Dominate Both Mailboxes

When working with clients, the discussion inevitably turns to digital versus online marketing. Clients are looking for a strong ROI. They want to know if their money would be better spent on an online campaign using email and social media or a traditional campaign using direct mail and brochures.

We explain to our clients the advantages and disadvantages of direct mail advertising. We also lay out the advantages and disadvantages of online marketing. And most of the time, we show them that the biggest advantage is to dominate both mailboxes with a combination of online and traditional marketing techniques.

Digital marketing vs online marketing

When considering online and traditional marketing we must first understand the benefits of each medium. Daniel Dejan, Print Creative Manager for SAPPI North America, describes how individuals process online and traditional print advertising as “bilateral literacy.” Ink on paper is more penetrating; it has a much longer mnemonic retention. Online material, on the other hand, is information that we need to get through quickly. It’s features, advantages, pricing, and linking to other information, which is very valuable in our society.

In today’s environment consumers seeking quick and convenient information turn to online sources for immediate gratification. But, if we’re looking for information on a subject that will have a long-term impact on our lives, we want it in print.

The roles of print and online in a marketing campaign

When considering online and traditional marketing we must also consider the role that each plays in a marketing campaign. Research from Google shows that many times traditional media is the stimulus that begins a search on mobile. 48% of smartphone readers are performing mobile queries off of ads they see in magazines, 35% search off of posters and billboards, while 57% do so from in-store promotions and 58% from TV.

Another report from Google shows that nearly a third of searches are started by individuals who have received mail, like a catalog or brochure, at their home from a brand or manufacturer.

The importance of data and targeting in a marketing campaign

The importance of data and targeting cannot be overemphasized in a marketing campaign. Gone are the days of “spray and pray” campaigns. Whether you are a start-up or an established company, understanding data is paramount in creating a successful campaign. The proper use of data will allow for personalization and relevance and that’s what fuels a true omnichannel strategy in both print and digital.

Today’s technology allows both online and traditional marketing campaigns to better target potential clients. Companies who use direct mail need a partner to help with mailing lists and mailing services along with direct mail copywriting and direct mail design. Companies who use online marketing need many of the same services including email lists, copywriting, and design. And, if you are planning an integrated campaign using both online and traditional channels, a marketing partner that can do both is a big advantage.

The importance of tracking and ROI in a marketing campaign

If you plan to dominate both the inbox and the mailbox then tracking the effectiveness of both are important. Digital tracking is possible with click-through rates and analytics. To track direct mail you need to make sure that any point of contact listed on your direct mail piece – phone number, URL, coupon code, etc. – is unique and trackable.

When discussing ROI one must consider response rates and cost per acquisition. The Direct Mail Association (DMA) reports that email has an ROI of 124% and direct mail, including catalogs, drives in excess of a 5% response rate.

The DMA also reports that nearly two-thirds of people have bought something because of a direct mail piece. Additionally, 70% of customers have re-started a relationship because of direct mail.

Utilizing both traditional and digital marketing techniques allows your company’s message to be spread across many different channels and helps you dominate both mailboxes.

Why Newsletters Should be Part of Your Marketing Strategy

Remember the story of the shoemaker’s children who had no shoes? Well, we here at Westamerica Communications have taken that story to heart and are about to do something we haven’t done for a while. We’re publishing a print newsletter.

We’ve created company newsletters for a wide variety of clients. We design and print newsletters all the time, just not for ourselves. So, why now?

Digital Marketing vs Traditional Marketing Statistics

We do quite a bit of marketing for our company. We write and publish blogs on social media and on our website. We send email blasts. We attend trade shows and sponsor community events.

Recently, we took some time to examine our marketing efforts and noticed that many of our efforts are ephemeral.

A post on Facebook virtually disappears as a follower scrolls through their feed. And emails seem to disappear in a flood of inbox communications. In 2015, the average office worker received 122 emails a day. I’m sure it’s even more today.

Then there’s the open and click-through rate of online communications. The average click-through rate for Facebook Industrial Services ads is 0.71%. The average email open rate for the Marketing and Advertising Industry is 17.81%. And the click-through rate is 1.92%.

And, once opened, how much do people remember what they read online? There’s a large body of evidence that shows that recall is higher among individuals who are exposed to a printed ad, such as a direct mail piece, versus a digital ad.

One report I saw says that physical “Touch has the power to shift the brain into a deeper level of engagement, one more conducive to building lasting knowledge.” And, when it comes to recall, research shows a 3:1 advantage for print over digital.

With this knowledge in hand, we decided to add something to our marketing mix that would allow our clients to engage with our brand on a more physical level.

Direct Mail Marketing

The first thing to remember about a newsletter is that the United States Postal Service will deliver it. This adds a whole new dimension to the phrase “open rates.”

Research shows that “In a world of email, texts, and social media, 41% of Americans nevertheless look forward to checking what is in their mailbox each day.” And that includes 36% of millennials who also feel this way.

When compared with online marketing, direct mail marketing is the “king” of open rates. Take a minute and think of how you “open” your mail.

Every day you go to your mailbox, like millions of other people. You open the box and remove the stack of mail. You may do as I do. There’s one stack for bills, one stack for “I’ll read it now,” one stack for “I’ll read it later,” and one stack for the recycle bin.

Notice, whichever stack the mail was placed on, I had to look, touch, and read every single piece of mail. I may not have read through every piece of mail but I did read enough to know which stack to place it on.

The quality of the newsletter’s design, images, and paper will determine on to which stack it will be placed.

Don’t just take my word for it. Kim Walsh Phillips, Founder and CEO of Elite Digital Group, says print newsletters are “the secret weapon in your social media marketing arsenal.”

“My business empire has been built with print newsletters as its foundation and a centerpiece around which everything else orbits. Well over 50% of my high-value private clients rise up out of the newsletter subscriber base — it would cost me a fortune to find them otherwise.” – Kim Walsh Phillips

Now keep in mind, Phillips runs a company that helps other companies with their onlinemarketing and she uses print newsletters to grow her own company.

Her article in Entrepreneur makes some great points about the benefits of a print newsletter. She also talks about creating an effective newsletter. I encourage you to read her article.

At Westamerica we understand that, when it comes to marketing, it’s not “either or” it’s both. We will continue using online marketing as part of our awareness campaigns in addition to our company newsletter. In fact, we are repurposing some of our online material by using it in our newsletter. In addition, we’ll link to our online materials from our offline products. We’ll do this because the marketing universe is huge and we want to reach our current and prospective clients where they live, work and play.

If you’d like to check out our newsletter, send an email to Mail@mywestamerica.com and I’ll get one out to you.

High quality gift pack increases retail presence.

The competition for promotional space during the holidays is fierce. That’s why the Templeton Rye distributor turned to Westamerica for a creative solution leading up to the important holiday sell-in period.

The distributor was looking for a way to marry multiple products together for a holiday gift promotion. Westamerica’s engineers found that less can be more  then it comes to packaging, and designed a gift pack that incorporated recipes and other necessary information while keeping the focus on the product and quality. The gift pack featured their  Templeton Rye Small Batch Whiskey and a popular brand of vermouth.

To lower shipping costs and increase store presence, unique display cases were designed directly into the product shippers!

The result was a handsome gift package that displayed nicely in-store and generated increased revenue and profit.