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Digital hasn’t diminished the value of direct mail, it’s helped drive innovation in the channel.
Marketers are using technology to incorporate features such as scent, music and video to make a deeper impact with customers. They’re taking a Smartmail Marketing™ approach, which combines the inherent strengths of physicality, data and connectivity to maximize results.
But there’s another force driving the innovation of direct mail – creativity.
Marketers are learning how to better leverage the power of the physical medium in today’s busy world, and they’re seeing incredible results.
Check out these three innovative campaigns.
Connecting the disconnected
Nokia provides its clients with technological solutions that improve the security, mobility and connectivity of companies and their employees.
Such large-scale investments often require sign-off from two members of their client’s executive team: the Managing Director and the IT Director. The problem? These sides rarely interact. So how could they ever discuss Nokia’s offerings?
To get past this hurdle, Nokia turned to the physical power of direct mail – but with a twist.
Personalized coffee mugs were sent to the Managing Director and the IT Director of various companies. But each person was given their colleague’s mug. This “mistake” would force them to exchange mugs – and since they were already together, why not have a conversation about Nokia?
Almost all the mugs were exchanged (93%) and there was a 64% response rate in terms of meetings arranged.
Growing sales – literally
Australian high-end menswear retailer M.J. Bale used direct mail to celebrate and leverage its sponsorship of the Australian cricket team.
It took turf from the Sydney Cricket Grounds, where the team consistently won matches, and propagated it on a Merino sheep farm. The sheep then “Grazed On Greatness” – which became the name of the campaign.
The retailer used this victory-infused wool to create a line of handcrafted suits, first for the team, then the public. To generate awareness of the campaign, journalists were sent ties made of the fabric, while select customers received grass seeds from the grounds.
The results: in-store traffic hit an all-time high, orders for tailored suits shot up 520% and the company won a distribution deal at 38 locations of a prestigious retail chain. The ultimate ROI came in at 1,400% – $14 for every $1 spent.
Reigniting interest
For nearly 30 years, Leo Burnett Worldwide has been holding its annual Cannes Predictions. This prestigious, invite-only event – held in advance of the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity – showcases outstanding global advertising to agencies and their clients.
In recent years, however, the number of clients attending the event has shrunk drastically.
The company sought to enhance its physical invitation for top clients in Thailand. To do so, it looked for clues embedded in the Thai culture. The solution came in the form of a lion’s fang.
There is a Thai saying that to break a lion’s fang is to take a risk. So when 300 invitees were delivered a large replica of a fang, how could they resist breaking it open and finding their invitation inside?
The campaign resulted in an 150% increase in attendance over the previous year. There was unanticipated ROI as well: the lion’s fang was so novel, it generated media coverage, online and off-line, with a PR value of about $365,000.
The power of Canada Post Smartmail Marketing™
As these three campaigns show, direct mail is a playground for innovation. Today’s marketers can maximize their creativity by using Smartmail Marketing to enhance the power of physical within their marketing mix.
To find out how to drive more action for your brand with Smartmail Marketing, click here.
Canada Post Smartmail Marketing and Smartmail Marketing are trademarks of Canada Post Corporation.
