Karen O'Brien

The non-profit world is one where money and time are both precious commodities. When Applied Image Group needed a program guide for the annual Gulf Ridge Council Boy Scouts of America’s 8th Annual Distinguished Citizen Award Luncheon, they knew just where to turn.

While trends in marketing and consumer preferences may change, there are four basic tenants of direct mail that will forever remain the same. No matter how much direct mail evolves, say from square mail to shaped mail, these cornerstones will still mean the difference between whether or not people will read what you send. But here’s the catch. Many marketers skip 1 and 2, which account for 70 to 80 percent of your campaign’s success.

Imagine this. A day or two before you receive a marketing message in your mailbox, you receive a preview of what’s arriving on your smart phone via a special app. Or perhaps you’ll have an email inbox that lists mail and packages that are on their way. This is a reality that’s a lot closer than we might think, according USPS Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

Today, business cards can be much more than the traditional 2 x 3.5” rectangle. Companies who want to instantly differentiate themselves are now turning to shaped business cards to leave a lasting impression on the recipient.

VDP systems are intuitive and easy for digital printers to implement, helping marketers go from a dismal average 2% response rate for static communication to a 10 to 15% response rate when VDP is brought into the direct mail equation.

Associated costs could be as much as 31 times the purchasing cost of paper, which includes not only the retail price, but storage, copying, printing, postage, disposal and recycling. So what’s the solution? Companies who switch to print-on-demand have reported savings as much as 27% in their printing costs alone, according to American Digital.