I just finished reading the latest issue of DMNews (July 13th, 2009 issue) and it struck me that there was very little mention, if any, of direct mail programs that companies were running.

All the stories were about:

• Mobile marketing
• Social media
• Email marketing
• Web loyalty, etc.

Now I completely understand that online marketing is very hot right now, but direct mail for many companies is, and should be, a vital part of their marketing mix.

Now you can say I’m biased because Ballantine provides direct mail services (we offer some digital solutions as well), but it’s a fact that direct mail is VERY targeted and VERY measurable.

If rising costs are an issue, then you become smarter with your direct mail. You lean heavily on your vendors to help you cut costs and/or introduce new ideas. It’s what we do for our clients and it’s what you should EXPECT from your vendors.

Yes, direct mail is changing but if you adapt to those changes, you’ll be OK. Most of our clients (not all) are still mailing at their normal volumes, but have tweaked certain aspects of their direct mail programs. i.e. more finely-tuned lists, more cost-efficient formats, commingling, etc.

You should also look at different printed products. We have a meeting today with a major automobile company to discuss a new printed product that would get them in the mail boxes they NEED to be in at a fraction of the cost.

Or read our previous post on personal URLs. We’re helping one of our clients with a PURL campaign and direct mail is still a big part of the project. An inexpensive self-mailer to get the PURL out there…and then an inexpensive digitally-printed follow up postcard.

Reach out to your customers, and potential customers, from different angles. Online marketing now plays a big role in this approach…and so does direct mail.

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Hi Everyone — We had a meeting recently with a solar power client of ours and I think the general scope of the project we were discussing will make for an idea-generating blog post.

As you can probably guess from the blog post title, the project we were discussing was for a personal URL, or PURL as it’s commonly referred to.

They want to use it for their lead generation efforts which, from OUR experience, is the best application for a PURL. Use it to generate leads and gather data…and then use the campaign data to follow up with a 2nd, more focused effort.

So what is a personal URL’s best friend? Digital printing.

By the end of the meeting we concluded we would send out a PURL and then mail out an oversized, personalized digital postcard to those that visited the PURL but didn’t respond. With the reporting a PURL gives you, and the ease and flexibility of digital printing, it’s a very strong combination.

This one-two punch can be achieved using email too and it would give your PURL campaign a very inexpensive boost in response. But with a digitally printed postcard you’re dealing with a lot less competition for your prospect’s attention versus their email inbox.

So if you’re going to do a PURL campaign, consider incorporating digital printing. Because lower print quantities are ideal for digital presses, there’s no pressure to meet high minimums.

Can We Help?

If you want to bounce ideas around with us, or if you want us to send you PURL pricing, please send an email to Ryan Cote.

Personalized printing with variable data and personal URLs is getting more and more popular, especially since the prices are coming down and the quality is going up.

As a result, we thought it would make for a good post today to recap an article that was in the DM News not too long ago called “Get Personal With Print Marketing”.

Four experts were asked for their advice on how to take advantage of personalized print marketing. What follows is a quick summary of all four.

1. John Foley’s Takeaway

Maintain a customized print conversation with your customers. Mr. Foley talks about integrated marketing and how effective it can be to set up a campaign that includes a personalized mailer, personal URLs and then a follow up mailer based on how they answered certain questions on the PURL.

2. Chris Ryan’s Takeaway

The right trigger techniques make for highly effective personalization programs. Mr. Ryan talks about using time-sensitive “trigger” mailings that coincide with specific periods in a person’s life. For example, sending home-related coupons to new homeowners, or sending an investment-related mailer to a newly retired couple.

3. John Berger’s Takeaway

Successful personalization relies on information used responsibly by marketers. Mr. Berger stresses the importance of marketers protecting the privacy of their customers. He says you want to use the information you collect on them to personalize your offers, but not so much so that the customer feels their privacy has been violated.

4. Anna Chagnon’s Takeaway

More marketers are integrating software with production workflow systems. Ms. Chagnon points out how variable data software makes personalization easier. You create one template if you wish for your mailers and all your campaigns are fueled by this one shell. She also mentions the growing popularity of Web-to-print storefronts.

5. Ballantine’s Takeaway

We think certain industries are prime candidates for personalized variable data printing and should definitely consider creating a test campaign if budgets allow. These industries – to name a few – include retail, hospitality and auto.

These types of industries generally collect a great deal of information about their customers and can thus personalize their mailings with pinpoint accuracy. And they also thrive on customer relationship-building…which relevant offers help cultivate.

We have one retail client that holds regular events with various “themes”. We send out weekly variable data self-mailers for them and the images on the mail piece correspond with the event that the customer attended.

The mailings are wildly successful for them.

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If you would like to talk to us about variable data digital printing or personal URLs, please email Ryan Cote: ryan (at) ballantine.com.