There’s nothing like a leaflet saying “STOP JUNK MAIL” to get your morning off to a sour start.
I went out the other day to get an oil and filter change done on my car and with a little extra time to kill, stopped at a Staples on the way to pick up a pack of paper for my office printer. After poking around a bit, I was headed to check out when a rack card on one of the service counters caught my attention.
It really stuck out like a sore thumb from the leaflets offering other services with an anti-mail headline, so of course, I had to take a look. And I won’t bother to go into many details about the offer and the company behind it, beyond their claim to stop “up to 95% of junk mail” (for a fee, naturally) and that Staples is apparently a partner of theirs. I guess maybe direct mail isn’t a big part of their marketing mix any more? Kind of odd. It sends a message that “all mail equals junk.”
But it brings up a point I’ve made often over just the last few years. You know, when people ask me “What line of work are you in, Paul?”
Call me a defender of the faith or evangelist, but I proudly say something like “junk mail… also known as direct mail.” And I’ll quickly add that marketing campaigns that include many touchpoints, including digital, perform better together. Most people get that as I explain how direct mail is more relevant compared to the past because data is more accurate, focused, and analyzed than ever before.
Direct mail and print is our business and often gets painted with a broad brush, sometimes deservedly, but most often not. Think about people’s concerns that lead them to maybe dislike or distrust mail, and call it “junk.”
Read the rest of this story on Printing Impressions, a publication of PRINTING United Alliance, ASI’s strategic partner.
