For Valentine’s Day, they have released a video to promote the Red Blooded notebook which has been recently added to the Field Notes standard product line.

The notebook becomes a love letter and is a very inspiring and beautiful example of the power of creative books and print.

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many marketers are missing opportunities to engage with customers because their information and processes have become outdated before the customer engagement metrics are aggregated and sorted.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.

In a classic Seinfeld episode, the comedian joked, “There’s good naked and bad naked.” So it is with personalization. There’s good personalization and bad personalization.

The goal of personalized communication, whether it’s in print or email, is to create a message that is relevant to the recipient and engages the recipient in a relationship with the marketer. While some may think that more personalization is  better, that’s not always the case. You have to be careful what and how you personalize.

I got a personalized contact today that unnerved me out and made me want to immediately end my relationship with the sender. If it had been from a marketer rather than a potential client, I would have.

The sender is a someone who, as part of his ministry, is beginning to send out daily inspirational emails.

The first contact was a welcome email, addressing me by name. Nicely done. Although adding names to emails is easy these days, I appreciated the extra effort.

The next day, I received my first daily email, which could be accessed using an email link. Clearly, he was tracking responses. So far, so good.

The next day, I received my next daily email. I didn’t have time to read it, so I left it unopened.

Today, I received the daily email and gasped.

Dear, Heidi.

You haven’t read your last lesson so this is a reminder to login and read your latest lesson below.

Agh! Personalization gone amuck.

First, there had only been 24 hours between the initial email and the reminder. Then there was the issue of the wording. I am tracking you—watching you from afar—so I know you haven’t opened the email yet. You signed up to read these, Heidi, and since I’m monitoring you, I’ve noticed that you are slacking. Get on the stick, girl!

That may not be what he intended, but that’s what he wrote.

It drives home just how important it is to think through how, when, and why you (and your clients) contact customers and prospects with personalized information. How is this personalization being used? How will it be received by the target? Will it be welcomed as a relevant, helpful communication? Or will it make them feel invaded?

Remember that personalization, on its own, does little. Done wrong, it actually can be harmful. Personalization is simply a tool. Be careful how you use it.

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.

Step back and consider some alternatives. For example, underwear merchant Bare Necessities in the US recently tested coordinating a postcard campaign with email to a segment of its customer file and saw a significant increase in revenue from those who received both marketing messages.

According to David Wauters, director of marketing for Bare Necessities, the company saw a 15% lift in revenue (note that’s SALES, not just a response rate boost) from customers who received the direct mail postcard and the email, compared to the control group who received only the email.

Wauters has apparently stumbled on something that a lot of marketers talk about, but seldom do. A relative few marketers truly coordinate their email and print efforts, according to Jane Kaiser, president of online marketing consultancy Eclipse Direct Marketing. She said her clients consistently see lifts of between 15% and 25% when they send coordinated print and email campaigns.

But wait there’s more!

If you’re satisfied with a 15-25% improvement then a simple combined email and direct mail postcard is a no-brainer. After all, who wouldn’t be delighted with amazing results like this?

However sales improvements of 50% or more are now possible using PURLs.  Here we take the above a step further. We simply add a unique webpage link to both the email and postcard.  A great Video by small business marketing expert, David Frey, outlines this very exciting, simple concept.

Here at CQ, we’ve the expertise to build your own personalised landing page and direct mail piece to complement your own email campaign, or provide a complete purl webpage, email and variable print turnkey package. Note our PURL package has special features beyond that outlined in the video.

Best of all? It’s all remarkably easy, affordable and just perfect for any corporate, small business or community group – You heard it here first!

However it’s not just the compact  format. The design, content and offer play a big part too. A card that engages people, sending them back to your company website to buy, for more information or enter competitions is the real secret.

There’s one particular postcard campaign in the US that’s consistently popular and super-successful, breaking sales records year after year through a simple technique. Response rates are over ten times the industry average. Watch the video below, courtesy of Small Business marketer, David Frey.

Now you’ve seen how easy it is, let us turn that concept, into reality.

We’re experts in affordable variable data printing, web-to-print and purl marketing technologies. Talk to us about our new super-effective personalisation options and the amazing business results that come with postcard mailings. Phone Dean on 03 963 8899 or email dean@cq.co.nz