Digital marketing is taking over the planet, but there is still a huge market for direct mail campaigns. Statistics for 2020 tell us that up to 90% of direct mail gets opened compared to just 20 – 30% of emails.

But – of course, there’s a but – it’s still a competitive market out there and if you want to make the most of your money, then perhaps grab some inspiration from some of the best direct mail campaigns we’ve seen.

3 Of the Best Direct Mail Campaigns

Back in 2010 car manufacturer, Skoda had a cunning plan to promote their new and improved Yeti and its innovative parking assist feature.

To do this, they mailed their target audience a little postcard with a magnetic car stuck to the back. They were instructed to place the car onto the front of the card in a specific space on the photograph. As soon as they did so, the little car scooted into a parking spot, cleverly highlighting the parking feature.

What a smart and memorable way to educate your customers!

ADT took its promotional campaign to the next level when it created a fairly large pop-up box. The box, when folded, would slip easily into a mail slot or under an apartment door. Once released though, it would unfold into a good-sized box that would no doubt confuse the homeowner when they returned home.

The security company had the words “Breaking into your apartment is easier than you think” printed onto the cube for maximum impact.

If your intention is to get maximum interest out of your campaign, then look at what one laundry service, LavOnline did. They sent out little boxes that flatten out into what looks like a t-shirt, with the instructions to squish a little toy tomato onto the shirt. The tomato does not disappoint and looks a right mess on this little t-shirt… only to gather itself back into a small ball and leave a clean shirt behind.

The bottom line is, if your product is relevant and your thinking is different, then you can make a real impact this year with your best direct mail campaign ever.

For all things mail-related, chat with the Mailmech team.

Business owners and senior managers go to great lengths to maintain a pleasant and healthy working environment for their staff. However, one element is often overlooked, that being the impact of repetitive tasks.

Yes, we know that when you employ someone to do a job, they’re going to be doing much the same thing on a daily basis. The problem arises, though, when staff members are tasked with repetitive, mundane jobs for a protracted period.

How important are automated systems in today’s office?

Automated Systems vs Repetitive Tasks

When it comes to the physical health of our team, repetitive movements can pose a threat. We’re not simply talking about a boring old stock take or writing a weekly report. Rather, we’re referring to movements that are repeated over and over again for hours, days, or weeks at a time.

For instance, folding flyers and filling envelopes, or sorting large volumes of mail may result in repetitive strain injury or ailments such as tendinitis or carpal tunnel. Other conditions can easily result such as neck or back pain due to standing or sitting in the same position for hours at a time.

In the same way, assigning tasks like these can impact an employee’s mental health. Extreme boredom can result in stress and a thoroughly demoralized person that may induce them to seek another position.

A job that lacks meaning has a detrimental effect on us humans. One report says, “Scientists have found that monotonous work can negatively impact mental health, cause us major stress, and lead to burnout. The chronically bored are at higher risk for drug addiction, alcoholism, and compulsive gambling.”

Without diving further into this big topic, it’s clear that treating humans like machines is never going to end well. That makes automated systems a critical part of a company’s structure.

Technology has advanced to the point where there is very little need to use people in positions that require monotonous and repetitive tasks, especially in the office.

If this strikes a chord with you, please take a moment to look through our automated office machines. They can take away the stress and boredom from your valued team at the touch of a button.

What exactly is file encryption? Why should we make use of it when archiving documents?

These are common questions that we come across when assisting clients with archiving services. We’re going to take a closer look at these questions and explore why good levels of file security are necessary for today’s online space.

Archiving documents today is radically different from a few years ago when we simply popped paper files in a box, labelled it, and stacked it in a storeroom somewhere.

Most of today’s commercial activity takes place online. This means that archiving files is a virtual procedure and needs to be done with due caution.

Because of the sheer volume of cybercriminals and their new and exciting ways of stealing information, all files archived in the cloud, on off-site or on-site servers need to be kept safe. For this, we turn to file encryption.

What is File Encryption?

File encryption is the process of protecting a file and making it unusable to anyone else besides authorised personnel. There are dozens of ways to achieve this and countless applications available, but the basic premise is the same.

The data in the file, whether images, audio files, or documents, is scrambled. The only way to make any sense of the file is by using the correct encryption key or password.

Encryption can be set to occur at any point in the life of a file. For instance, you may want to simply encrypt sensitive data on a USB stick. Alternatively, you may choose to encrypt all data leaving your business electronically and all files on your servers, protecting them with robust encryption keys.

When archiving documents, it’s important to remember that, while these files may not be current, they may still store the personal data of customers or staff. This information is your responsibility according to the laws of the land and needs to be handled securely.

Therefore, a solid file encryption and archiving strategy is a must for any company. However, you don’t have to concern yourself with the nuts and bolts of this issue. Simply call the team at Mailmech and we’ll manage the process for you from start to finish.

While the internet has certainly reduced the need for physical company brochures, there is still a space for these smart and useful documents.

Brochure design trends, as with most business needs, continue to shift with the ongoing need to remain front of mind. Indeed, if you’re designing a brochure for your company, especially for sales, it needs to be current, clever, and striking.

Brochure Design Trends 2021

Business brochures with walls of text and “interesting company information” are definitely a thing of the past. Today’s market needs something that will capture their attention and give them the information that they need, quickly.

Use of Colour

An austere black, white, and grey corporate image may be who you are, but it’s not going to get you noticed in a crowd.

Many designers are making use of bold colour choices as a background for their message. Gradients are replacing solid colours to add movement and interest while mixing up non-traditional textures for an arresting overall feel.

Breaking the Mold

There are only so many designs that can be achieved when designers follow the tried and tested formulae from yesteryear.

You will likely see imagery and font positioning that you’re not used to, and a variety of experimental layouts. Some businesses are moving away from square and rectangular brochures and opting for triangular or circular choices instead.

Imagery with a Twist

Stock photos have their place in marketing and design, but with so much out there, we’ve probably seen the same picture in a hundred places.

Smart businesses are shifting away from the norm and making use of bespoke illustrations, off-the-wall photography, or unusual picture choices to capture the attention of their readers.

Whatever your choice of brochure design, just remember that the reader needs to come away with a clear message and know what to do next.

Your company brochure is a wonderful tool that can speak for you when you’re not there. Keep it simple, striking, and engaging.

We’re all becoming far more comfortable with remote offices, working from home, and online collaboration. This certainly is the year for taking our technical skills forward and embracing new ways of doing things.

Interactive documents have been a thing for several years, but with lockdown forcing us into our own space we’re finding that this way of communicating is actually quite handy.

What Are Interactive Documents?

In the past when we received a document via email it would often come with a sea of attachments such as associated video files, images, or forms. 

Not anymore. 

Interactive documents are far more engaging, easier to use, and allow us to manage information a whole lot better. 

Video and Audio

Did you know that you can embed a video or an audio file in a document so that your reader doesn’t have to leave the page to receive your message? Video files can be branded and customised with your company image for a professional edge. 

Forms

Remember when we would email a form through and it would need to be printed, completed, and then scanned or faxed back to us? That was a real bore, wasn’t it? 

Forms and other transactional documents are now a simple thing to add to a document and can be completed and returned super-fast. No need for printing or scanning or fussing. 

Photos

A static image in a document is great, but a gallery is even better. An interactive document allows us to overlay multiple images with the accompanying navigation buttons – perfect when a single image just won’t do.

If you’re taking your business to new heights this year and you would like assistance with interactive documents, design, and personalisation, please give the Mailmech team a call on 011 789 1608.

With so much communication occurring online and via instant messaging, is there still a need for branded stationery?

We think so. 

In fact, we think there’s still space in this digital world for beautiful design and so we’ve looked into letterhead trends in 2021 to see what’s happening.

Letterhead trends 2021

 With so many companies vying for attention and brands begging to be remembered, businesses need to be brave and more than a little innovative in order to stand out. 

Colour

Black on white? Boring! There has been a distinct shift toward paper and envelopes with rich colouring pulled from the business brand. While still easy to read and professional, communication on a coloured background seems somehow less bland, don’t you agree?

Nostalgia

Do you remember the stationery you used at school as a child? The slightly yellowing graph paper and lined sheets with a margin are being used to great effect by businesses who enjoy an “olde world” design element. Yes, it’s nice to have a sharp, monochromatic, and corporate look and feel, but when we’re communicating ideas or emotions, then remember that we’re talking to real people. 

Layout

If you are keen to stick to a more traditional black and white letterhead for your communications, there’s no reason why you can’t still keep it fresh and interesting. Ask your designer to play around with margins, font type, or header and footer placement. 

It’s tough to stand out in this crowded digital age, we all know that. But if our business dictates that we send paper mail to our customers then let’s step outside the black and white box and mix it up a little. Letterheads are a brilliant way to communicate a company culture or the personality of a small team.

As far as we have come in the drive towards the paperless office, we still rely heavily on paper. The importance of paper recycling has been highlighted often and to your credit, most businesses have a responsible recycling program in place. 

However, we can still do so much more – both as a company and as individuals – to reduce our reliance on paper and ensure that we are recycling what we can.

The value of paper recycling

It’s been estimated that it takes 24 trees to make a ton of standard office paper. 

Most paper production relies on wood pulp from a mix of hard and softwoods to create pulp for processing. While there are several methods employed to perform this function, the mechanical pulping process is by far the most efficient compared to the chemical processes employed. By way of comparison, the mechanical method will use approximately 12 trees to produce a ton of paper, whereas the chemical process will churn through approximately 24 trees. 

Available data from Global Forest Resource Assessment tells us that between 80,000 and 160,000 trees are cut down every day with a large percentage of these going to use in the paper industry.

That’s simply not sustainable, and as we are acutely aware, not helping the war on climate change. 

The good news is that we can do our bit, even in a small way.

• Paper can be recycled numerous times – it just needs to get to the recycling depot and not end up in a landfill. 
• We can shop responsibly and source paper from a company using sustainable products and processes. 
• At home, we can use old newspapers in our braai, our pet’s bed, or in our compost bins. 
• Donate old magazines to health centers for their reading tables or old books to the library.
• Encourage your children to use the front and back of a sheet of paper when doodling. 
• Keep old magazines and newspapers for kiddies’ crafts.
• In the office, we can print on both sides of a sheet of paper.
• Make use of a shredder which can securely allow your scrap to be shipped off to the recycling center.

When we consider that a single ton of recycled paper will save 17 trees, perhaps we can think of other ways that we can support this cause.

As business owners, we know how hard it is to get heard in this digital age. Highway billboards, emails, display ads, social media and other platforms seem to shout at us from every corner and it’s easier to just submit to ad blindness and ignore the lot of it. It’s simply too much thinking!

We have to ask, however, in this digital realm is there still room for direct mail advertising? The stats say that there are, and that’s pretty exciting news for businesses that want to be seen.

Direct mail benefits

Paper mail is certainly not dead. Granted, it may not be as trackable as a digital medium, but there are some interesting points which make it a good option for some. Here are some stats that we uncovered courtesy of Small Biz Genius.

As opposed to an email where you have just a few characters in the subject line to encourage your user to open the message, around 42% of direct mail recipients will open and scan through your marketing message. It seems that people enjoy the physicality of receiving and opening an envelope and are curious as to its contents. 

Another seldom mentioned benefit to direct mail is that it takes, on average, 17 days to dispose of it. Left lying around the house, there is a better chance of being picked up and read, or just having your brand in the line of sight for a few days. An email or a display ad is seen once by a single person in a short period of time. Something to think about, don’t you agree?

Did you know that over 44% of businesses increased their catalogue circulation in 2019? An interesting decision considering the shift toward digital. However, it makes sense when you understand that a catalogue is a no-pressure option to browse products (minus pop-up ads!) and is likely to be picked up when the reader sits down for a coffee and a break.

So, are you still sending direct mail campaigns to your clients? Being involved in all things mail related, we’d be happy to assist you in the best printing and mail options available to South African businesses.