dallas, Texas, during the fall of 1963. The town I was currently driving through was eerily similar to the picture King had painted in my head of the town in the story, Derry, Maine. To add to the irony, I pulled up behind an old 60’s style hearse, which sort of startled me. The hearse was painted in solid black with a big gold badge and a large QR code on the back window. The badge was for the name of a business, some sort of ghost hunters. Unfortunately, the QR code eluded me. Though I grabbed my phone and attempted a quick scan, the hearse pulled away too quickly as the light turned green.

I wish I had been able to scan that QR code but as a marketer, I was a bit impressed with the creativity of the owner of whatever business that was.

A ComScore study conducted last summer showed that 14 million Americans (or 6.2% of mobile device users) scanned a QR code in the month of June. These are certainly not huge numbers, but I concluded two things from this study. One, many people still don’t know what a QR code is, much less that they need an app on their phone to scan it. This makes them unique and different, and that’s not a bad thing for your marketing. Two, there is room for growth! At 6.2% user adoption, QR codes are still effective in marketing, so imagine what the results will look like when there is a 20 or 30% user adoption?

RenovaPOP9411 751We hear from marketers who are still not sure about QR Codes. That’s because t ROI hasn’t been proven. But in our world, they are a relatively low cost, low risk add-on to any campaign. We have found effective ways to use QR codes in our high-impact print designs and they are a great.

The key to an effective QR code campaign is in the payoff. What’s in it for the end user who takes the time to scan your code? If you simply take them to your website, there isn’t much of a reward, is there? You should always direct them to a landing page that was specially designed for the campaign and matches the theme of the print piece. It has to be a special place the user can’t just get to by Google “ing” your company.

Subway recently did a great campaign where they sent coupons out in a mailer and included a QR code. When you scanned the QR code you were taken to a website that allowed you to play games for extra coupons. It was an effective way for Subway to bridge the gap between their print efforts and digital assets.

Another thing to consider is that you’re not boxed in by the basic black and white barcodedescribe the image style. Surely there are graphic designers that have no interest in slapping an ugly QR code on top of a beautifully designed piece. Not to worry! QR codes have an amazing amount of flexibility. The entire code is not necessary for an effective scan. Furthermore, the color makes no difference. It’s one of those things you have to tinker with. Change the QR code slightly to match your design and keep testing as you proceed. Though they can be flexible, covering up the wrong spot, even just a few pixels, could render the code useless.

We encourage our clients to try QR codes, as long as there is a reason to do so. We don’t just use them for the novelty of it. Building an effective integrated campaign will include several digital and print components, so you need to find a way to bring them together. QR codes can help, along with other digital technologies like web keys and purls.

Creative marketing solutions for 2012

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

The beginning of a new year offers an opportunity for companies to take a fresh look at what’s working and what’s not working. Did you send anything different or new out this past year? If you have a control mailer, did that stay the same all year?

It’s easy for marketers to grow attached to what they see as “working.” Whatever is bringing in a consistent and predictable response rate often seems like the best option, especially when marketing budgets are tight. However, believing that your marketing is inviolable is what leads to stale campaigns and undoubtedly, declining response rates.

In a previous life, I was a marketing manager for a magazine publisher. We used to send out three or four different mailings per month, each with roughly 100,000 prospects. Every mailing we did included a standard letter, a buck slip, BRC and usually a plain envelope. Thought we did a lot of testing, there was this perpetual belief that our audience liked plain envelopes and long two-page letters. That belief was totally unfounded since we never actually tested packages without the letter, or in a different style envelope. As a result, during my brief tenure with the magazine, we never saw response rates climb by a difference of more than one percent.

If you haven’t already made (and perhaps broken) your new year’s resolution, try this one out. Do something different with your marketing in 2012. Challenge traditional thinking and old control packages. Challenge the notion that single-digit response rates are acceptable. Next January, when you’re reviewing what worked and what didn’t in 2012, you’ll know that you stepped outside what was familiar and comfortable, and probably got noticed.

To see something different, check these out. To hold something different in your hands, request samples. Or, to invite us in to show your whole team something new, please request an open house! I hear the cookies at those events are pretty good.

Direct mail preferred over email across key verticals

Posted On: Category: Custom Design & Printing, Direct Mail Marketing, Marketing InsightsPosted By:

We wanted to share a study that was written about in BtoB Magazine. Epsilon Targeting, a consumer research company, conducted the study this year of 2,226 consumers. Here are the key findings.

  • 36% of U.S. consumers and 40% of Canadians said direct mail is the preferred channel to receive financial services information;
  • 26% of U.S. consumers and 30% of Canadians said direct mail is more trustworthy than email;
  • 50% of U.S. consumers and 48% of Canadians said they pay more attention to postal mail than email;
  • 60% of U.S. consumers and 64% of Canadians said they enjoy checking the mailbox for postal mail, highlighting an emotional connection;
  • 30% of U.S. consumers said they’re receiving more mail that interests them compared to a year ago, and just 50% (down from 63% in 2010) said more information is sent to them in the mail — indicating marketers are improving targeting efforts;
  • The perception that reading email is faster declined among U.S. email account holders to 45% in 2011 (from 47% in 2010), suggesting clogged inboxes are draining time.

Read the full article. Read the Epsilon Targeting study results.