Even though your print & mail vendor is probably handling the Intelligent Mail Barcode details for you, it can’t hurt to know how to read and decode the IMB.
Secondly, we receive a steady flow of traffic to our blog from people searching for information on how to read the IMB.
After watching the 4 minute video below, you’ll know exactly how to do so.
Do you have a question about the Intelligent Mail Barcode? Email Matt Cote: matt (at) ballantine.com
The June 2009 issue of our ‘Sample of the Month’ direct mail case study features our client HAWAII Magazine and their test of a double postcard to acquire new subscribers and reacquire lapsed subs.
This case study will also prove to you how effective housefile mailings can be (housefile meaning customers, clients, subscribers, etc.). As a result, this case study is applicable to most companies, not just publishers.
Campaign Details
The 4-color double postcard measures 6″ wide by 4.25″ high (closed) and opens up to 6″ wide by 8.5″ high. The middle is perfed and one half gets returned (standard DPC). The offer is for 1 free issue of HAWAII Magazine and a bonus Luau Guide. They are then automatically billed $15 for 5 more issues with the option to cancel.
This DPC mailing was split into 2 segments:
Segment 1
The first segment was a non-housefile mailing to Hawaii property owners that live on the mainland (90% of their subscribers live on the mainland). The personalized copy that was included on the front of this segment’s DPC included “Come Home To HAWAII Year-Round” and “Be Instantly Transported To Your Home Away From Home”.
Segment 2
The second segment was a housefile mailing of lapsed subscribers from the last 3 years with a geographic select that mimics their highest concentrations of subscribers. The personalized copy that was included on the front of this segment’s DPC included “Escape To HAWAII Year-Round” and “Skip The Long Plane Ride And Be Instantly Transported To Paradise”.
Both segments shared the same offer in addition to the same artwork for the back and inside of the DPC.
DPC Pictures
You can view pictures of the double postcard by CLICKING HERE.
Campaign Poll
Before you continue reading, please take a second to cast your vote below.
Campaign Results
As you can probably assume, the housefile mailing (lapsed subscribers) performed better…but the non-housefile mailing (Hawaii property owners) also did well partly due to the amount of attention given to the details of the data file by HAWAII Magazine’s Marketing Manager.
—> Response rate for the housefile mailing was 6.35%
—> Response rate for the non-housefile mailing was 2.59%
This reinforced HAWAII Magazine’s need to continue to mine its own database because there is definitely low-hanging fruit to be had.
Do you have any related experiences you’d like to add? Please share your thoughts by commenting below.
Here’s an important announcement for bulk mail senders.
Effective on July 1st, 2009, the USPS is implementing their new incentive program (also called Summer Sale) for high-volume bulk mail senders. It’s more like a rebate because you get 30% back on the postage costs of a portion of future mailings within a certain time period.
How do you qualify for the incentive program?
1. You must be the mail owner of a permit imprint advance deposit account, or the owner of a deposit account that is used through a mail service provider.
2. You must have mailed at least one million pieces of direct mail between October 1st, 2007 and March 31st, 2008.
If you qualify, you should have received a letter from the USPS. If you qualify and you didn’t receive a letter, send an email to summersale (at) usps.gov. And here’s a link to the USPS website for more info on this Summer Sale.
Lastly, if there’s anything we can do to help, or if you have questions, please send an email to matt (at) ballantine.com or contact us here.
Today’s post is going to highlight a potential problem with fugitive glue that you should be aware of.
First off, fugitive glue are drops of glue that are placed on a self-mailer to keep it closed. So for example, if you’re mailing a double postcard, you could apply fugitive glue to keep the 2 postcard panels closed in the mail stream.
The alternative are wafer seals — the circular pieces of “tape” that get folded over the panels you want to close — but they are more expensive and more visible on the mail piece.
The potential problem with fugitive glue is this: depending on the design of your self-mailer, you might have to apply the drops of glue on a reply card that is hopefully returned back to you. If the recipient sends back the reply card without rubbing off the drops of glue, there’s the potential issue of the reply card sticking to other mail and never reaching it’s final destination.
This all said, we don’t think this is a huge issue to worry about because a reply card sticking to another piece of mail is pretty obvious and would be corrected by the USPS And furthermore, I assume most people would rub the glue off before sending back the reply card.
If your self-mailer design is forcing you to use fugitive glue on your reply card and you’re worried about the above, you have 2 options:
Use wafer seals instead.
Speak to your lettershop vendor because there are different types of fugitive glue you can use that vary in size and intensity.
We would love to hear about your experiences or comments on this topic. Please comment below if you’re interested.
The June 2009 issue of our ‘Sample of the Month’ direct mail case study features our client 
Here’s an important announcement for bulk mail senders.
Today’s post is going to highlight a potential problem with fugitive glue that you should be aware of.
