For operations executives and marketers alike, the number one challenge in today’s market is reaching the customer. Customers are clearly in control of the media that they consume. Mobile devices, iPods, DVRs, and the Internet have changed marketing forever. Marketing executives of the future will need to leverage every customer touch point with a mix of interconnected channels. One thing is certain — the effective use of cross-media communications will bring better business results. Delivering multiple impressions and giving prospects a variety of ways to respond can have a dramatic impact.

Media Dynamics are Changing

Over the past several years, we have heard about the importance of transforming into a “marketing service provider” with a focus on one-to-one communications and variable data. Today’s media dynamics are changing. As we look to the future, there will be three critical components for success in the much larger cross-media opportunity:

• Data-driven personal messaging
• Delivering messages across all channels
• Campaigns that engage the end customer

We’ll take a look at the first component now…

Data-Driven Personal Messaging

Marketers continue to see the value in developing intimate and direct communication with consumers. Not so long ago, families gathered around the television set. Now, individuals surf the Web and watch videos on personal, handheld devices. Consumers have grown comfortable with — and have even come to expect — a one-on-one dialogue with marketers. Personalized marketing messages are essential to attracting customers’ attention and delivering communications that increase sales. Today’s consumers don’t have the time or the patience to deal with irrelevant information. Data-driven personalized messaging has never been more important.

Organizations that sell products or services (business-to-business or business-to-consumer) must gather and use information about their customers’ purchases, including how much they spend per sale and when or how often they buy. Knowledge about past behaviors is a valuable tool for predicting future purchases. In addition to guiding business decisions, this information is critical for creating personalized marketing messages that increase sales.

Marketers must work with customers to personalize offers based on past purchases and preferences. The marketing must follow the customer (not the other way around), and the offer must be truly customized to the recipient’s specific needs.

In late 2010, InfoTrends published an extensive survey entitled Capturing the Cross-Media Direct Marketing Opportunity. The marketing respondents that participated in this study reported that over 60% of their campaigns leveraged personalized (one-to-one) or segmented (one-to-few) marketing.

From the perspective of the print service provider, personalization is the future of marketing communications. Service providers must clearly understand how to work with clients on data-driven campaigns. The problem is that personalization is not enough to remain competitive in today’s complex cross-media world.

If you want to learn about the remaining two components, visit www.OceWow.com and download the June 2011 Newsletter. You’ll find even more interesting articles there!

If you’ve been paying attention to our blog – or to the world of print around you – then by now you are very familiar with QR codes and how they are being integrated into print almost everywhere. With an increased use of smart phones and the general public’s want of information hear and now, it’s no wonder these have become high profile marketing tools. But did you know that even the United States Postal Service has taken notice of these fabulous barcodes?

Well, they have. So much so that the USPS is offering a promotion on all mail pieces containing barcodes. Between July 1^st and August 31^st, the USPS is offering a 3% discount to all mailers who include 2D barcodes on their mailings. According to the factsheet, all companies, including Mail Service Providers, who mail using a permit imprint and submit their mailing documentation electronically, are eligible to participate.

This seems like more evidence that there is opportunity for print to thrive in the digital age. In this case specifically, we see how the digital aspect of the QR code actually makes print items more popular and increases demand for printed items with this digital functionality. Utilizing these codes for direct mail can improve the quality of your mail piece while allowing you to better reach internet-savvy consumers. It can also add a much needed spark in the mailing industry – a fact which the USPS seems to have noticed.

Production Solutions in Vienna, VA, did something interesting. They took a current mail piece and calculated how much it would have cost to produce the same piece a decade ago (in 2001).

Guess what?

The cost to mail a test package today appears to have fallen 17% below the cost to mail the same package ten years ago. Why? Because savings inherent in data processing, personalization, and mailshop fees offset rising costs in every other area of operations.

Observations:

• Technology has saved us some dollars and definitely enabled more personal, targeted, effective marketing.

• In the days ahead, ratios will shift adversely if the cost of manufactured materials goes up (paper, ink, window patch material, labels).

• Rising postage costs would squeeze margins, possibly out of existence. What will mitigate that? Can technology improvements and controlled labor costs offset the trend? So far, no … but technology delivers exponential surprises every day, so let’s not give up.

• For now, the real budget killer appears to be energy, gasoline in particular. Business owners also must deal with the rising and fixed energy costs inherent in plant operations. Again, innovations in technology may help us deal with super-charged gasoline and electricity prices. On the other hand, water could prove to be a problem most haven’t thought about.

• And then there’s the cost of labor. As states across the country try to regulate and repress wages and benefits for millions of American workers, the cost (and availability) of labor becomes vastly uncertain. Enter the influence of trends in the world economy, import/export practices, and even climate change (think paper production, for example): more uncertainty.

Whether or not one or more of these particular expenses skyrockets or plummets depends on a range of macro influences. Unforeseen technology advances and innovations in the areas of manufacturing, printing, lettershop, and even marketing itself could make us all rich (well, okay.. prosperous). In 2001, none of us really understood how huge email marketing and online shopping would be ten years later. We didn’t even know about QR codes or smart phones back then. So what will the world look like in 2021?

Perplexing, yes? ….. Perhaps direct mail production and marketing operations would benefit from a “Crazy Day brainstorming session” to encourage employees to “imagine the future” … leading maybe to some long-range thinking and planning focused on staying nimble, quick, responsive, and open to the coming deluge of change. I’d love to hear from readers!

In the meantime, thanks to Production Solutions for its thought-provoking article.

Over the past few years, discussions surrounding how legal paper sourcing decisions are made by print buyers have received less and less attention from the press. This doesn’t mean that the issue has melted away; it merely means normalization of the process has relegated it to the board room and to the senate committee. However that could change based on worldwide activities of a similar fashion. In other words, the race is on.

In a mere 22 months if you print on paper anywhere in the European Union (EU), there will no longer be a choice. Verified legal timber product sourcing, including pulp and paper, will become law.

Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 lays down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market – also known as the (Illegal) Timber Regulation counters the trade in illegally harvested timber and timber products through three key obligations:

1. It prohibits the placing on the EU market for the first time of illegally harvested timber and products derived from such timber;
2. It requires EU traders who place timber products on the EU market for the first time to exercise ‘due diligence’;
3. Keep records of their suppliers and customers.

The Regulation covers a broad range of timber products including solid wood products, flooring, plywood, pulp and paper. Interestingly though, not included among a few other products such as rattan and bamboo are recycled products and printed papers such as books, magazines and newspapers.

The EU has chosen their battles just as the US has with the now familiar US Lacey Act. By excluding printed matter (for now) but including pulp and paper, the EU’s Timber Regulation leapfrogs Lacey in that European printers will no longer be at will to purchase paper without regard for legal harvests, specifically aimed at imports as of March 2013.

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011 is still in the consultation phase, but is written so vaguely that if passed in its present form, is sure to create a (common) wealth of issues. For now, we have to take a wait and see approach. Taking their Bill with a grain of Aussie salt, I wouldn’t expect to see it passed anytime soon.

As a side note in its “Comments from the Government of Canada on Australia’s Draft Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011”, the Canadian government is not amused. On May 6, 2011 the Secretary of the Senate Standing Committees on Rural Affairs and Transport wrote; “In particular, Canada is concerned that the Bill may lead to a requirement (whether explicitly stated or implied) for Australian importers to conduct risk assessments (or the ‘timber industry certifiers’ to do so on their behalf) on any unprocessed or processed timber products imported into Australia. Such a requirement would be particularly onerous for complex processed products made of timber sourced from multiple suppliers…” (like paper merchants and printers).

Which brings us back to the Lacey Act and its implications in the paper and printing industry here in the US. For the time being it seems like no movement on implementation pertaining to US-based paper mills and printers is imminent. That said, with all of the activity on other continents, one has to wonder.

Are you looking for a new idea for a tradeshow leave-behind? Look no further than the 60 Second Super Cool Fold of the Week for the Long Triangle Fold. This collateral piece was designed by The Whitmore Print Group from Baltimore Maryland and created for Edge Technologies in Fairfax, Virgina.

Enjoy!

Transform your customer’s statements into their best customer communications vehicle… with personalization and relevant content.

 TransPromo communications take a standard bill or statement and add meaningful marketing messages — in other words, integrating a TRANSactional document with proactive PROMOtional marketing. The changes in postal rates and technology have created an environment where TransPromo makes good business and economical sense for many companies. TransPromo can be implemented in black and white, yet enhancing a statement or bill with color can significantly enhance response. These formerly routine documents can help you sell additional products and services and build brand loyalty.

 Study after study shows that statements command the most attention among many other common forms of customer communications. With so much attention paid to this document every month, there is huge potential to communicate directly with each customer on a “one-on-one” personal level.

 Through the use of targeted, personalized statements, DST Output has helped customers unleash the power of this opportunity and created deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers. Cheryl Kananowicz, Vice President and Dave Smith, Operations Manager share how DST Output does it.

Join Trish on her 100th episode as she shows us how to create a super cool direct mail piece from Hyundai. This is another good example of how direct mail can be powerful and innovative and can help your customers impress their target audience.

It’s no secret that marketing departments are savvy when it comes to direct mail. It’s a channel they’ve traditionally owned. They routinely work with vendors – whether it’s a direct mail house or commercial printshop – who provide access to sophisticated tools for conceiving, creating, composing, personalizing, mail-merging, printing and delivering mail pieces to a designated set of recipients and then measuring campaign effectiveness. For direct mail, they have plenty of tools for interacting with the process, from uploading artwork and providing lists to measuring response rates.

However, when it comes to bills, statements, policies and other production print output, many marketers find it more difficult to navigate the terrain (if they even consider stepping onto it in the first place.)

Why do I think marketers are less engaged with production print?

For starters, there’s the cultural dimension: IT and Operations versus Marketing. Historically production print has been the domain of the technology, operations or billing department, a silo neatly tucked away from creative and marketing types. As a result, many marketing execs simply didn’t consider transactional documents as vehicles for their messages. As awareness grows, marketing teams and even CMOs are starting to recognize the value of the transpromo opportunity. This is especially true as they face mounting pressure to deliver more accountability and better results at a lower cost. However, because they’re new to the game, they may be unsure of what executing a transpromo campaign entails, or how to engage with their traditional rivals in IT.

If you’re a print services provider, this is a golden opportunity.

Maybe you’re already providing direct mail or transactional print services for a particular client. You’ve got a new way to add more business and generate new revenue streams if you can help Marketing bridge the gap with IT. Start by helping marketers understand the potential of adding the statement into the marketing mix. Demonstrate the effectiveness of delivering targeted messages to recipients who are highly likely to spend time with the document. Point out the economies of embedding messages in documents that are delivered in an envelope where the stamp is already paid for. Keep in mind that you also have to win over their IT and operations folks who will be concerned about production cycles, data integrity and the ability to test. These guys want to know that a marketer is not going to be sticking their fingers in the code the day before (or even the week before) production.

Once you’ve convinced Marketing and IT that you have the skills, processes and tools to help them “do transpromo” in a quality controlled and measurable environment, help them foster dialogues with other departments and stakeholders. This might entail determining who maintains the library of messages and conditional business rules that define their use. Finally, provide access to tools that make it as easy to manage content for transaction documents as it is for direct mail – and make sure to measure results. In many cases, the very tools that enable marketers to interact with their suppliers for direct mail campaigns can be adapted for the transpromo world.

In a nutshell, educate them, make the appropriate tools available, facilitate the process and help marketers track results and ROI. It’s a consultative sell – but well worth the effort if it cements your relationship with existing customers or helps to bring you new ones.

For Print Providers who specialize in direct mail pieces, the challenge to come up with something new and interesting for your customers can be daunting. However, if you can create something that your customer has never seen before and something that is sure to excite their target audience – you can be sure that they will continue coming to you for direct mail solutions. Check out the Super Cool Fold of the Week for innovative direct mail ideas. In this week’s edition, learn how to create this cube design pioneered by Schmitz Press in Baltimore and produced for the Maryland Institute College of Art.

By Liz Swanson

There’s no question that today’s consumer is overwhelmed by the amount of marketing messages they encounter. Every day, they come across thousands of emails, direct mail pieces, advertisements, web banners, texts, and so on. They’ve almost become numb to the selling, which means that marketers have to find new and creative ways to break through the white noise.

Unfortunately in the quest to be THE message that is heard on any given day, sometimes a marketer will go a little too far–and enters the dark side of direct mail marketing. The message is heard for all the wrong reasons, leaving the consumer confused, angry or manipulated.

Recently, Boston.com posted an article about a direct mail campaign that went out to an unknown number of National Grid customers from HomeServe USA, an insurance company that sells coverage for furnace and plumbing repairs.

The intention of the mailing was win back former customers and have them reactivate their insurance coverage with HomeServe USA. Instead, many of the recipients thought they had received a bill from National Grid. The direct mail piece contained National Grid’s logo, had a design lay-out similar to a bill with an amount due, and the warning that it was “Payable Upon Receipt.” Not until the fine print on the second page was HomeServe USA referenced.

Just read the comments to the article to get a sense of how duped some customers felt. While it’s true that they had National Grid’s permission to use its logo and name, HomeServe USA should have been more upfront with their audience about the intention of the mailing.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office is now investigating the complaints about the mailing, meaning HomeServe USA could be facing criminal charge for deceptive marketing practices.

Yes, consumers should read their mail before blindly sending money to a company. BUT with effective direct marketing, the message and call-to-action should be crystal clear to the recipient. It’s our job as marketers not to confuse or deceive our audience because once we do, we lose trust.

___________________________________________________________________

Elizabeth Swanson is a Marketing Services Specialist with Iron Mountain

Printers!  Have you thought about adding interactive QR Codes to your printed pieces?  If you are, then are your QR Codes leading to mobilized content?  By this I mean content that provides your audience with a pleasant experience of mobile accessible, easy-to-read content with photos, links and more.  If not, you should consider using a Mobile Content Management System.  These specific types of systems allow you to generate content that is made to be used on a mobile device:  from your website, to your personalized ID card, coupons, ads, and blogs.  The mobile user expects a mobile experience.  If you’re driving folks to a regular web page or a coupon that was made for a regular web page, it’s probably too big to use or view. So don’t blame the QR code – blame the (non-mobile) content.

If you want to use QR Codes on your printed pieces for a marketing campaign, or even customer service applications, think about how your landing pages may look on a mobile phone. Have you ever encountered a landing page that is too big so that you have to scroll around to see the page? What a pain.  That is a big fail in my mind.  Most people won’t put up with it, and will leave before getting through the whole page.   A too-big Personalized Landing Page (PLP) that gets displayed on a mobile phone?  Fail – The mobile user will leave faster than they clicked on it. You went to the trouble of creating a PLP, so why not make it compatible for viewing on a mobile platform?

Also, when you drive folks to non-mobilized content, you can’t take advantage of the capabilities smart phones have inherently built into them, like texting from the page you are on, or sharing the content instantly.   Think about those missed opportunities the next time you create a direct mail or printed marketing campaign.

Mobile Marketing is here and is expanding hard and fast.  If you want to engage with your mobile audience the right way, you must mobilize your content.  If you are producing marketing materials that direct people to a web page, and there is even a chance that your audience will be viewing them on a mobile device (and trust me, they will be), you need to make sure that your content is optimized for the mobile web.

So how do you do that? Here are some tips:

• Provide minimal and very clear navigation at the top of the page, and make sure navigation is consistent throughout the site.
• Try not to use sidebar navigation, and make sure that font size is large enough to be legible on a small screen.
• Don’t use more links unless they are absolutely necessary. You need to take into account the trade-off between having too many links on a page and asking the user to follow too many links to find the content they are looking for.
• Use clear and simple language. Save long descriptions and blocks of text for secondary web pages, don’t put them on your home page.
• Try to limit scrolling to one direction if at all possible.
• Make sure you test your content on different mobile platforms so you know that it will work when viewed on an iPhone, Android, Blackberry, or other operating system.
• NEVER use popups. Nobody likes them on regular websites, and they are even worse on a mobile device, IF your visitor can even see them.
• Make sure your site will load quickly, and works well with the memory limitations of a mobile device.

If you take the time to customize your content for mobile devices, you will get a better customer response from your campaign, and customers will be more likely to come back to your site. Mobile is the direction the web is headed – get there now!

On April 17th, there will be another postal increase for some mail categories. As a direct marketer, you can choose to do one of two things:

1. Roll your eyes and feel defeated by yet  another price increase, certain that direct mail has become cost-prohibitive. OR

2. Scratch your head and reflect on ways to optimize your programs and actually save money despite the postage increase.

If you, like me, opt for the silver lining approach, let’s explore four smart and easy ways to decrease your direct mail spend and increase your response rates. Talk about a win/win proposition!

1.  Segment Your Data.  By segmenting your database, you’ll be able to quickly discover buckets of opportunity ranging from your most profitable customers to your highest potential prospects. Allocate your marketing dollars wisely, and don’t waste your budget on messages that will fall on deaf ears.
2. Craft Relevant Messaging. As a direct marketer, you goal is to illicit response. Not only do you need to find the right audience, you also need to hit them with a relevant message that will get them to act on your offer. Incorporating strategies such as personalization and human behavior response triggers into your copy and design can improve your response rate and ultimately increase revenue.
3.  Digitize Your Print. Use technology that will transfer your one-sized-fits-all communications into meaningful conversations. Through business rules assigned to your program, variable digital print can take hundreds of variables and make them come alive into a personalized message for your target audience. Less volume and higher response can validate the digital print ROI.
4. NCOA Your Mailing List. An upfront investment in NCOA (National Change of Address) could save you sometimes thousands on undelivered mail. Use this updated data with correct mailing addresses to cleanse your database and maintain a high quality list.

I received a timely example in the mail yesterday that brings home the point I am trying to make. A catalog called “Your Electronics Source for Engineering Solutions” was sent to me but with the title of a position I held two years ago. Had I left Wilde, this irrelevant catalog would have never come to my attention. Lucky for them, I’m still at the same company. But unlucky for them, I’m not in the market for Extra Rugged Sealed Circular Connectors or Round Pin Fin LED Heat Sinks anytime in the near future. Money, in my opinion, not so well spent.

“Is direct mail dead?”

This is one of the most common questions we receive from our clients. Everyone has their perspective on this lively debate; but since numbers don’t have opinions, I thought I’d share some that were recently published in the Winterberry Group’s Outlook 2011: What to Expect in Digital and Direct Marketing.

• Marketers spent $114.6 billion on traditional media in 2010, compared to $154.4 billion for direct and digital advertising. Traditional ad spending is seen as dropped to $112.6 billion in 2011, but direct and digital expenditures will rise to $163.9 billion.
• Within the US, many traditional mediums (such as radio, magazines, outdoor advertising and newspapers) declined.
• Digital spending realized the biggest jump–8.5%–winding up at $27.7 billion.
• In 2010, marketers bumped up their direct mail spending, which increased by 3.1% to $45.2 billion.
• Direct and digital channels are making gains with overall spending on these channels is expected to rise by 6.2%, racking up to $163.9 billion in expenditures.
• In 2011, direct mail will grow by a healthy 5.8% to $47.8 billion in part due to financial services, retail and automotive marketers returning to the fray and the lack of emergency postage rate increase, according to Bruce Biegel, Managing Director at Winterberry Group.
• Among other channels, direct response broadcasting is anticipated to jump by 7.6% to $25.4 billion. Digital spending will show the largest growth–14% to $31.6 billion.
• When marketing budgets expanding, however, digital mediums are claiming most of the increases. Email, search and mobile marketing led the pack when Winterberry asked marketers which channels were capturing new spending.
• Email has staked a claim as the hub of integrated marketing efforts, Biegel says. During 2011, spending on this channel will jump 18.1% to $1.6 billion.
• Search offers the most predictable ROI; revenue generated from it is most closely related to expenditures. Local search options are drawing in small- and medium-sized business’ budgets. As such, search spending will increase by 13% to $17.6 billion.
• Spending on social media, still a nascent channel, will jump to 35.4% to $1.6 billion.

Clearly, direct mail is not in need of a defibrillator. In fact, when done well and part of a multi-channel campaign, direct mail can achieve impressive results. As Biegel points out, “[Direct mail] is not cool, but it works, which is why it came back.”

So next time you’re in a debate about the fate of direct mail, lead with the facts instead of jumping on the latest marketing bandwagon. And remember, your best bet is a combination of channels that are done well.

Many of the QR codes I’ve scanned lately have left me impressed. Some had sophisticated experiences on the back end. Others simply took me to YouTube videos or information pages of interest to me. Whether sophisticated or simple, they worked.

That’s why it was a bit of a shock the other day when I scanned one that didn’t work well at all. It was from a printer marketing his expertise on — uh — QR codes. The QR code itself worked just fine. It was the end result that was counter-productive.

The printer was advertising an upcoming Webinar on the “what” and “how” of QR codes. The code on the promotion piece was large and attractively designed into the layout. I was invited to “mine the treasure” offered by these codes by attending a free Webinar. Great!

I snapped the code and was taken to a traditional webpage where the type was so small I could hardly read it. I had to zoom in to read anything. Even then, I could only see a small portion of the page and had to navigate around. It was hard to find anything.

The page contained several articles, one of which was on the seminar and the benefits of attending. Once I got the type large enough to read it, that was fine. But then the kicker. Below it was another article on how to download a QR code reader. Why would I need a QR code reader? Hadn’t I already scanned the code?

The result of my experience was that this printer was so focused on creating the Webinar and designing the mailer that it forgot to consider the user experience of actually scanning the QR code. In QR code marketing, the user experience is everything. The poor end result undermined its attempt to position itself as a leader in this area of marketing.

If you are going to be doing QR code marketing, don’t make this same mistake. Before taking anything live, scan the QR code yourself. See what the page(s) look like on your mobile device. Make sure that you, as the user, have an experience that lines up with the value that you are presenting as a service provider with the skills to help your clients implement these codes.

Even though the USPS is struggling, and digital and social media are all the rage, direct mail is seeing renewed interest and technological advancement—for good reason. Printed material in the mailbox, done right, is still the preferred and most effective way to reach a customer. The key to whether or not the opportunity is a wasted one comes down to format and technique. I’ll give you an example:

Recently, I was involved in a collaboration with Sappi Fine Paper. I provided content for their highly acclaimed educational publication series The Standard Volume 4: Scoring & Folding (you can obtain a free copy of the publication by clicking here).

To launch the project, we did a seven-city speaking tour, which included myself and world-famous designer Kit Hinrichs, who was responsible for the design of the piece. Sappi sent out a save the date email blast in each city, which received some response. They followed it up with an exotic “Twist Fold” direct mailpiece in a brightly colored envelope, and the RSVPs skyrocketed the day that piece hit mailboxes. Hundreds showed up at each venue for the events. Print can be powerful.

For this instance, the concept was on target, the design was great, the fold was interesting, and the envelope was attention-grabbing. This was a special piece mailed to a targeted audience and they got the response they were looking for. So, is the moral of the story that you have to spend a lot of money, use a funky fold and an envelope that screams to get good results these days? Of course not. The lesson here is that email alone won’t cut it. Print alone may not cut it, either, but good design and smart decisions along the way can save money, while getting you the response that justifies the expenditure.

Here are a few tips:

• If you want to use an interesting folding style, go for it—but do your research first. Some folds that are generally hand-folded can in many cases be finished by machine if the quantity is high enough. There are specialty binderies that can do this kind of work. On the flip side, if your quantity is low, the expense of hand folding isn’t a very big deal.
•  The Sappi piece finished to a square format, which we all know is more expensive from a mailing perspective, but there are many, many interesting folding configurations that can finish to rectangular formats that fit within USPS aspect ratio. Why spend an extra $.20 per piece if you don’t have to? This tip seems like common sense, but I have samples in my folding collection that miss aspect ratio by 1/8 inch. What a careless and costly mistake.
•  Make sure your list is clean. It sounds obvious, but if your mailing list isn’t current or targeted, then you’re wasting money. The goal should be to spend an appropriate amount of money on a quality piece that is sent to a clean list of targeted customers.  
• For self-mailing pieces, watch fold placement. If the folds are vertical, the lead edge (the edge to the right of the mailing address) must be closed. Other edges must be closed or tabbed. If the fold is on the horizontal, the fold should be below the mailing address. Also, mailing address should always be parallel to the longest dimension. Defy these rules and you can kiss your ROI goodbye to the tune of an additional $.20 per piece non-machinable surcharge.
• Utilize as much automation as possible. Ask your printer how you can maximize the efficiency of your direct mail projects. Many have invested in inline finishing equipment that can score, perf, slit, glue and fold inline. Any time you can automate the process, you can save money. And automation doesn’t necessarily mean limited creativity, either. There are some very sophisticated computerized folding machines that can blow through gate folds, stepped accordions, and lots of other interesting configurations. If you’re printing digitally, various forms of customization can be very effective and efficient with some advanced planning. 
• Don’t forget about the envelope. A great printed piece can be overlooked in a boring envelope. Consider full color printing, personalization, custom windows or pulls—do something to get attention and motivate the recipient. 
• Spend money to make money. If you’re going to put in the effort and expense to produce and mail a piece, shouldn’t it represent your best efforts? Maybe you saved money with a cheap sheet, a tri-fold format, and a #10 envelope, but if nobody noticed, didn’t you ultimately lose a lot more than you saved? 
• Lastly, don’t get caught up in gimmicks. It can be tempting to go in the other direction and pull out all the stops, but there must be balance. A really cool folding style with a confusing message will just end up in somebody’s “cool idea file” or maybe even their “circular file.” A successful direct mailer involves many components and those components must work together to send the right message and provoke a call to action. For best results, resist the urge to get sidetracked solely on “wow-factor” and focus on the objectives and the quality presentation of your content.