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DIRECT MAIL
THE MAILBOX AS THE NEW MALL
How Creative Marketers Use Direct Mail Today BY MICHAEL BROOKE
E
verything old can become new again — take vinyl for example. But sometimes even marketers can be taken by surprise. The evolution of direct mail might seem to have left it a niche medium yet the reality of how mail is being implemented today is very different from the perception. While digital marketing has grabbed the spotlight over the past decade, direct mail continues to garner a renewed cachet and there is no doubt its influence is growing. Evidence is all around us that direct mail is a tremendously adaptable channel that continues to drive results for those who know how to leverage its capabilities. Those marketers are doing this in ways that are sometimes ingeniously creative and truly engage customers and prospects from all demographics. APRIL 2022
It’s also delivering some pretty astounding results. It’s no secret that many major fundraisers never left direct mail as a primary marketing channel. One non-profit that demonstrates how scientifically-backed direct mail can be a game-changing fundraising strategy is Toronto’s Scott Mission. This Christian based organization turned 80 years old in 2021 and as Holly Thompson, their director of marketing and communications explained, “Prior to 2008, the Mission didn’t do much active fundraising. We had a few newsletters each year. We had about 5,000 donors and it generated about two million in donations.” Unfortunately, this was nowhere near their operating budget and they relied on a handful of key donors to make up the shortfall. “We knew that we had to do something — we couldn’t just
rely on God for support.” So, they made the decision to invest heavily in donor acquisition strategy through tactics which included outside list rentals, which were heavily leveraged to actively solicit targeted members of the public via direct mail. It was a move which paid off with dreamlike results. “Over the past 14 years, we have grown to more than 65,000 donors who provide us with more than $16 million in donations.” Thompson also points to the fact that data-driven tactics which include segmentation and analytics help identify high-value or high-potential donors, who are then also cultivated by direct mail methods to support even more. “We have had donors move from $500 per year to donating tens of thousands the following year.” It’s the kind of story that is played out all across fundraising programs in Canada, but there
are many more retail and other vertical marketers delving deeper into direct mail than was thought possible just a few years ago. It is a trend which can be said to parallel the role vinyl has taken as a musical medium which delivers powerful results for the listener. And that’s not the only way old becomes new again. Typewriters cool again In September 2021, The AARP published a story with the headline 11 Ways Typewriters Are Cool Again. The bi-line read “spurring creativity and attracting younger fans, their popularity is on the rise. In March of 2022, the Wall Street Journal published a story with the title Why Millennials Want Their Parents’ Vinyl Records. A telling part of the piece came from a quote from Jim Henderson, co-owner CONTINUED ON page 16 DMN.CA ❰
