Category Archives: Direct Mail Marketing

How Important Are PURLs?

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Chief Marketer recently released a post where they used a “round table” of brokers to discuss the importance of PURLs in the marketing arena (view full story here). The panel included Price Anderson of DirectMail.com, Patricia Leone of Leon Henry Inc., Michael Peterman of Veradata and Michele Volpe of Media Source Solutions.

First, for those that don’t know, a PURL, also know as a Personalized URL, is an add-on to a domain that is dynamically given to a single individual that you send a marketing message, typically used in direct mail. So when you send your direct mail to John Black, instead of using a static domain such as www.greatoffer.com, he’ll be asked to go to www.greatoffer.com/johnblack, in order to get his personalized message and offer.

Once John Black goes online and types in his Personalized URL, he is directed to a custom site, that is created specifically for him, generally with his data prepopulated and a “Welcome John” message.

Obvious benefits are the customization the appearance of speaking “one-to-one” to your target audience as well as the ability of the retailer to track these interactions. This was clear on the round table’s discussion, and the overall feel was that “yes” purls are important.

But I think they used a bunch of fancy words to sound important and missed one of the key reason why Personalized URLs work.

Consumers are lazy.
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Dukky takes PODi Best Practices Award for its Direct Mail Marketing Case Study

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Team Dukky is proud to announce it has won the PODi Best Practices Award for its case study of client Chick-fil-A’s direct mail and viral marketing campaign. We couldn’t be prouder!


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The 2010 Christmas Wish List for business’ has been posted!

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The countdown is officially on for the holidays. Christmas lights are going up around our city and stores and restaurants are adorning their doors, aisles  and employees with holiday marketing ideas and opportunities for consumers.

At dinner last night I was given the opportunity by 3 different employees in the restaurant to purchase a gift card for the upcoming holiday for friends and family. It was a very nonchalant offer, but yet a very clear indication that the holiday marketing hounds have been loosed. Continue reading →

The New Normal: Integrating Interactive and Print

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A few months ago when the USPS approached our team about the opportunity to speak with them at the DMA convention regarding, The New Normal: Integrating Interactive and Print, we were very excited and honored. Due to our integration into direct mail campaigns, the USPS saw our platform and technology as a solution and proof to present during its session, instead of simply talking about needed solutions and potential in the market. It was their goal to discuss upcoming trends and present actual data to prove concept for its attendees. Continue reading →

Super Dukky is at DMA 2010!

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Today is an exciting day for Dukky! Our very own VP of Business Development (and co-blog contributor), Renee Hall, is speaking at the DMA conference at this very moment! As a guest of the US Postal Service, she’s currently enlightening all the attendees on ‘The New Normal” of marketing strategies. We’re so proud! Continue reading →

Direct Mail: Lessons from the Movies

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Michael Paladini, Director of Analytics for the Wilde Agency, and was originally published on the Wilde about Direct Marketing blog. It is reprinted here with permission.

According to CSO Insights in a report published this past July, 39% of companies doing lead generation planned to reduce their direct mail spending in the next 12 months. Only 18% said they planned to spend more on mail. Mail had the worst showing of all the marketing channels surveyed. (E-marketing, email, and social media marketing were the big winners, of course.)

Here at Wilde, we do a lot of direct mail. So, are we in a dying business? I don’t think so.

When television came along, everyone said the movies were dead. Been to a movie lately? Sure you have. Indeed, movies are making more money than ever. It’s not that TV killed the movies. It’s that TV, as a new transformative technology, changed the movies. Movies became bigger: longer and packed with visual and auditory sensations and special effects—a trend that started as early as Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and continues right through to the otherworldliness of Avatar or Inception.

Today, direct mail faces all the transformative technologies of the digital age. Digital is going to change direct mail, and force direct mail to do what it does best.

Two key advantages that DM has over digital are that (1) it’s tangible, and (2) it lends itself to sustained narrative.

To Have and To Hold

You can hold a direct mail package in your hands. It lasts. You can display it. Its strength is that it’s not the flickering of transient pixels on a screen, here today and gone–not tomorrow–but in a millisecond. Accordingly, DM is going to work best in the digital age when it’s dimensional—ironically in the same way that TV forced the movies to bulk up.

The new defining criterion of successful direct mail is going to be: the recipient does not want to throw it away. Something about the physical piece of mail will compel the recipient to keep it. Perhaps it’s a dodecahedron displaying your brand that pops into 3-D when you open the package. Perhaps it includes a hysterical and infinitely repeatable recording like those insane Hoops & Yoyo cards that Hallmark’s making a fortune on. Perhaps it has toy-like characteristics that will invite playing with it again and again. Perhaps it even has a pleasant scent. (Hmmm. What smell goes along with selling, say, mutual funds?) But whatever the package is or does, you won’t want to just throw it away.

Decades ago, I got a direct marketing piece that emits a wild round of applause every time you open it. I still have it. It still works. I still laugh.

Living to Tell the Tale

In addition—and not precluded by being multi-dimensional—direct mail worth mailing will tell a good story. It doesn’t have to be a long or complex story. But it has to be compelling. Again, we can take a lesson from the movies. While movies have bulked up on special effects, if a movie is all and only special effects, it usually falls flat. Special effects wedded to a damned good story—think Pixar—create movies that gross hundreds of millions.

Not for Everyone…

There are of course some people who never go to the movies. And there are some (like yours truly) who rarely or never watch TV. Similarly, our dimensional, engaging, compelling direct mail still needs to reach the right people. The story of a worthy charity will fall on deaf ears if I would simply never give to that kind of cause. I’ll ignore a mailer telling me why a particular technology will improve my life if I’m a technophobe. $5,000 off on a new car is a non-starter if I just bought a car last week. There’s still a big role for targeting, careful list selection, and knowing your audience.

…But Not Dead Yet!

When a transformative technology comes along, the old techniques learn to play to their own strengths. The following brief table contrasts DM with digital media to highlight the strengths of the old-fashioned way:

paladini chart

There’s just no getting around that we humans are physical, analog, narrative creatures, bound in time and space. We’re always going to like getting stuff. And we’ll always love a good story.

Why Social Media is the Best Thing to Happen to Direct Mail

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Debra Ellis and was originally published on her most excellent  Multichannel Marketing blog. It is reprinted here with permission.

It has always bothered me that a 3% response rate is considered successful in direct mail prospecting. I know all of the arguments. (”It’s part of the acquisition costs. We’ll make it up with the next mailing.” “The breakeven is low, so a lower response is profitable.” And, my personal favorite, “It’s how things are done in the mail order industry.”)

I’ve even been known to offer a little justification myself. But there is an indisputable fact: a 3% response rate equals 97% failure. For those of you uninitiated in the mail order industry, this rate is only acceptable when you are prospecting. Even so, it is a scary number.

The reason I adapted to the status quo was that I couldn’t find a better way. It doesn’t matter how much data you have, it is impossible to select prospects with a high rate of accuracy. This is due to individual preferences that only appear when you get to know someone very well.

My sisters and I are a perfect example.

There are four of us. We look so much alike that people who know us sometimes get confused. We grew up in the same house with the same parents and attended the same schools. Our similarities end there. While we may shop from the same catalog, our styles are very different and we may be buying for our parents. If you rent names from that catalog, odds are that we don’t have an interest in your product.

This is why the 3% response rate for rental prospecting is acceptable. Too many unknowns prevent better targeting. But, everything changes when the prospect is acquired by inquiry. Instead of blasting your way into the prospects mailbox, you are invited. Your recipient has indicated an interest in your offerings and is more likely to buy.

Social media is a game changer.

It provides a venue for communicating with customers and prospects on a one to one basis. If you actively participate with a consistent and inviting voice, relationships are started or enhanced before the catalog is in the mail.

There is so much about your company and brand that is unknown to outsiders. Your history, philosophy, and item development information is often confined to internal documentation. While some is proprietary, the rest is your story to be shared with the world.

Your company’s story is what differentiates your business from the competition. Lower prices, better quality, and unique features can be easily copied and enhanced. The character of your company, not so much.

Social media offers a venue for telling your story one tweet, post, and video at a time. Use it wisely to attract prospects and engage customers. The relationships built here improve direct mail response rates and strengthen your business. So, give your friends a shout out. Maybe they’ll pass it on.

Preserving ROI with Promotions and Offers

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post on how to create a compelling offer while keeping ROI in mind was written by Mark Hasland and originally appeared on the Overnight Prints blog. It is reprinted here with permission. Enjoy!

The promotions businesses offer consumers is one of the three pillars on which successful direct mail campaigns stand. By utilizing lucrative offers, entrepreneurs may be able to encourage customers to make purchases they wouldn’t have made otherwise.

A recent article from Direct Magazine discusses the use of the four basic types of offers: free shipping, promotional items, flat dollar discounts and percentage discounts. When used wisely, each one of these promotions can help business owners generate sales and manage return on investment.

Free shipping is often the most effective offer, especially for online businesses. According to Direct Magazine, free shipping can generate 20 percent lifts in sales. The second-best promotion is flat dollars off, followed by percentage discounts and free merchandise.

No matter which offer companies pick, it’s critical they determine the goal of a direct mail campaign first. If customer acquisition and brand awareness are primary objectives, entrepreneurs may want to consider promotions they will only break even or even lose money on. Conversely, if bottom line is an issue, organizations should use more conservative offers.

This is especially the case when using the least effective offer, promotional merchandise. Direct Magazine says that offers of this type can generate returns of 5 percent. However, for many direct mail campaigns, response rates hover around 3 percent. The potential customers acquired and 2 percent sales lifts generated by a promotion should be carefully weighed against the cost of the actual items.

Additionally, the source suggests considering whether discounts are needed at all. For example, seasonal businesses may pull respectable numbers during peak times of the year and don’t need subsequent deals to encourage sales. Once the company is out of season, though, then they may want to consider using promotions to attract customers.

Finally, Direct Magazine highlights the importance of observing both consumer response and competitors. Businesses should stay competitive with rivaling companies, offering discounts that make them a viable alternative. Entrepreneurs should also analyze direct mail recipients to determine which offers are successful and which are not.

A recent article from Target Marketing Magazine also recommends including time-sensitive calls to action with offers. Time-sensitive phrases including “hurry” and “buy now” may encourage consumers to act promptly and make purchases sooner rather than later.

Direct Mail Still Effective, and Can Be Valuable Complement to Other Platforms

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Mark Hasland and originally appeared on the Overnight Prints blog. It is reprinted here with permission.

Despite all the hype about social media, marketers seem not to be convinced of its effectiveness, and many are still relying on traditional marketing platforms such as direct mail, said a recent study.

According to a report from Massachusetts-based BluePoint Venture Marketing, just 19 percent of marketers surveyed said that establishing a social media presence was an important company marketing goal in 2009.

Meanwhile, more than half of respondents – 52 percent – said that direct mail was an effective branding and awareness vehicle.

Yet even the growing popularity of social media shouldn’t be a threat to the existence – or the effectiveness – of direct mail; experts say that integrated marketing campaigns – those that promote a consistent brand and message across a variety of platforms – are typically the most effective.

Scott Buresh, founder and CEO of organic search engine optimization company Medium Blue, agrees. In an article for Promotion World, Buresh said that using a combination of online and offline marketing can provide the best results.

“Nobody can deny that the advent of various internet marketing methods has been a game-changer,” he wrote. “Some forms of traditional advertising may even be on their last legs. Trade show attendance is down. Magazines and newspapers are in decline. I can’t remember the last time a door-to-door salesperson came up to my house.”

However, he added that some channels “still can provide exceptional returns.” Even Medium Blue, which is based entirely on online marketing, uses direct mail – Buresh admits that “direct mail, done properly, still works for us.”

Integrated marketing can be so effective because each platform essentially cross-promotes itself. For example, companies can add Facebook and LinkedIn links to their email campaigns, and can promote a Facebook campaign in their postcard mailings.

At its most basic, all companies should make sure to have a link to their website on all business cards, brochures and other printed materials.

Experts add that integrated marketing campaigns are only as successful as they are consistent – campaigns that promote different messages and feature different brand voices work separately at best (thereby negating the effects of cross-promotion) and against each other at worst.

At the very least, Buresh noted, using a variety of different marketing channels ensures that companies do not “put all of their eggs in the online basket.”

Direct Mail Has Several Advantages Over Newer Forms of Marketing

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Editor’s Note: Today’s post was written by Mark Hasland and originally appeared on the Overnight Prints blog. It is reprinted here with permission. With the internet easily accessible to more than 200 million Americans, marketing trends are increasingly shifting to digital. However, even in today’s web-dependent world, direct mail still plays an integral role in reaching new audiences. This contrast can most clearly be seen in the political realm. While President Barack Obama used social media platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, to connect with many Americans, countless other politicians utilize direct mail to appeal to potential voters. This is the case with many of this year’s gubernatorial campaigns for candidates in Minnesota. Members of both Democratic Farmers Labor and Independence parties are launching direct mail campaigns leading up to the August 10th primaries, reports Politics in Minnesota. “If you’re looking at the different mediums to talk to voters, by far the most effective is direct voter contact, door to door and on the phones. Direct mail fits into that as well, because it’s a very targeted message to specific voters,” Jaime Tincher, campaign manager for DFL’s Margaret Kelliher. Targeting largely factors into why direct mail is so popular among many candidates. Direct mail allows campaigners to target certain demographics with relevant messages, maximizing the impact a message can have among distinct groups. In addition to that, direct mail can also target specific voters, creating personal connections that broadcast marketing often can’t generate. With direct mail, campaigners can reduce the amount of marketing dollars spent on people that are likely not to vote and more efficiently target those who will. Because it’s such a direct platform, many candidates also use mail for fundraising initiatives. With the exception of holding an event with the candidate in attendance, direct mail is the best way of finding people that agree with a position that would make a contribution, says Tincher. Expense is another large part of why direct mail is so popular among politicians. Direct mail is a fraction of the price of television campaigns. While a TV message could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, direct mail initiatives are often no more than a few thousand dollars. So what can a savvy small business owner take away from these politicians? There are certain advantages that physical envelopes and brochures have over intangible digital messages. Direct mail can often be used to create personal relationships and cement a brand’s reputation among consumers. Additionally, targeting different segments of potential customers with specific messages is also an advantage that direct mail has over other channels, like TV. At Dukky, we recognize that both direct mail and digitial marketing have unique advantages. In our view, an integrated approach is the way to go because it provides marketers with the best of both worlds.