Nancy Harhut

Direct mail is very visible, and it's a part of the daily life of most Americans. For those two reasons alone, companies have traditionally relied on direct mail to get out their marketing messages. Other advertising avenues, such as billboards, TV commercials, radio spots and e-mails, also compete for prospects' attention and loyalty, but only direct mail physically gets into people's hands in their own homes.

This article originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of Inside Direct Mail, a sister publication of Print Professional. For more information, visit www.insidedirectmail.com.) For our 20th anniversary issue in 2004, the Inside Direct Mail editors revisited the industry’s biggest trends and evolution with direct mail experts. Remember when AOL mailed the first diskette in 1993, or when National Geographic Travel rolled out with a billboard postcard and a smaller postcard rode along in a plastic pouch? Since then, the direct mail industry has come a long way. With the rapid increases in technology, new marketing platforms, retiring baby boomers leaving the work