For 2019, the Postal Service is continuing to provide promotions and incentives for mailers to combine enhanced print and cross channel media technologies with marketing mail. As direct marketers know, speeding the journey from awareness, to consideration to action is a key to success. Each of the USPS 2019 promotions is designed to facilitate exactly that.
Seal The Deal By Engaging More Senses
With so many new technologies becoming available to enrich the experience of a marketing message, the USPS wants to encourage mailers to explore these exciting options. Smell the coffee. Feel the fabric. Hear the ocean waves, etc. All the senses can be engaged in a mail piece. Here are some key findings:
Neuromarketing research conducted by the USPS Office of the Inspector General suggests that tactile or other sensory stimulation contributes to the imprinting of brand identity and message on the recipient of a printed piece (PDF download. See OIG Synopsis, Page 10, Conclusion).
A study conducted for CanadaPost performed detailed analyses of physical responses to sensory media, including those augmented by scent and sound. Comprehension, motivation, and visual attention were greater for the printed materials, including those with sound and scent enhancements.
Sappi paper company has produced a series of videos describing the nature of haptics (sense of touch). One in particular describes research on the effect high quality and sensual richness have on perception and retention of information.
USPS 2019 Promotions For Let Marketers Explore and Save
Consumers who have a history of engaging with video promotions can indulge their urges. People paying bills can connect to online resources and media to take advantage of promotions or account enhancements.
If your audience is among the rapidly growing number of postal customers (currently about 14 million) who have subscribed to Informed Delivery, those grayscale scans can soon be enhanced by what is called “Supplemental Content”, full color clickable media pointing to information and offers. The Postal Service offers a helpful Informed Delivery interactive guide for download.
Do you use Business Reply Mail (BRM) or Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM)? There’s a promotion for that which offers postal rate discounts for mailed reply mechanisms. It’s called the 2019 Earned Value Promotion. Add advanced print technology and increase response while saving postage.
Power The USPS 2019 Promotions With A Targeted, Relevant Mailing List
A crucial driver of these exciting approaches is the list itself. Your own customers can be a guide to expanding your audience. What is their typical journey? How have they tended to interact with your offers? Are they coupon clippers or 800 number callers? Are they credit card power users? Do they ruminate over general open-ended offers or leap at very specific, time-sensitive ones?
As with, so too… Direct marketers who want to grow their list based on the attributes and behavior of their existing customers often ask: “Are there other audiences out there that respond like mine?” It can be eye-opening when you see the lists that are available. Discovering others whose have responded in a way that is similar to your own customers when a juicy offer comes along can grow your list data choices. There are mailing lists available that are attuned to audiences of every description, consumer or business, as well as D&B databases. Start with what you know. Then go farther.
With expert assistance, you can grow your list and connect with customers who will respond to your offers. This will be the year you can present them using an array of cutting edge direct mail techniques and technologies. The Postal Service is supporting your efforts to succeed with their schedule of innovative USPS 2019 promotions.
