Attach Value Through Affixed Products

Carriers featuring magnets, cards, repositionable notes, coupons, scratch-offs, decals and product samples provide interactive solutions.

There is a lot more to affixed products than just cards and labels. Fenton, Missouri-based FormStore's line of direct impact products consists of printed direct mail and direct marketing pieces featuring a variety of affixed items, including postcards, magnets, magazine inserts, jacketed CDs, diskettes, game pieces, decals and stickers, coupons, wallpaper swatches, reply cards, photographs, booklets, pamphlets and a variety of response devices.

In fact, Rich Burgdorf, distributor accounts manager, pointed out that almost any promotional item can be affixed to printed materials. "It's one of the most effective ways to get recipients to stop what they are doing and respond to what has been presented," he said. "Affixed products add an interesting dimension to otherwise flat pieces, and they're a great way to encourage recipient involvement."

Obviously, a manufacturer's particular production capabilities determine which items it can and cannot affix, and Burgdorf explained that some items simply don't lend themselves to automatic applications. "I've seen direct mail houses with crews of people who affix items by hand. It is very labor-intensive and expensive, but it gets results," he said.

Burgdorf went on to say that with affixed applications, not only can the host pieces be customized to serve individual target markets, but cross-selling is also enabled when the host piece promotes one item and the affixed item introduces a complementary product—a profit-boosting, cost-controlling measure that customers will appreciate, encouraging loyalty to the distributor.

Ed Brandt, president of Carrollton, Texas-based Brandt Affixing, also touted the benefits of using affixed products in direct mail environments for adding thickness, which heightens recipients' curiosity. "They can feel that something is in there, or they see something with their name on it through a window," he said.