Premium Mail......

Most people toss junk mail unopened. I study it.

I’m a student of marketing. To keep up with this ever-changing art, you can never stop learning. We live in a huge marketing laboratory, so almost every ad that I touch is a lesson.

Last year, we got an interesting mailing from our local Ronald McDonald House (we often support their work). The mailing was an invite to a "do it yourself tea party." It included a McDonald’s teabag, instructions, and a donation envelope. The unspoken message was, rather than holding an expensive event, let’s put as much money to use to help the families of these sick children. Point well made.

The tea bag gave us all a chuckle and is still remembered more than a year later.

According to research by Target Marketing Group, while the total number of direct mail "packages" has declined by 13.3% since 2001 (14,240 in 2001 down to 12,344 in 2003) the number of mailings with a premium has increased by about 38%. About one eighth of all mailing packages now include some kind of premium.

The use of premiums in mailing is on the rise, because it is an effective technique. People will open a bulky envelope to see what’s inside. And if you provide a valuable or funny premium, chances are it will get remembered.

What can you send out as a mailing to your customers to make your product of service more memorable and get the envelope opened?

-Phil Sasso