My bride just received a mailed offer for Highlights magazine.
This traditional direct mail package had stickers, cover letter, brochure, order form, and envelope. She’d get 50% off by moving a sticker from the mailing address to the order form.
This interaction was smart, making the customer feel involved in the process. In fact, everything about the mailer made perfect sense … except us receiving it.
For those unfamiliar with Highlights, this publication is geared toward kids under 12. It’s full of puzzles, games, stories and useful tools for getting children to develop a love for reading.
I enjoyed it years ago, and today I’m a voracious reader. So … maybe there’s something to it.
Still, I wondered why this mailing appeared in our home. We have one adult child, no grandchildren and no reason to read or buy Highlights.
The rented mailing list came from a women’s clothing company. We know this because my bride inserted an incorrect middle initial when placing her order so we could track just this sort of activity.
We also know that mailing lists are typically overlaid with lots of information floating “out there,” including age, earnings, race, religion, political bent, etc.
Which suggests Highlights concluded women on this mailing list are probably a soft touch to buy a subscription for their grandchildren.
They also probably know that boomers, more than any other generation, prefer to read promotional direct mail over digital media.
So even though we aren’t the right audience, their strategy worked.
Regardless of who you’re selling to, you can also use direct mail to promote your business. After all, the infrastructure’s already in place to economically reach every home in America. And you should also know:
• Direct mail resonates with Gen Z, since there’s a novelty factor. They respond 100 times more frequently than with digital ads.
• 47% of millennials can be counted on to visit your website after receiving direct mail.
• 68% of Gen-Xers use coupons they receive in the mail.
• 89% of boomers look for special offers in the mail.
Add it together and you’ll find an economical strategy for driving any audience to your website to buy practically any product or service.
Meaning if you haven’t included direct mail in your marketing strategy, perhaps it’s time to reconsider that decision.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Follow Rob on Instagram @askmistermarketing
