see what you need to create and implement a successful direct mail campaign fresh inspiration from unexpected places, like elfyourself.com, jpg magazine, and old photos how the design process worked for a Colorado client marketing tip for staying ahead of the advertising curve and a comic thrown in just for fun
A monthly newsletter of marketing ideas, photos, and fun.
02
the review candyrice design
direct mail
strategy for your business
1: 2: 08
Even in this electronic age, direct mail is still (hands-down) one of the most effective and affordable ways to reach your clients. Within this category of design, there are many options, such as postcards (by far one of the best choices!), brochures, sales letters, newsletters, and much more! And whether you want to create a print campaign or tap into the electronic version of direct mail (and we think no marketing strategy is complete without email campaigns), here are some things to know:
• The list is king! Knowing your target client and how to reach them is of utmost importance. • Some obstacles exist: Getting your pieces delivered and getting people to open and read them • A pretty design is not enough. Your pieces have to work extra hard.
So if you send 1,000 postcards, for example, to a regular list, you could expect 10-20 responses (not necessarily sales, simply responses). The conversion number can jump to 10-20% with a precision-targeted list and a carefully crafted campaign! Ready to begin? Contact us today!
Did you know? A standard conversion rate for direct mail is 1-2%. That’s the average across industries. strategy for your business
direct mail
my fresh inspiration
3
1 1 : disco elf, elfyourself.com (see my video at candyrice.com/faqsnew.html) 2 : mod squiggly pattern, candy rice 3 : snowflakes at night, candy rice 4 : clothes on the line, madelyn herring, jpgmag.com 5 : fence in a blizzard, candy rice
2
5
4
6
Boulder portrait photographer Wendy Dickie was preparing to revise her branding and promotional pieces. Her logo was already in place and she was really happy with it, so we began with a business card geared toward her family portrait business. Wendy wanted a card that would capture her unique and edgy style. She also wanted to have separate business cards for each of her photography niches. The family card needed to incorporate her already-existing black packaging and feature red as the other prominent color in her branding for family portraits. The first mockup (1 in the image at left) incorporated a symbol to embellish her logo and some custom grunge backgrounds. Wendy asked us to remove the logo embellishment add some floral elements, use a different photograph on the front, and make the red more prominent on the front of the card.
Featured project Client: Fine Eye Photo Boulder, Colorado
The second mockup (2 at left) featured our custom floral pattern and a warm-toned black & white photograph, with a version of the custom grunge still on the back of the card. Wendy really liked this design and printed a batch of business cards. A few weeks later, she approached us to design a card that would encompass the main photography niches she markets to. She asked us to incorporate a stock illustration used in one of her high school senior advertisements that we had created earlier in 2008. This time we nailed it the first time around, and Wendy has settled on this as her primary business card. Solutions Provided: • Marketing Consulting • Design Services
marketing tip
from BrandWeek.com An article by Katy Bachman (Mediaweek) about the next medium for marketing your products and services.
Initiative Testing Wireless Digital Picture Frames
How could you use this information to enhance your business? Initiative’s Innovations division is testing the advertising potential of wireless digital picture frames. The test, for Initiative clients such as Lionsgate, Dr Pepper, Snapple, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and Kia Motors, is being conducted with Frame Media, a company that is working to develop the emerging medium by offering consumers hundreds of channels of content that can be streamed on the Wi Fi-enabled digital picture frames, right alongside the family photo album.
close to home
®
Both Frame Media and Initiative are betting that Wi-Fi digital picture frames may be the next emerging medium. In 2007, 9 million digital picture frames were sold, about 1 million of them Wi Fi-enabled. By 2010, that’s expected to jump to more than 42 million, with the vast majority of them Wi-Fi equipped, according to data from IDC. Founded two years ago, Frame Media has forged deals with Kodak, Samsung and others to make FrameChannel’s 400
We love puzzles and cartoons. Watch this section each month for something new to do or laugh at.
ys olida for h y Happ t wishes 9! 0 s & be derful 20 n a wo
303.947.5527 www.candyrice.com : candy@candyrice.com 11823 ridge pkwy #821 | broomfield, co 80021
channels of news, sports, weather, traffic, stock quotes, horoscopes, even imagery from leading photo collections, available at no charge to consumers. “We’ve learned consumers are favorable towards advertising rather than paying a monthly fee,” said Alan Phillips, founder and CEO of Frame Media. Currently, FrameChannel has 15,000 registered users and is forecasting to have a quarter of a million users by the end of the year. “We allow the consumer to marry their personal content with commercial content,” said Phillips, who dubs the new medium the fourth screen. “We believe we’ll see the emergency of a new category of information appliances that will become ubiquitous in the home or office replacing the alarm clock or kitchen calendar.” For now, Initiative’s clients are running banner ads rotated through the content. Snapple, however, has its own channel on FrameChannel based on the fun facts the product prints on the inside of the bottle caps. Think of it as a Snapple fact-a-day, like a page-a-day calendar.