Session Description Creating great print work is an exercise in iteration. After rounds and rounds of revisions, approvals, press checks and postage estimates, it’s heartbreaking to think that your carefully considered piece will go directly from the mailbox to the recycle bin. This free webinar will focus on strategies for optimizing the outside of your direct mail piece and will showcase dos and don’ts from Higher Ed and beyond. Who Should View: Enrollment, admissions, marketing and communications professionals responsible for direct mail on behalf of their institutions. What You Will Learn: As a result of this webinar, you’ll learn: • The state of direct mail best practices. • How your envelope can become a messaging vehicle. • How you can explore non-standard sizes without breaking the bank.

1. mStoner
Winning the
Mailbox War:
Direct Mail for Higher Ed
April 2015

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Takeaways
THE STATE OF DIRECT MAIL IS
PEOPLE LIKE MAIL.
YOUR ENVELOPE IS
A MESSAGING VEHICLE.

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THE STATE OF DIRECT MAIL IS
PEOPLE LIKE MAIL.

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State of the Industry
70% of Americans say mail
is more personal than the
internet.
(Source)

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State of the Industry
55% “look forward” to
discovering the mail they
receive.
(Source)

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State of the Industry
56% say receiving mail
is a “real pleasure.”
(Source)

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State of the Industry
72% of consumers bring
in their mail–as soon as
possible–on the day it is
delivered.
(Source)

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State of the Industry
Mail is usually sorted by the
head of household. In 90%
of cases, s/he determines
which items are kept for
review.
(Source)

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What is the Mail Moment?
The Mail Moment defines
the highly interactive daily
ritual that consumers
devote to bringing in their
mail and discovering what
it offers. The Mail
Moment provides
marketers with the unique
opportunity to get their
messages noticed and
their offers considered.
(Source)

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Student Reactions
The sheer volume of college
mail creates different
emotions.

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Student Reactions

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Student Reactions
Novel
Ordinary
InformedConfused
Am I being
recruited by the
Ivy League?
Why am I getting
all of this mail?
How did they get
my name?
I love seeing my
name in print! Look
at this beautiful
campus!
I can’t believe the testing
companies sell student
names. I’m throwing
everything away.

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YOUR ENVELOPE IS
A MESSAGING VEHICLE

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Proximity
Scale & color
Personalization
Messaging
Tactile Qualities
ENTRY POINTS

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Entry Points
Entry points into your design attract visitors
to the first place you want them to look.
“Without an entry point, viewers will have to
work harder to find their way into your
design. They’ll have to pause and think where
to look first and think about what’s truly
important on the page. A lack of entry point
will increase the cognitive load on visitors.”
(Source)

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Scale & color
What did you see?

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Scale & color
What did you see?

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Scale & color
14” x 9”

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Scale & color
6 3/4” x 4 1/2”

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Scale & color

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Personalization
(Source)

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Personalization
(Source)
Made possible by variable data printing
Variable data printing enables the mass
customization of documents, as opposed to the
mass-production of a single document.
Instead of producing 10,000 copies of a single
document, delivering a single message to 10,000
customers, variable data printing could print
10,000 unique documents with customized
messages for each customer.

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Personalization
(Source)

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Personalization
Less of this…

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Personalization
More of this…

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Personalization
More of this…

29. m Person designed by Juan Pablo Bravo from the Noun Project
Personalization

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Messaging

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Messaging
What’s your offer?
Direct marketing is about
presenting a value proposition
and a call-to-action right away.

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Messaging

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Messaging

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Messaging
tp://www.commarts.com/SearchOn.aspx?colpg=0&col=1223&inum=400
Worth a test…
Mail the same offer via both a simple
envelope and branded envelope.

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Messaging

38. mStoner
mStoner green
client colors
JHU
Messaging

39. mStoner
mStoner green
client colors
JHU
Messaging

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Tactile Qualities
Studies show that as we read, our brains
comprehend text by correlating the message with
the physical landscape of the tactile piece. When
we see a message in print (versus a screen), our
brains create a lasting memory response because
the message’s landscape is tangible. Physical
attributes of the tactile piece, such as thickness,
shape, texture, and the material’s surface, folds, and
corners, help the brain form a mental map of the
message.
Create a physical landscape

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Tactile Qualities

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Tactile Qualities

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Tactile Qualities
By asking your reader to imagine something
associated with the involvement device, by asking
them to fold or pull it, you’re getting them involved
and you’re helping them really relate to the benefits
of what you’re selling so there’s a much better
chance they’ll act upon your message.
Involvement Devices

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Tactile Qualities
Involvement devices

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Tactile Qualities
Involvement devices

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Tactile Qualities
Involvement devices

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Tactile Qualities
Involvement devices

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Tactile Qualities
Watch video at:
https://vimeo.com/53373499

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Takeaways
THE STATE OF DIRECT MAIL IS
PEOPLE LIKE MAIL.
YOUR ENVELOPE IS
A MESSAGING VEHICLE.

50. mStoner
Winning the
Mailbox War:
Direct Mail for Higher Ed
April 2015