Direct Mail

Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO of the Postal Service, last week announced efforts by the Postal Service to lead an information and technology-driven reinvention of mail during a keynote speech at the National Postal Forum, the annual mailing industry trade show...

The U.S. Postal Service is giving new meaning to the concept of “snail mail.” The postal inspector general last month published a management advisory that found customers who send out large quantities of political mailings were concerned about “mail delays and service quality"...

The printing industry saw a lot of activity in 2015, and not all of it was positive—starting with Standard Register Company’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection and its subsequent sale to Taylor Corporation for $307 million in a bankruptcy auction. The big question is: How did the ongoing industry consolidation, coupled with a protracted economic recovery, influence print’s performance...

On Feb. 1, Megan J. Brennan became the 74th Postmaster General and CEO of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Brennan’s intent to make the struggling agency more efficient, and thereby accessible for all mailers, was welcome news to marketers disheartened by years of red tape and negative press—but change doesn’t happen overnight.

When marketing to a hyper-connected society, it is important to create as many touch points as possible to get your message seen and remembered. That's not to say you should overwhelm prospects with emails, social media and QR codes—you need to offer a seamless, consistent experience across all communication channels. Here's how to launch a cohesive campaign.

You could say that simplicity is the key to success with direct mail postcards. In a world where customers are increasingly impatient, you have to make your marketing point clearly and quickly—and convincingly enough to thoroughly engage your audience.

The mere arrival of a postcard in someone's mailbox is engaging. It's simply impossible to ignore postcards because they are inherently intriguing—hey, what's this? Is it from someone I know? Is it a special offer on some product or service I've been looking for? Your recipient automatically wants to know more.

Consumers may notice they're getting fewer postcards from friends, but USPS says direct marketers are still fans of the mail option. Specifically citing a product called "Every Door Direct Mail," USPS says on Monday that what it first issued as "postal cards" in 1873 are still distributed in the billions each year. "Since the [EDDM] service was launched in 2011, USPS has handled about 1.2 [million] transactions, resulting in over 6.4 [billion] pieces of mail and more than...$1.2 [billion] in revenue," USPS tells Target Marketing on Monday. "We are seeing growth in this type of mail. These are mostly oversized marketing/business postcards."

Direct mailers are losing out as the U.S. Postal Service pushes for curbside and cluster box mail delivery, says a new report from the USPS Office of Inspector General. "Advertising mail delivered to a recipient's door generates higher 'read and response' rates than advertising mail delivered to the curbside or a neighborhood cluster box," reads the April 20 report. "Door-delivery customers also are less likely to throw their ad mail away than customers with curb or cluster box delivery."

Move over, synergy, there's a new buzzword in town: big data. Okay, so maybe the idea of "big data" isn't new, per se (its roots date back decades), but marketers have taken renewed interest in recent years. A Google search of "big data" produces thousands of results and varying definitions. So, what exactly is it?

The Direct Marketing Association reported that catalog mailings grew in 2013 for the first time in six years to 11.9 billion.