Who is most likely to open today’s direct mail? You may be surprised by the answer....

No matter the content - video, web, audio, messaging - we expect instant access and responses. The numbers of devices and software to support these fast on-line services are growing year on year. The market is enormous.

With this background it may surprise you to learn that the age group most likely to open direct mail is.....18 to 24 year olds!

Why?

Well perhaps it’s because nobody expects them to be interested in a piece of mail delivered through the letter box. Surely an 18-24 year old would rather receive an instant, on-line message.

But it seems they enjoy receiving and opening a piece of direct mail.  

Old rules still apply. For any direct mail piece to be successful it should be targeted, personalised, customised, creative and most important of all - relevant.

So there is another enormous market for marketers – an off-line market using direct mail to 18-24 year olds.

Of course complement direct mail with a digital channel and the response will be always be greater.

Thanks to my old friend and work colleague Adam McIntyre of Royal Mail for his insight.

2 great reasons to use direct mail and 98 reasons why you can’t rely on direct mail…

The 2 great reasons to use direct mail are….2%.

That’s the average response rate of a direct mail campaign. This is according to the Direct Mail Association (DMA), who know a thing or two about direct mail campaigns.

The 98 reasons why you can’t rely on direct mail is the inverse of the 2% which is a whopping great 98% failure rate!

I hear you asking what business would be happy with a 98% failure rate. Well the vast majority of companies in the UK for a start.

Time and time again marketing departments churn out direct mail campaigns and get their 2% response rate - of course many don’t even achieve this. Add a good creative and maybe crank it up to a 4% or even a 5% response rate. Companies win awards for such response rates …but even at 5% it’s still a 95% failure rate.

So how can you increase response rates?

Add a digital channel to the traditional mail channel. With cross media, response rates of 35% and higher can be achieved.

Interestingly if you only use email as your channel to market you again limit your response. The key is to mix traditional and digital.

If you want to know more about the type of responses companies get when they use cross media to deliver their marketing message then contact me

Many thanks (and a big nod) to my good friend Kevin O’Donnell of Xerox for his inspiration and more!

QR Codes explained

I did three talks in Edinburgh this week on QR Codes.

I started with some real basic stuff. Explaining what QR Codes are, how to create them and how to use them. I then went on to discuss the amazing marketing opportunities they present.

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Here's a simple example of a QR Code....

It looks like a box of small, random, black and white squares!

And that's exactly what it is apart from the "random" bit. That little grid of squares can hold up to 7,000 characters. When that data is combined with a smartphone, a barcode reader app (free) and a web connection - a whole new world of marketing opportunities appear.

I also talked about how the 30% error correction inherent in QR Codes - and yes I know how techy that sounds - not only makes it incredibly robust but also allows creative and innovative designs.

Shape the corners, add colour, add images, warp the shape, incorporate logos and icons.

  My personal favourite is still Time magazine.........












There are some pitfalls to watch out for when implementing QR Codes as part of a marketing campaign, e.g. remember the size of a smartphone screen when building those web landing pages.

My talk was part of a wider integrated marketing communications seminar I organised along with my work colleagues at Elevate Digital and our partners at Xerox, Royal Mail, fatBuzz and XMPie.

Full houses and 9/10 feedback.

A good week all round.

Integrated Marketing Communications Seminar – Final Days

Making all the final preparations for the 3 half day seminars I’m running next week.

The theme is the effectiveness of integrated marketing communications mixing print, post, email, mobile and web.

Speakers include Royal Mail, XMPie, fatBuzz, Xerox and of course Elevate Digital. All industry experts in cross media, multi-channel and social media communications.

My bit is QR Codes but at the moment I'm up to my eyes in invites, brochures, presentations, badges and caterers. I’m even arranging a video!

So a short blog this week but I’ll post an update on how things went next week.

Ah well back to the preparations....

Print on Demand and Web2Print Services - what are they and why should you consider using them?

Imagine a company orders a large volume of the same document.

The document is produced, stored in a warehouse and then re-ordered through a “pick and pack” delivery service to a location of their choice.

The document could be any type of publication e.g. reports, brochures, leaflets, etc.

Why order a large volume? Because the prevailing thought is it’s “cheap”.

But then something changes and the document falls out of date – new legislation, change of phone number, change of staff, outlet closure, new outlet opens.

What happens to the stored stock? Disposed of as waste (hopefully recycled) and a new order of “cheap” stock is made. And so the cycle continues.

Enter Print on Demand and Web2Print services which are both on-line print ordering solutions - normally with a modern digital printer attached.

You upload your document in a “print ready” electronic format (often PDF) and then order only the volume you need and get it delivered to where you want.

If a change to the document is needed you could change the document on-line and create a new version or create a new version off-line and upload it.

Again you only order what you need but now you are using the new updated version. No waste and you only pay for what you want, when you need it.

More efficient, more streamlined, faster and definitely greener. And if you go to the right supplier and it can be reasonably “cheap” too.

Sounds a pretty good idea doesn’t it?

Artificial Intelligence at the Edinburgh Business Banter?

There was quite a buzz at the weekly network meeting. The numbers are up slightly and there is plenty of enthusiasm from all. Hats off to Kallum Russel of Codeus for his new business card - although it’s still missing a QR code.

Good discussion with Kallum about Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s interesting that most people associate the technology with robotic machines and figures. But of course it is any software/technology that can learn from experience and make internal corrections and changes independent of human intervention. One example with Codeus is automatic email content identification – the forwarding of emails to suitable individuals or departments based on its content.

I might just get Kallum to write a short bit on that for my blog.

But now I’m off to get my gall bladder out (ouch!). See you all in a week(ish).

QR Code on a Business Card

Got into a discussion with some business colleagues about business cards and whether they should have details printed on both sides – minimal information or packed with information.

I suggested placing a QR barcode on the reverse.

The QR code, via a smart phone capture, would link the reader straight to a web landing page for the company, product or service.

It’s a great way to engage directly with a customer, inform them of your services and, if designed correctly, capture their contact details all at the same time.

What’s a QR code? I’ll be putting out another post on that soon.

But if you can’t wait just contact me for more info: graeme.golden@elevateyou.co.uk.

QR (Quick Response) Code

Just completed an interesting project with an Edinburgh client using QR codes on a personalised mailing.

Scanning the code with a smartphone directs the recipient straight to a personalised landing page with a freebie offer....we’re starting to see more of these!

Glasgow Business Banter

Talking with the ever friendly people at the Glasgow business banter this morning I definitely got the feeling that things are picking up.

Business owners were talking about the new customer enquiries and different job requests they’re receiving.

I’ve seen this at Elevate Digital with an increase in the number of companies asking us for advice on document projects - especially on cross-media applications.

Hopefully this is a good sign for all UK businesses.

Happy Birthday to Me!

A full morning in the office then visited my social media mates fatBuzz in Glasgow to go through preparation for the Integrated Marketing Communications seminar.

Somewhere in between I demolished most of the birthday cake in the office (thanks Elaine) and got embarrassed by the in-house produced birthday card (excellent quality) somehow showing me as Borat wearing a lime green mankini on the beach!

Back to normality tomorrow – older & wiser?

Scottish Home Awards 2011

Elevate Digital sponsored the Small Housebuilder Of The Year Award at the recent Scottish Home Awards in Edinburgh.

The winner was the leading Scottish housebuilder Mactaggart & Mickel, who also went on to win the Housebuilder Of The Year Award.

I presented the award in front of 500 people.

And when did I find out I was presenting the award? About 5 minutes before the event started…..never a dull moment with our CE Jim Rae!

The Power of Social Media for Business

The statistics for Facebook are staggering. There are 365m Facebook users worldwide and 39m users in the UK alone.

Let’s assume that on average each Facebook user has 150 friends.

You post an interesting message or offer about your product/brand on Facebook. For every user who “Likes” your message then another 150 users see that recommendation. For every one of them who “Like” your message another 150 become engaged. You can see how quickly interest in a subject can grow – crossing all borders.

Your message/offer may have a limited lifespan but the trick is to keep developing new ideas. If there is no better way to grow business than word of mouth then Facebook has to be the biggest mouth around!

Glasgow Business Banter

Had an interesting conversation at today’s network meeting on how clients often believe their particular business problems are unique. And the great lengths (and long hours) they go to create a solution. This can be true for individuals or whole departments - or even a complete company.

But when they share their problem(s) with a 3rd party business solution provider they often find the problem is fairly common and a solution is already available. It might need a few tweeks to customise things but certainly no need to re-invite the wheel.

Perhaps it’s the challenge and satisfaction of solving a problem yourself (which I can understand because it is part of the learning process) or the belief that a 3rd party supplier is an additional and unnecessary cost.

In these financial times I suggest that companies should concentrate on core business services and wherever feasible look to outsource their non-core activities.

Edinburgh Business Banter

Only two weeks ago it looked like the Edinburgh “Business Banter” weekly network was going to close. While the Glasgow network keeps growing and growing the Edinburgh event seem to be falling away.

So it’s good to see a core of stalwart members determined to revive the group and keep the networking event alive.

I did my bit at 8.30 this morning and mingled with HSBC, Payment Sense, National Library of Scotland, P3 Leadership and Own Your Life. I can think of worse ways to start the business day!

Integrated Marketing Communications Seminar

I met with Royal Mail today to discuss content for their presentation at the Integrated Communications Seminar.

I know I am bias, having worked for the Royal Mail for a number of years, but they are a quality organisation and wonderful to work with. They are also a great source for cross media research & presentation materials.

I'm looking forward to running the seminar and after today’s meeting even more confident of its success.

Integrated Marketing Communications Seminar

Working on the IMC seminar I'm running in Edinburgh and I’ve nearly finalised things.

Elevate Digital, Xerox and Royal Mail are all presenting at the event and I’m hoping to confirm another speaker next week.

I posted a message on LinkedIn to assess interest/numbers and the response was incredible. It looks like we may have to run a number of seminars although I’m considering doing a webcast for those that can’t make it.

The main target audience are marketing professionals from any sector. Ideal delegates are probably manager’s who are knowledgeable of print/post/direct mail channel marketing and want to know how they can utilise electronic (mobile, email, web) channels – or vice versa.

The overriding theme will be that in today’s market cross media communications can be the most cost effective solution and achieve the highest impact. New electronic and traditional physical channels complementing each other. The trick is getting the right mix!.

Glasgow Business Banter

I was at the Business Banter network meeting in Glasgow this morning. Quite impressive.

Very informal, very friendly and very busy. Most interesting conversation was how Glasgow managed to finish the M74 extension under budget while the Edinburgh Tram project is on then off then on and already £700m over budget.

I’m going back next week. Might talk about Greece!