We tell our customers all the time how personalized direct mail combined with PURLS (personalized URLs) can greatly increase their response rates. But, each time we get more data that backs up that statement, we like to share it! People like proof.
Recently this article was posted at PrintJunkie.net. (YES, there is a website for those addicted to print. The first step is admitting you have a problem.)
When you're done reading it, you'll say to yourself, "Can Heritage help me do all that? " The answer is, YES! Yes we can!
A recent article highlighted a prominent Midwest university who successfully deployed direct mail with a PURL to appeal to honors students as part of an admissions campaign. An A/B split test was conducted to research the affect of utilizing variable data printing in a marketing campaign.
Variable data printing tailored the direct mail postcard to the individual student’s interest in major, gender and whether or not they had visited the campus. Images and text were aligned to reflect the individual’s data. The PURL directed the students to a personalized landing page. For the other students, the Midwest university sent a more general mailing.
The university reported a 32% increase in student enrollment in 2010 over the prior year. 91% of those who registered were recipients of the PURL campaign. The use of a more focused mailer resulted in a 29% savings in printing costs.
“It’s all about making it relevant versus having high volume.”
At the same time, a non-profit organization used a personalized postcard and PURL to appeal to donors as part of their annual giving campaign. It reported that their normal donation rate is 2% to 3%. This campaign returned a 14% donation rate. “This is a bit more expensive, but it drove more conversions.”
“The trend is toward more efficiency and figuring out a multichannel approach with a much more layered cadence of communications.”
As online marketing becomes more saturated, innovations in printing and production are driving more marketers to use traditional channels to drive multichannel efforts.
How are you using direct mail in your multichannel marketing mix?