Anderson Marketing Blog

It’s not an exaggeration to say the world is going digital. But does that mean direct mail—
long the standard for highly focused, results-driven marketing—is no longer effective and relevant? On the contrary.

The thing that makes targeting Hispanic consumers a bit tricky is not that they are vastly different from other segments, it’s that sometimes the cultural nuances are hard to put into words. You often hear, “Hispanics consider family to be extremely important.” Well, that’s the case for all segments. But it’s how this sentiment is executed that defines whether advertising will work or not.

When looking for the right direct mail partner, it’s important to find a firm that is committed to quality. Following are some direct mail quality best practices that will ensure your campaign is executed without a hitch.

Think your current direct mail package is worn out and ready to retire? Well, it may only appear that way to you and others in your organization—but not to your prospects.

If you have a printer at home, chances are it’s an inkjet. Anderson’s five commercial inkjet machines are bigger and more complex than the average desktop model, but they operate on the same printing principles.

When is the last time you tried to convey a concept to a person who had a different primary language than you? Or even a different cultural background? I personally ran into this when I moved from the Midwest to the West Coast and found differences in my dialect and terminology. I was even diagnosed as having a case of a “hard Midwesterner accent.” My enunciation of certain vowels was easily identifiable by locals and harassed as being “different,” and I was asked over and over again to repeat that word for their amusement. I was also informed that I was calling certain things by their wrong labels: it is “soda” not “pop,” “lunch” not “dinner,” and “you all” not “y’all.” I have attempted to overcome this debilitating disease and finally call soda by its correct name, but this so-called accent is going to stay.

Postage rate increases went into effect on January 26, which affect the price of a number of mail pieces. Across the board, rates increased 6 – 7%, making this the largest postal increase in over a decade.

Like many companies, direct marketing agencies and marketing service providers across the globe, the Anderson team is putting the finishing touches on our DMA2013 plans and are packing our bags for The Windy City.

For 28 years, Anderson has been hard at work creating and producing the best direct mail(DM) in the business. We are an ever-evolving organization, committed to staying fresh and providing our clients with the best services possible. As a one-stop shop, our people do it all— strategy, creative, data, interactive, production—you name it! But what is the bigger picture? How exactly does a DM piece go from start to finish?

We’re all familiar with the formula—the success of a direct mail package is 40% list, 40% offer, and 20% creative. So why do we spend 90% of our time on creative—edits, revisions, etc? Oh wait, that’s another blog topic. Today, let’s talk about direct mail offers—when they work, and when they don’t.