Direct Mail

In response to ever-increasing turnaround times, direct mail printer Freedom Graphic Systems, Milton, Wis., has installed 15 BBH 400 inserters from Böwe Bell + Howell throughout its facilities. The heavy-duty BBH 400 inserters can process even the most complex direct mail and lettershop products efficiently and effectively at speeds up to 20,000 cycles per hour. “We were looking for equipment with a good productivity-to-labor ratio and ease of operation,” said Bill Sloyan, vice president of special projects. With the new inserters in place, Sloyan reported that productivity has improved while labor costs are being reduced. Freedom realized initial savings of approximately 35 percent in

Which is more effective, direct mail marketing or e-mail marketing? The debate leaves many business owners confused. Because believers in both camps are such staunch supporters of their views, blind spots can occur when researching what is best for a particular company or product. Joy Gendusa, CEO of PostcardMania, Clearwater, Fla.—a direct mail postcard-marketing firm with year 2006 revenues estimated at $17,000,000—promises to challenge both sides by bringing in experts on each method during “Power MarketingMania Bootcamp, taking place March 30 and 31 at the Belleview Biltmore Resort, Clearwater, Fla. Event co-organizer, Marsha Friedman, CEO of public relations and advertising agency EMSI, said attendees

Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Newtown has expanded its direct mail operations. Capabilities now include printing; personalization; folding; inserting; tabbing; stamping and;sealing the envelope for mailing. “Having the capability to print medium- to long-run cut sheet products on our web offset presses, along with the ability to convert our items into integrated product combinations, is a natural fit when providing direct mail services to the distributor market,” said Jim Corr, general manager. Newtown also offers a holding area for items requiring variable data imaging and future mailing dates. “The distributor automatically saves time and money by having the print order and mailing services under the same roof. Freight

Because envelope packages limit the attention-grabbing graphics the travel industry relies on to attract recipients, self-mailers featuring four-color process are favored formats. [Courtesy of Who’s Mailing What! Archive.]

Author and direct marketing guru Denny Hatch offers valuable tips and checklists for creating successful mailers at his Web site www.dennyhatch.com. The following is derived from his “Method Marketer’s Basic 20-Point Checklist,” and the tool can be used to sharpen any direct mail campaign’s materials. 1. Make sure the sales pitch employs at least one of the following seven key copy drivers (and preferably all seven): fear; guilt; flattery; exclusivity; greed; anger; and salvation. 2. The 13 most powerful and evocative words in the English language are: “discovery”; “easy”; “free”; “guarantee”; “health”; “love”; “money”; “new”; “proven”; “results”; “safety”; “save”; and “you.” Insert them

Like a sign from Mother Nature fueling hopes for a bountiful harvest, the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) recent Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act bodes well for businesses in the new year. The first major change to the Postal Service since 1971, the act was signed into law on Dec. 20, and links future rate increases to the Consumer Price Index, thus ensuring predictable price increases tied to the rate of inflation. In addition, the law gives the USPS more flexibility for pricing competitive products, and reconstitutes the existing postal rate commission into a regulatory body with greater authority and responsibility. Now, distributors can

Upon first examining this year’s Top 100 Suppliers’ sales numbers, the BFL&S staff discovered a $241 million decrease in overall sales compared with last year. This sent the team scrambling for answers. However, deeper analysis revealed a simple explanation. As our readership may have noticed, in 2004 and 2005, Quality Park, Englewood, Colo., ranked number one and two respectively on the Top 100 Suppliers list with sales peaking at $430 million. This year, the Quality Park brand no longer appears on the list at all. In years past, Quality Park consisted of six companies: DealerLabel, Discount Labels, Lancer Label, PrintXcel, Wisco and Quality Park Products.

your company is about to launch a new direct mail campaign. You’ve exhausted all of your creative energy by designing eye-catching, persuasive mailers to elicit interest from recipients. However, your efforts won’t matter much if you aren’t mailing to the appropriate lists. “There is a formula well known among the direct marketing specialist. The mailing list provides 40 percent of the success of a campaign, the message provides another 40 percent and finally, the creativity provides the additional 20 percent,” noted Jim Spicuzza, executive vice president of marketing and vendor relations, The Shamrock Companies, Westlake, Ohio. The average success rate of direct mail is 2 percent

It's not just a print job. Examine these tactics to better sell direct mail. "Start at the end result and work your way forward," said Lindsay Gray, vice president of Acculink, Greenville, N.C. After lengthy deliberations over the most effective ways to sell direct mail, Gray settled on this simple advice to help shift the typical distributor's perspective: Encourage distributors to move out of the mind-set that direct mail is a print job and into the idea that it is a campaign. "That is how distributors have to approach it," Gray said. "Direct mail is something that has to be sold through advertising methods, as

Industry professionals offer tips for creating successful direct mail campaigns. The whole idea behind direct mail is to deliver messages that command attention and inspire a response. Manufacturers and distributors experienced in direct mail sales know that specifically targeting likely prospects—rather than appealing to the masses—and speaking to recipients with highly personalized messages increases the chances of eliciting that response. There are also some basics with regard to project planning and design that industry professionals pay heed to. For starters, both Michael Weinzierl, president of Professional Graphic Communications, Sewickley, Pa., and Dan Reid, marketing manager for Thorn Hill Printing, Freedom, Pa., stressed the