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Neither rain nor heat nor gloom of night … this is the beginning of the postal carriers’ creed that my dad, who was a mail carrier for over 30 years, took to heart. He was dedicated, responsible, reliable, hardworking, and could always be counted on to deliver his customers’ mail daily and on time as they expected.

After learning my dad was a mail carrier, people would often assume that’s how I ended up working in direct mail, and I’d be remiss if I said it didn’t play a role. When I told my dad how my job required me to have a thorough understanding of postal rules and regulations for direct mail, he couldn’t understand why I chose this career path. But then again, he knew I loved a challenge.

One challenge I’ve taken on as a production professional is the effective integration of direct mail in the ever-changing world of multichannel marketing. USPS tracking tools have made this effort significantly easier, enabling us to deliver on that postal carrier promise made long ago. I’ll explain how in a little bit. But first, some background …

Let’s travel back in time to when print was king

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, marketing thrived through print media. The internet as we know it was created around 1983 and would not play a significant role in commerce and communications until almost a decade later.

The average person started using email in the 1990s. Prior to that, billboards, posters, catalogues, newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio formed the backbone of advertising. Direct mail was a major factor, too, and I’m proud to say my dad played a part in delivering so many of advertising’s iconic print messages of the day.

All of these methods are still relevant today, but their roles have changed with the introduction of the internet, social media, and digital marketing, giving marketers more options and ways to combine efforts through integrated, multichannel campaigns.

The term “multichannel,” as you know, refers to a marketing strategy that combines various channels and tactics to deliver a consistent and unified message. All the elements in your campaign must work together seamlessly in order to have the desired impact on your target audience.

Merging online and offline marketing channels is a great way to reach a wider audience, offering better brand awareness and market penetration. Limiting your efforts to only one channel is limiting your reach, and most likely, your impact.

Is mail still an important part of the mix? YES.

Direct mail is still viable because people want a tangible asset, and direct mail offers that. The results are measurable. And being able to track the mail we send and see it moving through the system using the IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode) is really cool stuff.

But what makes mail tracking an important part of any integrated campaign is that it can be used to accurately time the deployment of other campaign assets. For example, you’ll know when to air radio or TV spots, or when to run print ads, to coincide with your mail arriving in-home.

Merging online and offline marketing channels is a great way to reach a wider audience, offering better brand awareness and market penetration.

To this end, DMW partners with SnailWorks, the leading provider of mail tracking services. We know when our mail delivers to the postal processing centers and can even track each piece down to the individual recipient. Here’s how that works:

• We see the USPS “first scan” or “acceptance scan” — this occurs when a mail piece is picked up by the Postal Service.

• We also see the “delivery scan” — that happens when the carrier attempts to deliver the mail piece.

It’s easy to see how accurate tracking like this can be a real asset to your integrated campaigns. And while direct mail does take longer to produce and deliver than other channels, we can maximize its value by developing creative that is efficient and cost-effective. That’s a key part of the production process.

Another important function for production professionals is to be familiar with and utilize USPS incentives to promote advertising through direct mail. These incentives can mean a significant cost savings, and we’ve outlined them here in a recent DMW blog post.

When it comes to results, DMW delivers

DMW’s Production Managers are certified MailPiece Design Professionals (MDP). This certification is offered by the USPS and focuses on designing mail that’s both visually appealing and optimized for automated processing, focusing on postal standards, addressing, and mail classes to ensure efficient and cost-effective delivery.

I believe my dad would be proud that after over 20 years in print production, I, too, am part of an agency that is dedicated, responsible, reliable, hardworking, and striving to deliver our clients’ mail on time as expected.

Want to learn more about how DMW can deliver marketing results for you? Give us a call.