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Prettiest mail of all? Why ugly direct mail is effective
While investing in creative colors and unique design for marketing campaigns can make the brand stand out, sometimes plain direct mail is more effective for driving sales and boosting customer engagement. One of the main objectives for direct mail marketers is simply to get the consumer to open the material. But if companies focus on just developing marketing pieces that are beautiful to look at, content can be lost in the process - and content should be the priority. Companies that utilize bulk mail software can save even more money by sending plain direct mail in bulk.
Sometimes ugly works
Consumers are bombarded with advertising materials everyday, so naturally direct mail marketers have sought out methods for getting the customer's attention. But even the prettiest pieces can be trashed. Campaigns that are designed using the basic business letter format can often produce higher response rates compared to their more artistic counterparts. A big reason for this is because plain direct mail lets the content speak to the customer. Since content does most of the work, consumers are better able to understand why they should purchase products or services.
Denny Hatch of Target Marketing magazine suggests direct mail marketers facing low sales to think ugly to get back on track. According to Hatch, neatness can be boring, but if marketers lay out plain mail with a strong call to action and zeros in on how the reader's eyes dart across the page, ugly direct mail campaigns can produce significant results.
Blogger Steve Thomas of Oneicity, a professional services firm, agrees with Hatch and reminds marketers that while colors may help pieces stand out, they often clash with the brand's logo instead of looking sleek and polished. Thomas recommends marketers think of designing materials that look professional by avoiding unusual fonts and teasers, which can create the wrong impression for the customer.
One of the main reasons simply composed direct mail generates revenue is because it is different than other marketing campaigns. Artistic innovation is all over the place, while the traditional approach with neat lines has become a rarity. Using a clean design is often more effective because, as Dean Rieck of Direct Creative Blog points out, the format simply asks the consumer to buy a product or service.
While creative layouts have proven to hook readers and drive sales, direct mail marketers may want to consider bringing back a plain format where the content should speak.
