The Baltimore Police Department recently utilized variable data printing in its direct mail campaign to fight crime. They sent personalized letters to the owners of certain kinds of Hondas that were being hit by thieves more frequently than others. In these letters, the police reminded the people of safety precautions to take to protect their cars, like parking in well-lit areas and locking doors.
“We’re trying to get the message out and make their cars a little more difficult to steal,” Lt. Daniel Kaliszak told a reporter. Kaliszak is in charge of the BCPD’s Regional Auto Theft Task Force. They identified 1994 Honda Civics and 1991 Accords as two of the top ten most frequently stolen passenger vehicles.
The campaign has resulted in an astonishing 38-percent reduction in thefts of those cars.
According to the Baltimore Sun, this campaign is the BCPD’s “first foray into the direct-marketing approach to crime prevention.” The police are sending out 13,000 direct mail letters to Baltimore residents who own Civics and/or Accords built between 1990 and 2000.
We all want to have people know and remember our name. But what about in direct mail? Imagine how effective your marketing campaign could be if every piece of mail was personalized with a customer’s name and company in the ad itself?
Welcome to the world of Variable Data Printing (VDP), one of the most affordable and effective marketing tools available. Here at Fish Direct Mail, our digital technology allows us to customize your direct mail so that you can address each of your customers by name and make them feel recognized. People are more likely to read mail addressed to them personally, and a targeted marketing message is a compelling marketing message.
Personalized printing can be a simple as using the recipient’s name or as complex as a coupon based on purchase history. You can alter text or graphics to reflect the reader’s interests using your existing database without slowing the printing process.
WHY VDP?
- Connect with your audience
- Improve your chances of a direct response
- Eliminate waste and reduce your production costs
- Increase your return on direct mail marketing investments
FishDirectMail.com is on the forefront of digital printing technology and your account representative knows the benefits of this one-to-one marketing strategy for you. Give us call today to find out more!
There are several reputable direct mail companies that offer turnkey services similar to FishDirectMail.com. One of the largest is AmazingMail.com. In this video we look at how FishDirectMail.com is a much better fit for customers doing mailings of more than 400 postcards.
Rob and Daniel review the basic preparation you need to take prior to placing your order with FishDirectMail.com including selecting your piece (postcard or self mailer), picking your mailing list and designing your piece.
We’re seeing lots of questions on blogs, tweets and mainstream media reports about how the current economic downturn is going to impact marketing. The impact on our daily newspapers in virtually every major market in America has been well documented. (According to eMarketer, US newspaper ad revenues are expected to drop 42.5% in the next seven years.) Marketing budgets are being slashed, yet the pressure to increase revenue is only more intense and marketing executives are feeling the heat.
Marketing Sherpa has put together a great overview that analyzes how marketing departments across the country are dealing with the challenges of marketing during an economic downturn. 30% of those surveyed reported that they plan to increase direct marketing investments as a result of the current economic conditions, including specific increases in direct mail, event marketing and telemarketing. As one survey respondent said, “Heavier investing in direct mail and online is working well since many competitors are reducing marketing investments, and our collective share of voice is increasing our sales”.
Traditional media, on the other hand, is not going to fare as well. 59% of respondents reported a planned decrease in budgets for TV and radio while 44% plan a print advertising decrease.
If you are looking for more measurable marketing options, direct mail is a great way to target former customers and those prospects who are most likely to become new customers.
FishDirectMail.com is currently helping our customers explore building lists of new prospects based on analysis of current customer databases. We’re also helping customers explore personalized message targeting utilizing variable printing and PURLs to differentiate from the competition and increase ROI tracking and measurement.
Even the most optimistic economist doesn’t see things changing drastically for the better for at least 9 months – can you afford to wait on the sideline?
We’re pleased to announce the addition of David Kling as Print Services Manager to our team at FishDirectMail.com. David joins us with extensive experience in the printing world, including stints with Kodak and Heidelberg and a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta.
You might think that the new report that direct mail offers from financial services companies fell by at least 25% in 2008 would be bad news for the direct marketing industry. But on the contrary, we at FishDirectMail.com feel that this actually increases the opportunity for our clients to increase their ROI when using direct mail.
Direct mail from financial services companies makes up an estimated 86% of all direct mail in the United States. The fact that they cut 3.6 billion (that’s billion with a B!) pieces of direct mail from their budget in 2008 means that the average US household received less direct mail. When your postcard has less competition in the mailbox, the odds of making an impression goes up drastically.
So while Chase and Citibank are cutting over 50% of their mailing budget, this is a great opportunity for you to increase your direct mailing efforts and grow your business as a result.
FishDirectMail.com is based in Dallas, Texas, which may make some of you wonder how a company based in Texas can quickly deliver mail all over the country. Rob and Scott discuss how we use a logistics partner to drop ship mail directly to your local Bulk Mail Center (BMC) so that your mail goes out faster than if you sent it out using a local direct mail shop.
Introducing our newest press, the HP Indigo 5500. Rob and Russell discuss the additional capacity gained as a result of the new press and the benefit to our customers. Get your instant quote today at FishDirectMail.com.
We started FishDirectMail.com last year with one goal in mind – to simplify the business of direct mail and help our customers build their businesses as a result. And to do this, we felt that it was important that we excel in a few particular areas. As a result, everything we do at FishDirectMail.com is focused on three key benefits for our customers. Easy. Fast. Affordable.
We hope that you experience these three benefits when you work with us, and we look forward to your suggestions on ways that we can improve.
