Traditional printed circulars have proven to be significantly more popular and effective among today’s shoppers than electronic-based direct marketing materials, according to a new Nielsen survey.

The market research company’s Evolution of Circulars survey, published last month, found that printed marketing materials such as direct mail, newspaper inserts, and in-store catalogues were the most popular of all retail-related direct marketing materials, with roughly 60 per cent of consumers looking at them once a week.

Additionally, the survey unearthed a surprise finding that direct mail is marginally more effective on the ‘Millenial’ generation than on the older Generation-X shoppers, confounding the common belief that the future of marketing will be solely online.

Taking in a sample number of 11,000 shoppers, the Nielsen poll also found that a whopping 90 per cent of shoppers surveyed wished to continue receiving paper-based marketing materials at home or in-store, while only 70 per cent expressed the desire for electronic messaging delivery.

One of the trends picked up in the survey was the shift of in-store marketing materials to mobile devices, with 18 per cent of shoppers using a mobile phone to see what’s available in-store and 33 per cent using a tablet device, with almost two-thirds of shoppers researching that information from home computers.

What the direct marketing industry can take away from this survey is the knowledge that, while digital and mobile marketing channels are well and truly on the rise, it will not be to the detriment of traditional channels, but in addition to printed marketing materials.

Source: Directmag

QR CODE – Content-rich Resume from Victor petit on Vimeo.

Prepare to feel really inadequate about your chosen resume font. This dude has fashioned a custom QR code resume that is sure to break up the monotony of any HR person’s day.

Made by Victor Petit — who was looking for an internship but recently scored one — this resume is reminiscent of band Cassius’s video and accompanying app [iTunes link] for “I Love You So.” It features a QR code in the middle of a picture of a face (on the back of a printed resume) that unlocks a video of the missing mouth on your phone.

“I realized during my previous job search that getting an interview at a communication agency is the hardest part of the process,” says Petit. “I tried to create a CV that would enable me to express myself vocally as soon as they read the paper version. The combination of a sheet of paper and a QR code felt like the best way to reach that goal.”

We’re not sure what exactly Petit’s skills are from the video alone — it has no sound — aside from being extremely awesome.

Facebook and Google have both been reaching out to prospects recently, using direct mail and print as part of their marketing effort.

Yep, that’s right. The two biggest companies in the worlds of online marketing and social media are using a channel that many marketers continue to shy away from.

In both cases, Google and Facebook are reaching out to people to promote their advertising platforms (Google AdWords and Facebook Ads, respectively).

If you are a marketer, then this may be worth paying attention to the next time you contemplate cutting direct mail or print out of your marketing budget.

If Google and Facebook are using direct mail and print to make an impact on their target audience, then you probably should too. Call us at CQ. We can do the same for you.

Every year, marketers search for the next big thing that will make or break the success of their interactive marketing campaigns. A lot of buzzwords like “mobile” or “social” inevitably get thrown around but what does it really mean for marketers? Before you refresh marketing goals for 2011, here are five resolutions to consider.

1. Make data the foundation of your marketing

Collecting data has never been a problem as we know that it fuels our marketing programs and overall business decisions. But achieving visibility and usability is often another story. Many times information is stored in data warehouses and databases across the organisation and tedious exporting needs to be undertaken before being able to take any action. Simply put, many marketers are missing opportunities to engage with customers because their information and processes have become outdated before the customer engagement metrics are aggregated and sorted.

Making a change to the way you currently use click-through rates, online browsing history, shopping cart abandonment, previous purchase history, and other customer information starts with an assessment. Understanding what tools you have before you take action will pay off in the long run.

2. Use mobile to connect with customers

Mobile marketing is often overshadowed as social media and email marketing becomes more sophisticated. But as consumers rapidly begin to adopt smartphones, mobile marketing can no longer be viewed as a “silo” in a marketing campaign.

One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to begin mobile marketing is SMS. Creating text-in voting programs, Q&A text response campaigns and mobile coupons for your target audience are simple tactics to engage customers. Developing content that is specifically designed for mobile phones is also important – perhaps you might even consider creating a mobile app for your company.

3. Market to customers as individuals

It’s all too easy to be swept away by the creativity of the advertising instead of its relevance. Prioritising customer service before sales is crucial and there are some innovative and simple ways to do this. One example is to listen and be a part of the conversations that are happening online about your company. There are many online monitoring tools available to easily do this and you’ll be surprised by the amount of insight you’ll receive from listening to you customers.

4. Make social media a real part of the marketing mix

For many, 2010 marked the year that social media became a reality instead of just a trend for marketers to watch out for. We know that in the past, customers who had a bad experience with your brand would share it with 5 of their different friends but today, a bad customer experience could lead to negative information about your brand posted to 500 Twitter followers.

One way to integrate social media into your campaigns is to do some social ‘soul searching’. Gather metrics about who is hitting the ‘like’ button on Facebook, who is re-tweeting and what content attracts more user engagement. Another simple tactic is to use social media to gather local data. Geolocation devices and apps such as Foursquare give you the opportunity to find out who is visiting your store and how often.

5. Engage in ‘smart’ automation

In any campaign, there are some jobs that are tedious and time-consuming but remain essential. At the same time, marketing budgets aren’t getting any bigger so marketers need to find ways to work smarter, not harder.

With so much data to manage, automation is a great way to make information usable. Marketers can engage in ‘smart’ automation tools that integrate new customer data and preferences such as tweets on Twitter or likes on Facebook into every communication that is sent out.

Each new year offers a blank slate and a new outlook to start the year off right. And while you may not stay as organised as you’d like or as in shape as you had hoped by mid-year, making resolutions to improve your interactive marketing program can be well worth the investment.

With Americans spending nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs (a 43% increase from just a year ago, according to a recent study by Nielsen), there is no reason marketers should not be taking advantage of these new communication platforms. People see, hear, and touch more marketing messages than ever before. To stay top of mind with your audience, it is important to be where they are at all times and embrace these new avenues of communication.

Many companies have created Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles as another way to connect with customers and prospects. Social media provide customers one more way to interact with you and provide prospects a non-invasive way to learn more about your company.

That’s just a first step, however. From there you need to incorporate them into your email and direct mail marketing campaigns so that you can better grow your network and increase brand exposure.

In email communications, you can add “follow us” and “connect with us” icons that are easily clicked on or a one-liner that says, for example, “follow us at ….” for each social media platform you use. Adding similar one-liners to your complementary printed marketing pieces will also drive traffic to your social media sites and increase exposure. The ability to incorporate social media platforms into both your email and direct mail campaigns can help unify your marketing efforts and enable you to better reach both customers and prospects.

When placing social media links—or any URLs, really—on direct mail pieces, keeping them short and easy to remember is a must. Long URLs are more likely to be misspelled when people retype them into a Web browser.

Social media platforms present an entirely different reason for using short URLs. On Twitter a tweet, or post, can be no longer than 140 characters. So if your link is 125 characters long, you’d have no room left to tell your followers about the link and why they should click on it.  

Because they make printed materials interactive, quick-response, or QR, codes are another way to integrate media. No matter where someone is, he can simply pull out his phone, scan a QR code, and instantly be directed to a Website, a video, a landing page, or any other piece of targeted information. The technology can be taken one step further to incorporate email: The QR code can direct customers or prospects to a landing page that will request their contact information, including email address, before sending them to a designated Website. Armed with that information, you can send a follow-up email with additional information, links to your social media profiles, and the like.

Taking a multichannel approach when it comes to your marketing strategy soon will become a requirement. If you have a variety of age groups and demographics within your audience, the chances are strong that each group spends the majority of time on different marketing media. Some groups might best be reached via a print ad in a magazine or a direct mail piece; others might respond more favourably to an email. 

Social media now accounts for 23% of America’s online time. Integrating them into your current marketing strategies is simple—so why not take advantage of the opportunity and communicate with your customers where they are most interested?

John Foley, Jr., is the founder/CEO of marketing solutions provider interlinkONE.

I had an idea straight away and shared it with them.

Unfortunately it wasn’t appropriate for them, or their market!

The good thing is – it’s okay! We should never be afraid to share an idea. It’s a great way to discover more about your client and their needs – and it shows that you’re thinking about their business with their best interests at heart!

In the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine, Lorne Michaels talks about how ideas are presented and often rejected for Saturday Night Live.

The writers for the show will come up with creative thoughts, and then develop and write many different skits. They’ll present the skits to the boss (Lorne) and the other writers. Then, they are often told that a skit is not good enough to be put on the actual show.

At that point, a writer can throw the skit away and work on new ideas. Or, they can file that skit away and try to present it again at another time.

One of the most famous SNL skits in recent memory is “More Cowbell”. In the Rolling Stone article, we learn that skit was rejected and re-presented 7 times before it actually saw the light of day. With that much “failure” surrounding it, that skit could easily have ended up in the trash. However, it went on to become one of the show’s greatest moments.

There are many ideas that we may think of when it comes to marketing our company, product, or services. We have many “flashes of creativity” that excite us for a while. But for one reason or another, they are not converted into actual marketing campaigns. Reasons may include budget, timing, or just a lack of resources.

Many of those ideas may end up in the trash for a good reason. They can’t all be great. However, we may find that keeping ideas filed away may provide benefits to us months or even years down the road. Technology makes it very easy for us to store ideas. It could be in the “Notes” app on our smart phone. Or perhaps we keep an easily retrievable document somewhere that we can edit at any time.

There will be times when flashes of creativity escape us. If we take the time to review our list of “ideas from the past that never quite became reality”, we may find the inspiration that we need to create and develop a successful marketing effort.

Though businesses now have more communication channels to reach consumers than ever before, marketing expert David Jackson recently argued on Promotion World that direct mail marketing is still an effective way to generate sales.

Jackson asserts that a properly executed direct mail campaign still provides a "solid return on investment." Citing a recent study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, he says that direct mail marketing expenditures are expected to increase by more than $1 billion during 2010.

Consumers are also eagerly welcoming the influx of mailers. Referring to the same study, Jackson claims 79 percent of U.S. households either completely read or skim through direct mail messages sent to their homes. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by postal automation firm Pitney Bowes found that consumers still prefer physical mail over digital communication channels, relays the source.

Consumers are especially accepting of postal messages containing confidential statements or new product announcements. Jackson writes that

• 73 percent of respondents prefer direct mail to receive information about new items,
• while 86 percent would rather receive private communications through postal mail.
• In both cases, consumers reveal a strong preference for postal messages over digital mail.

Pitney Bowes’ survey also indicates that

• 31 percent of mail recipients tend not to throw away unopened postal messages, ranging from brochures to envelopes,
• whereas 53 percent are likely to delete unopened email messages.

Additionally, many consumers find direct mail to be less intrusive than unsolicited emails and phone calls.

• Nearly half of respondents (43.2 percent) said direct mail was more convenient,
• while 30.2 percent indicated the sales environment was less high pressured.
• This translated into greater responses overall, with 12 percent claiming direct mail was more persuasive.

"If you haven’t considered trying direct mail, maybe you should. A properly executed direct mail campaign combined with online marketing methods could be an unbeatable combination," Jackson wrote.

The effectiveness of direct mail marketing has caused many businesses to adopt the channel. According to a recent report from the Global Insight Analysts, direct mail expenditures are expected to hit $25.45 billion globally by 2015. The firm cites direct mail’s physical presence as its biggest selling point, especially in comparison to digital channels.

While many businesses are increasingly adopting digital marketing practices, new research conducted by Global Industry Analysts indicates that companies are also boosting their ad spend on direct mail marketing materials.

As Global Industry Analysts notes, direct mail has numerous advantages over other advertising mediums.

• The platform has the unique ability to affect consumers’ sense of touch,
• and mailers are also often personalized, maximizing the impact pieces can have on consumers.
• Additionally, the source claims that customers treat postal mail with higher regard in comparison to other marketing channels.

According to the report, the direct mail industry is gaining steady momentum in today’s digital world. Global Industry Analysts predicts that global marketing expenditures for postal mail will reach $25.45 billion in the immediate and near future.

The growth of the platform is largely buoyed by the effectiveness of the channel to reach consumers regardless of their income. Whereas online, television and other platforms depend on potential customers subscribing to a service to receive a message, anyone with a home can be contacted through direct mail.

In an effort to stave off advances by other platforms, companies are beginning to innovate the way they design creative pieces. For example,

• multidimensional mailers can help entrepreneurs create lasting impressions on consumer.
• Global Industry Analysts predicts that, as a result, the market for creative direct mail development will reach $200 million before 2012 in the United States.

Additionally, direct mail can be used to bolster the effects of digital marketing campaigns. For instance, using tracking technology, businesses could send consumers an email message on the same day a direct mail piece is set to arrive or they could use QR codes to drive recipients online to their retail websites.

"The direct mail advertising market will also stand to benefit from the growing importance of one-to-one interactive marketing and its role in effectively engaging thousands of prospective customers on a personal level," says the source.

Global Industry Analysts’ report echoes recent research conducted by MagnaGlobal. According to the marketing insights firm, direct mail will account for $19.17 billion ad spend worldwide during 2010, making it the top channel globally. MagnaGlobal expects direct mail to be used primarily by large corporations, though small and mid-size business owners will similarly be able to effectively integrate it into their marketing initiatives.

One way to increase the ROI of a direct mail marketing campaign is to include a promotional offer, exclusive to recipients of the mailing.

For example, a restaurant that wants to send out postcards to recruit new customers and retain existing ones should feature

• high-quality and attention-grabbing graphics of the decor and food
• a sample of menu items
• contact details
• and even a small map showing customers how to find the restaurant.

Yet in addition to all of these features, the restaurant should offer some kind of discount or promotion to the postcard recipients, such as a free appetizer or dessert, or a two-for-one meal.

Though some businesses may get the impression that doing so makes them look less professional or classy, the realities of the recession have overridden any potential negative connotations with coupons and discounts.

In fact, a recent survey from Nielsen found that affluent consumers are actually among the most frequent coupon users – 39 percent of consumers who earn more than $70,000 are classified as "super heavy" coupon users, while 42 percent fall into the category of "coupon enthusiasts."

Therefore, even high-end businesses should not shy away from using coupons in their direct mailings, as any incentive or discount will likely boost sales.

This is especially the case now that competition can be fierce  – and coupons may make the difference for a customer choosing between one business and another.

A study released this week regarding online retail coupons captured the make-or-break nature of promotions in today’s economic environment, showing that 30 percent of online adults will not make a purchase at an online store if they cannot find a coupon for that store – marking a 3 percent increase from 2008 – while 22 percent of online adults will go to a different store to make that purchase.

One way to measure the effectiveness of a coupon-focused direct mailing campaign is to require that the recipient brings the coupon into the store or business in order to receive the discount. Doing so can allow the business to compare the number of people who received the mailing with the number that brought the coupon in for use, guiding any changes to the campaign such as the mailing list or the offer itself.

Sometimes it’s fun – and profitable – to use a marketing gimmick, by introducing an intentional error into your direct mail campaign.

Not long ago, Jeff Kaller mailed a mountain of postcards driving people to call – the wrong number. Followed by mailings apologizing for and correcting the mistake.

And getting better than ever response.

In another case a sales letter and registration form was sent out for a very pricey event with the dates, place and price missing. Nearly 70% called to inform the sender of the mistakes: some irritated, some trying to be helpful. This put 70% on the phone with his three telemarketers, who closed half during the calls; net 35% registration vs. best ever prior sign-up rate from same customers for comparable events, 15%.

Joe Sugarman gave discounts and rewards to people who found the most mistakes in his ads. The technical term for this is: involvement.

Intentional errors… are they gimmicks, or are they ‘hooks’?

You’ll know once the responses start coming in!