To some, print advertising and marketing might seem antiquated but industry experts respectfully disagree with that notion. A recent survey of top tier marketing professionals in the United States indicates that 74% of the industry’s experts favor direct mail campaigns to other forms of marketing, including email. This survey and report, The 2023 State of Direct Mail, offers some interesting insights that can help guide your future marketing efforts, particularly direct mail campaigns.  

Highlights from the State of Direct Mail 

One key finding from this survey was that 74% of marketers believe that direct mail campaigns yield substantially more benefit than other forms of marketing, including digital channels like social media and email. While this isn’t to say that digital marketing isn’t important, it does make the case for merging print with digital for optimal results.  

This report surveyed 250 marketing professionals throughout North America. All those surveyed were employed at large corporations with more than 1,000 employees. The survey’s respondents worked in a variety of industries including non-profit organizations, banking, insurance, e-commerce, retail, and healthcare.  

The State of Direct Mail survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of marketers believe the key to maximizing the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns is automation. In fact, 81% of marketers using automated direct mail campaigns believe automation provides substantially higher response rates when compared to the results of marketers who do not use automation. Campaign automation is especially useful for following up with customers who visited your website, added an item to a shopping cart, or those who engaged with your business via e-mail or social media.  

Measuring the effectiveness of direct mail is more important than ever. Having reliable metrics was a concern for the respondents of this survey, too. According to the 36% who encountered lackluster response rates found that bad data such as incorrect addresses was a major culprit. This aspect of the survey demonstrates the need for database services and access to up-to-date consumer indexes. Successful direct mail campaigns require reliable information for its recipients as well as proper management of this data.  

How Pel Hughes Can Help Improve Your Direct Mail Campaigns  

Our full-service printing company experiences the power of direct mail every day with our clients’ campaigns. From non-profit organizations to businesses operating in insurance, banking, law, healthcare, and retail, well-executed direct mail has the power to attract new clients/customers, retain them, and build a powerful brand identity.  

The most effective direct marketing campaigns harness the power of technology. To help our clients thrive, Pel Hughes offers database services, campaign automation, direct mail retargeting, personalization with Variable Data Printing, and so much more. Technology can help your business expand your reach with reliable demographic and consumer data while making the execution of direct mail easy and efficient.  

Feel free to call our friendly experts at (504) 486-8646 to learn more or request a quote.  

The cost of almost everything is rising, including postage rates. Effective on January 22, 2023, postage rates will increase about 4.2% on average for certain types of mail. While this may not affect the day-to-day of households, it could certainly make staying within budget difficult for marketers and businesses. While these postage rate increases were expected, they are coming at an inopportune time for businesses and organizations bearing the brunt of inflation, supply chain issues, and labor shortages.

Fortunately, the pros at Pel Hughes can help you and your business adjust to postage rate hikes. Read on to learn more.

Postage Rate Increases: Who will be affected?

Anyone sending large volume mail will likely be affected by these rate increases. The following types of mail with increased rates include:

  • First Class
  • Package Services
  • Periodicals
  • Special Services
  • Marketing Mail

For example, First Class mail currently costs 60 cents for a Forever stamp. Under these new rate increases, however, the same stamp will cost 63 cents after January 22nd. Here’s a helpful breakdown of current rates versus new rates:

Mail Type

Current Rate

New Rate

Letters (1.0 ounce)

$0.60

$0.63

Letters (Metered 1.0 ounce)

$0.57

$0.60

Postcards (Domestic)

$0.44

$0.48

Postcards (International)

$1.40

$1.45

International Letter (1.0 ounce)

$1.40

$1.45

How to Adjust to Postage Rate Increases

Your printer pros at Pel Hughes understand the concerns surrounding postage rate changes better than most. We are also aware of other issues affecting businesses and their print marketing campaigns such as supply chain issues and labor shortages. While these rate increases are unfortunate, there are steps you can take to mitigate their effects. Following are some helpful tips to offset rising costs.

#1 Clean Up Your Mailing Lists 

Old mailing lists can leave a lot to be desired. If your list is out of date, it is possible that mailings are wasted on incorrect recipients, sent to duplicate residences, and more. A clean, up-to-date mailing list can help reduce waste and lower your costs. If it is time to clean up your mailing lists, we can help. Not only do we have access to large consumer databases we also offer database services, which includes sophisticated software to ensure that your mailing lists are as clean as possible for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

#2 Focus on Quality of Your Direct Mail 

When money is tight—especially in light of postage rate hikes, sometimes focusing on quality is better than focusing on quantity. Rather than sending mail to every address in a zip code, consider sending targeted direct mail to specific neighborhoods that match the demographics of your ideal consumer. With targeted mail, you can select demographic data such as gender, household income, and consumer activity. We also offer technology to help you track the effectiveness of your direct mail campaigns. Adding elements like QR codes and personalized URLs helps track response rates and merges digital marketing with traditional print. 

With a new year upon us, now is a great time to re-evaluate your marketing and advertising strategies. Pel Hughes is a full-service printing company that offers graphic design, campaign automation, in-house fulfillment, database services, and world-class customer service. Give our friendly experts a call today at (504) 486-8646 to request a quote.

Direct mail is an incredibly versatile form of advertising. Businesses of all kinds, including medical and dental practices, boutiques, service-based businesses, and even non-profit organizations can utilize direct mail to reach a wider audience and boost their revenue. Direct mail and seminar sales are an especially powerful combination for striking relationships with consumers and increasing sales.

According a Forbes article penned by seasoned seminar sales professional, Rylee Meek, no other form of advertising worked as well for seminars as direct mail. In his article, he discusses the fact that direct mail involves less competition than other forms of marketing and that mailpieces serve as an offline funnel, which delivers interested parties to an in-person sales event where he can pitch to multiple people in one fell swoop.

Direct Mail and Seminar Sales: Why It Works

Seminar sales are a unique way to generate revenue. One major advantage to this sales method is the fact that a salesperson can pitch to multiple parties at once. These parties voluntarily agree to attending a seminar where they are often gifted a free meal or refreshments, which helps facilitate an environment for success. While seminar-based sales won’t work for every industry, this method is especially useful for businesses that operate in the tourism, real estate investment, and legal industries. Companies that offer real estate trusts, living wills, and timeshare properties have found great success in seminar sales.

Direct mail works very well with generating interest in seminars for a couple of reasons. The first is that competition for a consumer’s attention is not as steep with mail pieces as it is online. Compared to the digital marketing realm, direct mail is far less competitive. Marketers sending mail don’t have to compete with thousands of related businesses nor do they have to contend with pop-up and ad-blockers or e-mail spam folders.

A second reason that direct mail is effective is that it’s seen as a legitimate and trustworthy form of advertising that intrigues consumers across many demographics. According to research conducted by the USPS, direct mail resonates with all age groups—including Boomers and Generation Z. 

Although billions of people use the Internet on a daily basis, most folks maintain a healthy mistrust of digital content and tend to view print more favorably. In the case of seminar sales, consumers are tasked with making big decisions that can involve large sums of money. Gaining a consumer’s trust is paramount to making a successful sale. Since trust is such a factor in seminar sales, it’s important to select the most trustworthy forms of advertising, which includes direct mail campaigns.

Lastly, another major advantage to advertising seminars with direct mail is that modern technology makes it easy to target your ideal audience. For example, Pel Hughes has access to vast and reliable consumer databases. These databases make it possible to target consumers with certain education and income levels. Consumer databases also contain helpful information related to consumer spending and behavior. Using these databases makes sending targeted direct mail easy, efficient, and cost-effective.

Pel Hughes is a full-service printing company well-versed in the power of direct mail advertising. We offer database services, campaign automation, graphic design, and easy online ordering. Give us a call at (504) 486-8646 or fill out our online form to request a quote.

For medical and dental practices to stay afloat, practitioners must accomplish two things: acquiring patients and retaining them. In addition to marketing with social media, websites, and e-mail newsletters, dentists and doctors need to reach out beyond the digital space. One often overlooked yet effective advertising method is direct mail. Direct mail for dental and medical practices can ease the burden of acquiring new patients while also keeping communication lines open with a practitioner’s existing patient base.

Benefits of Dental and Medical Direct Mail Campaigns

When executed properly, a direct mail campaign yields better ROIs than digital marketing alone. There are a few reasons for this. First, direct mail is seen as a trustworthy form of advertising across many demographics, including younger generations. Secondly, direct mail elicits a stronger response rate because it provides a tangible, sensory experience that digital marketing cannot. Lastly, because modern technology makes it possible to manage swaths of consumer data and automate campaigns, direct mail is an efficient, cost-effective way to reach patients in your area.

How to Use Direct Mail for Medical and Dental Practices

Direct mail is especially powerful when it is targeted and personalized. For example, targeting new movers to specific zip codes is a great way to attract new patients. You can take personalization a step further by having a customized map indicating the new patient’s path to your conveniently-located office. Other ways you can personalize a patient’s direct mail experience is to send targeted direct mail on his or her birthday. Technology makes automating this a breeze, too. When sending a birthday card via direct mail, you can incentivize a patient booking an appointment by offering a discount on elective services like teeth whitening or Botox injections. Targeted and personalized mail helps your existing and potential patients feel valued, which goes a long way for creating long-term, loyal relationships.

The content of your direct mail is important. For simple postcards, we recommend sending reminders for annual checkups or to announce new services your practice offers. Some dentists and doctors send print newsletters, too—typically on an annual basis. Newsletters are great for highlighting new staff members, acquisition of diagnostic technology or therapeutic tools, and any community or cause-based service your practice provides. A newsletter is also a great opportunity to provide patient education. In short, print newsletters are great tools for humanizing your practice and keeping your patients informed.

Beyond personalized and targeted direct mail, our experts at Pel Hughes recommend merging digital marketing with print. For instance, placing PURLs and QR codes on direct mail can drive existing and potential patients to your website and social channels. PURLs and QR codes will also make it easier to gauge the effectiveness of your print advertising campaigns.

Pel Hughes is a family-owned, full-service printing company that provides cross media marketing and direct mail for dental and medical practices. We offer graphic design, direct mail, database services, and campaign automation. Give our friendly team a call today at (504) 486-8646 or request a quote online.

Smarter direct mail campaigns should be a part of every enterprise’s cross media marketing strategy. While conventional direct mail offers a high ROI, its effects are further enhanced when direct mail implements tracking metrics like QR codes and PURLs along with digital outreach in the form of e-mail marketing. As regulations change the way data is gathered and analyzed to accommodate consumer privacy concerns, many businesses are turning to conventional marketing methods to ensure that their brand messaging reaches their target demographic. Merging digital outreach with direct mail can help increase sales, strengthen brand recognition, and maintain loyal consumership with your customers.

How to Integrate Direct Mail with Cross Media Marketing

Direct mail is a tactile, three-dimensional form of advertising that connects a consumer to your brand in a visceral way. Conventional direct mail alone, however, doesn’t yield as good of results as mail pieces that integrate modern technology. One of the best ways to merge digital with print is to make following your digital channels part of your mail piece’s CTA.

Requesting that mail recipients follow your business’ social media accounts or subscribe via e-mail for special offers and promotions is a great way to connect your customer to your business in-person and online.

Another great strategy for improving your direct mail’s ROI is to place QR codes and PURLs into your copy. A QR code is a scannable icon that can take your recipient straight to a landing page of your choosing, such as an e-mail subscription form, an exclusive coupon or discount, or to view a short video. Additionally, PURLs—which involve generating personalized URLs for each mail recipient—can direct users to personalized shopping carts based on previous purchases, special offers like BOGO deals, or to complete a customer satisfaction survey. Since QR codes and PURLs are customized to each recipient, these tools provide reliable metrics for analyzing the effectiveness of your direct mail campaigns.

Benefits of Smarter Direct Mail

Smarter direct mail can make a big impact—especially when it is used as part of a comprehensive cross media marketing strategy. Pairing smart direct mail with digital marketing gives businesses a competitive advantage. One aspect of direct mail marketing that is especially powerful is the fact that this mode of communication occurs in real-life. Your mail piece is a physical representation of your brand that extends far beyond the web. When you integrate direct mail with digital marketing, you can cultivate stronger brand recognition among consumers, which helps set your business apart from others. The increased visibility afforded by robust cross media marketing helps foster long-term and loyal relationships with your customers.

The ROI on direct mail is higher than digital advertising but when direct mail is sent shortly after digital outreach, its ROI increases even more. According to research conducted by AI Technology Insights, businesses saw a 60% increase in ROI when digital interactions were followed up with personalized direct mail campaigns. An example of following up with direct mail after digital interaction involves sending personalized discounts in the mail after a consumer makes a purchase online. This tactic promotes brand loyalty and higher engagement. Gallup found that syncing direct mail with digital interactions increases consumer loyalty by 25%.

If you’re interested in developing a winning cross media marketing campaign that includes smarter direct mail, give the experts at Pel Hughes a call. We pair cutting-edge technology and advanced printing techniques with client-driven service. We offer database services, campaign automation, smarter direct mail, and graphic design. Call us at (504) 486-8646 or request a quote online.

While direct mail is a marketing powerhouse for businesses and non-profit organizations, formatting issues could put a big damper on your campaign. The US Postal Service imposes strict regulations on direct mail campaigns so it is important that marketers stay abreast of these potential concerns well before their campaigns are printed. Following are five issues related to direct mail formatting that you should know. 

Direct Mail Formatting Issues You Need to Know About 

Thin Stock Could Raise Your Postage Rates 

The USPS requires a certain thickness of stock for direct mail pieces. The minimums and maximums for thickness will vary depending on whether you’re sending letters or postcards. For example, a postcard should be between .007 and .016 in thickness. It’s important to know exactly what thickness specifications are necessary for the type of direct mail you are sending. We recommend discussing your direct mail campaign with our experts or with the USPS before selecting your stock.  

The Placement of Your Mail Panel 

Where an address is placed on direct mail varies on the type of pieces you’re sending. Booklets, postcards, and letters all have different requirements. Our team recommends e-mailing PDFs of your campaigns to your mail service provider to ensure that your mail panel is placed appropriately.  

Aspect Ratio 

The USPS imposes requirements on the aspect ratio of postcards, letters, and booklets. Typically, the aspect ratio should be 1.3 and 2.5. Aspect ratios beyond these parameters will cost extra.  

Size 

Size requirements, like other elements of direct mail, vary depending on the type of mail being sent out. Adhering to these requirements can be tricky so it is best to consult with your mail provider before finalizing your campaigns.  

Common size requirements include: 

  • Self-Mailers: 3.5 x 5.0 to 6.125 x 11.5 
  • Booklets (mailers with binding): 3.5 x5 to 6.0 x 10.5 
  • Postcards: 3.5 x 5.0 to 6.0 x 9.0 

Weight 

As most know, the heavier a piece of mail is the more it will cost in postage. Presorted mail allows for more weight, up to 3.5 ounces, before extra postages rates are imposed while regular first class mail imposes extra fees for every additional ounce of weight.  

Considerations for Non-Profit Organizations’ Direct Mail Formatting 

Direct mail is a mainstay of non-profit marketing because of its high ROI and ability to resonate across many demographics. That being said, there are special considerations with direct mail formatting that non-profits should know about. One of the most common formatting issues associated with non-profit direct mail is the verbiage used related to raffles.  

If raffle tickets do not expressly state that donations are not required to enter, the USPS will consider raffle tickets a “lottery”, which is forbidden by mail. If you are mailing raffle tickets, ensure that you make clear in your copy that donations are not required to enter. This can be done by simply adding verbiage like “suggested donation” for the cost of each ticket or provide a box stating “I do not wish to make a donation at this time with my entry” that the recipient can check.  

Direct mail formatting can be cumbersome—especially to businesses and organizations new to mail campaigns. Our friendly experts at Pel Hughes are here to help. We provide a number of services to help your direct mail campaigns resonate with your community including graphic design, campaign automation, and database services. We pair advanced technology with old fashioned client service. Give us a call at (504) 486-8646 to discuss your marketing needs.  

 

In last week’s post, we discussed the benefits of CRM (customer relationship management) software for businesses and organizations. CRM provides helpful tools to marketers, sales professionals, and customer service representatives. Another great aspect of this software is that CRM integration with direct mail can help marketers deploy effective print advertising campaigns based on reliable metrics generated from CRM software.  

How CRM Integration with Direct Mail Works 

Integrating CRM with direct mail is a seamless way to measure response rates and analyze demographic traits of consumers. CRM software evaluates data related to print advertising very similar to how it analyzes data retrieved from digital campaigns. The most important aspect of integrating CRM to direct mail is to have full automation of your campaigns. For example, scheduled and triggered direct mail are great tools businesses can use to automate their campaigns. Scheduled direct mail campaigns can be automated to specific groups of existing and prospective consumers on a regular basis such as every month or quarter while triggered campaigns can be sent when consumers sign up for e-mail notifications or make their first purchase.  

For this to work optimally, it is important for businesses to store direct mail templates online. Our team at Pel Hughes offers, Storefront—a digital library that can store a wealth of your brand’s print materials including retail signage, postcards, and folded pamphlets. Direct mail templates can be generated for scheduled and triggered campaigns in a matter of seconds. By integrating CRM software, these campaigns can be personalized to specific consumers, too.  

Benefits of Direct Mail with CRM Integration 

Using CRM integration with your direct mail campaigns offers unique advantages to businesses of all sizes, including small retailers and non-profit organizations. Most notable benefits associated with CRM integration involve: 

  • Efficiency: Since CRM integration automates direct mail campaigns, business owners can enjoy reduced labor costs and time associated with marketing and advertising projects. For instance, automation and pre-designed templates save ample time normally spent on uploading mailing lists and designing campaigns.  
  • Cost Effectiveness: In addition to organizing accurate data to boost a direct mail campaign’s ROI, CRM integration offers other cost-saving benefits, too. CRM integration can substantially reduce duplicate mailings and returned mailings.  
  • Boosted revenue: Deploying effective direct mail campaigns will boost sales and expand your consumer base over time. This can generate robust sales and long-term relationships with loyal consumers.  
  • Accurate Performance Tracking: When you add PURLs, QR codes, and other tracking metrics to your direct mail campaigns, CRM integration makes it easier to evaluate your marketing efforts with reliable data. This data can then be used to ensure that future campaigns deliver similar ROIs.  

How Pel Hughes Can Help 

Pel Hughes pairs old-fashioned client service with advanced tools and technology to ensure that our clients get the most out of their print and digital advertising campaigns. We offer database services, online portals for easy ordering, and sophisticated printing technology for maximum personalization. Our team of experts can help you develop a cross media marketing strategy that helps your business thrive. If you have questions about CRM integration and direct mail or would like to request a quote, give our friendly team a call at (504) 486-8646. We serve businesses and organizations throughout Louisiana and beyond.  

Labor shortages and supply chain issues have done a number on businesses in nearly every industry over the last year. Everyone from consumers to titans of industry is feeling the crunch. If you’re worried about the future of your direct mail campaigns and whether labor market upheaval and supply chain hiccups will affect your marketing efforts, rest assured that our team at Pel Hughes is working tirelessly to deliver the impeccable service to which our clients are accustomed.  

Mitigating the Effects of Labor Shortages 

Our family-owned and operated company provides a dynamic work environment that rewards hard work and helps strike a healthy work-life balance. We treat our staff with the utmost respect and care so that they can focus on what matters: quality work. Beyond our efforts to provide an optimal work environment, our company invests in automation whenever possible. A large part of our success can be attributed to the fact that we embrace technology. Technology such as state-of-the-art software and advanced equipment helps our team perform efficiently without sacrificing quality. If you’re currently working with another printing company and are concerned about labor shortages affecting your marketing campaigns, we recommend inquiring about whether the company you work with implements automation to reduce hiccups in production. If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that automation is the key to continued success.  

Responding to Supply Chain Issues and Material Shortages 

From labor shortages affecting truckers to supply chain issues affecting paper mills and manufacturers for glues and adhesives, the paper industry has taken a hit. Before COVID-19 and its subsequent global supply chain problems, paper products could be delivered on-demand and received in a few weeks. Now, that turnaround could take a couple months or longer. The best way to respond to these issues with supply is to plan your campaigns in advance. Our direct marketing experts at Pel Hughes can help you develop a strategy to order your materials ahead of time so that your business can operate as normally as possible. Developing a relationship with your printing provider makes it easier to respond to issues with supply. Our team welcomes open communication with our clients and we embrace creative strategies to ensure that your campaigns continue to produce a healthy ROI. Our mission is to help your enterprise thrive in spite of challenges.  

How Pel Hughes Can Help 

Our team offers a number of tools to help our clients manage their print and digital marketing efforts with ease—even when facing challenges like supply chain inconsistencies and labor shortages.  

Storefront 

One program we offer, Storefront, makes ordering print materials a breeze. Storefront is a digital interface where our clients can store a library of graphics, business cards, logos, direct mail pieces, and more. From this interface, our clients can order their supplies with a few mouse clicks. Storefront makes ordering in advance incredibly accessible to our clients and helps reduce costs through automation.  

Cross Media Marketing  

Merging digital marketing with conventional advertising gives our clients the best of both worlds. Implementing e-mail newsletters and other digital marketing efforts can help reduce costs, nurture relationships with your consumers, and adjust to hiccups associated with supply chain issues and staffing shortages. For example, quite a lot of digital marketing is automated, which can help businesses navigate through challenges with limited effort. 

Database Services 

We offer a host of database services to help manage your mailing lists. Utilizing sophisticated software makes it possible to maintain the quality of your data so that your direct mail campaigns have an effective impact on your customers. Data is king when it comes to the quality of your direct marketing initiatives. This software can reduce labor costs on your end while ensuring that your marketing efforts reach the right consumers.  

Pel Hughes serves businesses and non-profit organizations in a number of industries throughout Louisiana and beyond. Give our friendly team a call at (504) 486-8646 or request a quote online.  

The postal service is offering some compelling promotions for 2022 that can help businesses and marketers save money on their print advertising campaigns. The USPS provides a number of resources and programs that benefit businesses and marketers. If any of these USPS promotions pique your interest, bear in mind that programs have time-sensitive registration dates.

Following is helpful information on six USPS promotions to check out in 2022.

Tactile, Sensory and Interactive Mail Piece Engagement Promotion

This promotion offers a 4% discount on multisensory mail pieces. Incorporating scents, unique textures, sound, and even taste into your mailings could save money in addition to sparking consumer interest in your offerings. Eligible mail includes first-class letters, flats, and cards as well as USPS marketing mail.

Registration: December 15, 2021 to July 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: February 1, 2022 to July 31, 2022

Informed Delivery Promotion

If you launch interactive campaigns with Informed Delivery, you could enjoy a 4% discount. Pairing interactive elements with a mail campaign through Informed Delivery could help drive interest to your products and your brand. This is because merging digital marketing with conventional print advertising has a positive effect on spurning consumer action. Besides, about 25% of the US population subscribes to Informed Delivery from the USPS. Eligible mail includes first-class automation flats, letters, and postcards along with marketing mail for businesses and non-profits.

Registration: June 15, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: August 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Mobile Shopping Promotion

Implementing technology like QR codes and Snap Tags could earn marketers a 2% discount on their mailings. Eligible mail includes USPS marketing mail letters and flats for non-profits and businesses. Beyond receiving a discount, it’s important to know that utilizing mobile shopping codes is an easy way to help your customers engage with your brand.

Registration: July 15, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: September 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Earned Value Reply Mail Promotion

The Earned Value Reply Mail promotion could earn marketers $.02 per piece in credits, which can be applied to future campaigns. Including reply mail in your campaigns can help generate consumer response. Eligible mail includes Share Mail, Business Reply Letter Mail, and Courtesy Reply Letter Mail.

Registration: February 15, 2022 to March 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: April 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022

Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion

Adding color into your campaigns is a visually-striking way to engage with potential leads. The USPS rewards the use of color with a 3% discount on mailings including those that incorporate personalization and dynamic variable print. Eligible mail includes automation letters and first-class presort.

Registration: May 15, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022

Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion

If you’ve tossed around the idea of utilizing advanced technology in your mailings, now might be the time to do so. This USPS promotionrewards businesses using technology in their campaigns with 2% and 3% discounts. Examples of technology the USPS encourages include virtual reality, mixed reality, video in print (ViP), NFC, and integration with voice assistant. USPS marketing mail and first-class letters, flats, and cards with advanced technology are eligible for this promotion.

Registration: January 15, 2022 to August 31, 2022

Promotion Dates: March 1, 2022 to August 31, 2022

You can view more details about these USPS promotions by clicking here.

Pel Hughes is a family-operated, full-service printing company that serves businesses and organizations throughout Louisiana and beyond. If you’d like to request a quote or inquire about our services, fill out our online contact form or call (504) 486-8646.

Over the Holidays, our team at Pel Hughes offered a fun promotion. We designed New Orleans-themed wrapping paper, which was a complimentary gift to our valued clients who responded to our e-mail and direct mail campaigns.

 

The customized wrapping paper featured themes that resonate with our rich New Orleans culture and history. We offered crawfish boil-themed paper in two different colors along with paper that depicted colorful outlines of our state’s unique shape and a toile-like wrapping paper with the iconic Fleur-De-Lis symbol. In light of 2021 being a tough year for businesses and our community, we thought it was apt to spread some Holiday cheer and joy while celebrating the resilient and compassionate spirit of the people of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.

Our Direct Mail Campaign

To spread the word about this complimentary promotion, our team sent out a beautiful direct mail campaign to all our wonderful clients. The front of the campaign resembled a traditional wrapped gift (featuring one of our wrapping paper patterns) and a customized tag addressed to a specific recipient. We used variable data printing to address our direct mail to specific individuals and organizations. Below is the front side what our campaign looked like.

Then, the back of this direct mail featured the elements we frequently discuss in our blog. The copy concisely explained what we had to offer and how it can be used along with a QR code to make the process seamless for our clients (with an option to visit a PURL instead) and a step-by-step breakdown of how to select their desired pattern and color.

Our E-Mail Campaign

If you’ve kept up with our blog, you likely have seen us discuss the importance of merging print advertising with digital marketing. We take this advice to heart and often pair e-mail campaigns with direct mail to ensure that our clients know of all the services we have to offer. Information is powerful and we believe in keeping our clients up-to-speed with all the exciting happenings at Pel Hughes.

As you can see, our e-mail campaign closely matches the graphics and color scheme of our print one. Modern folks are inundated with information on a daily basis so keeping things as consistent as possible helps reduce confusion and makes decision-making for our busy clients a little easier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also e-mailed follow-up campaigns for those who didn’t respond initially since this was a time-sensitive offer. Utilizing PURLs, which we’ve covered on this blog in the past, helped our clients respond with ease. It also made it a cinch for us to track responses to ensure that our mailing list was notified if they hadn’t yet responded.

All in all, our complimentary wrapping paper promotion was happily received by our clientele particularly because the wrapping paper options beautifully celebrated New Orleans culture. We enjoyed an 11% response rate, which isn’t too shabby. One thing we would change, however, is to begin this promotion a little sooner so that our clients had more time to respond.

Start A Direct Mail Campaign with Pel Hughes

If you’re looking to develop direct mail campaigns, the pros at Pel Hughes can help. We work with businesses and organizations develop stunning, effective, and personalized campaigns. Our team can also assist with database management, campaign automation, and graphic design. We pair sophisticated technology with old fashioned client service that can help your business level up in 2022. Give us a call at (504) 486-8646 to speak with our friendly staff.