Lobcast Podcast: Deconstructing Direct Mail & Dessert Manhattans

STEPHANIE: Hello, and welcome to the Lobcast Podcast: Mixers and Marketing. I'm Stephanie Donelson, your hostess with the marketing mostess, and I'm thrilled to be joined with my senior director of content Kim Courvoisier. Kim, do you mind introducing yourself to any new listeners we might have out there?

KIM: Sure, Stephanie. So as you said, I'm Kim Courvoisier. I'm the senior director of content marketing here at Lob, and I love to chat on everything digital and direct mail. So thanks for having me.

STEPHANIE: Well, thank you for joining us. And listeners, if you wanna make the complimentary cocktail that goes with this episode, which is a dessert Manhattan, you're going to need one and a half ounces of chocolate cherry liqueur, One ounce of bourbon and ice. So it's a very simple cocktail. You're gonna add ice to your rocks glass, add the chocolate cherry liqueur and bourbon, and stir gently. So cheers, and welcome back to the show, Kim.

KIM: Cheers. Pardon me for having mine in a coupe glass. I'm breaking too, but it still tastes delicious.

STEPHANIE: I feel like with some drinks, it really does not matter. I know, like, wine experts are like, no, the glass makes the difference, but does it?

KIM: We'll test it and see.

STEPHANIE: Alright. Well, today, we're gonna be shaking things up a bit, and we're actually gonna be deconstructing some direct mail campaigns. Kim, you were just on our last Lobcast Podcast where we discussed the key findings from the 2023 State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights report. But today I was thinking we could shift gears and actually discuss real life marketing campaigns that are most likely to succeed based on what we've learned from our consumer survey. So we're gonna focus this podcast episode on deconstructing direct mail that focuses on driving action personalization, and sustainability. How does that sound to you?

KIM: That sounds awesome. And I like the little double entendre there. The pun was shaking things up. I think that might a cocktail reference. So I'm ready. Let's do it.

STEPHANIE: You know me. You know that was a cocktail reference. Alright. So kicking us off, let's talk about driving action. Our 2023 State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights report shows that sixty four percent of consumers say that direct mail has inspired them to take action, including exploring websites and reviews or making a purchase. We also found that sixty five percent say an offer or promotion caught their attention. So let's take a closer look at brands that are creating compelling offers and making it super easy to take action and maybe discuss some things that they could be doing a little bit better. So Kim, if you don't mind, I'm gonna kick us off with an example of a mailer I got from Chase, and they immediately start off by saying, you know, you qualify for a special offer. They know what's up. They know how to get my attention. So then we go down and congratulations. You qualify for this special opportunity on one of your credit card. So they have the three little blocks that easily tell me all the major benefits of taking advantage of this offer. When I have to take action on it, and then they even list out the benefits even further. So I do like that they're that they're trying to get my attention right away by telling me that they have an offer for me and then just going straight into what it is. And then on the second page of the letter, they make it super easy to take action. They've got a QR code. They've got phone number I can call. I can go onto the website, log in to my account, and it'll pop up right there super easy for me to take action. And again, they're doing a great job of catching my attention with the offer right on the mailer. And I also think it's very interesting that they're using a letter format which, I guess, shouldn't be that interesting since you and I both know financial services do really well with letter formats. Again, it came at a plain white envelope. It got my attention. Why is Chase sending me a letter? Typically, it's something I need to pay attention to, or it's a special offer that they know I'm going to want to act on.

KIM: Yeah. There's also a lot of great, financial services insights in that state of direct mail, the OUS QR code for on your background. There's a whole section on that talking about which formats work and you're spot on with the letter format. So, yeah, I think they did a great job there. Are you already Chase customer, or is that more like a new customer acquisition?

I'm already a customer. They know what's because it was, specifically tied to one of the credit cards that I have through them.

KIM: Gotcha. So it's more of a retention tactic.

STEPHANIE: Yep. Oh, yeah. Kind of like that pre-approval and introducing me to other service lines.

KIM: Upsell cross sell.

STEPHANIE: Yep.

KIM: Awesome. Good job, Chase. We'll give them a clap. So would you rate that out of ten?

STEPHANIE: I would say I I think the letter works. I would give them either a seven or an eight, but I'm also a hard grader. But...

KIM: I know you are.

STEPHANIE: I think they had an opportunity to add just a little bit more personalization. They have so much data about me since I have accounts with them, credit cards with them, they could have pulled in being like, hey, it looks like you've been spending a lot on travel. Here is why this card is probably a really good fit for you because of these special perks or, hey, we saw you spent this much that could have translated into this amount of points in this new system, just really personalizing it because, again, while they do I do like they're using up the color blocks to get my attention. Had they specifically been like, "Hey, Stephanie, here's why you need this card because of your current spending habits." I'd be a lot more tempted to follow through and potentially take them up on their offer.

KIM: Imagine if they followed that piece with a postcard that had, like, a picture of Greece on it, where I know you just returned from vacation, and I was like, wanna get away? You know, and your next vacation wait. You know?

STEPHANIE: We saw you buying a lot of pretty good at Greek wine. Like, do you wanna go back and do that sooner rather than later?

KIM: That would be a nice touch point. Right? So I love that.

STEPHANIE: That would be a nice touch point. Alright. I've got one more example that I wanna share, and then I'll kick it over to you.

KIM: Sure.

STEPHANIE: So this is a self-mailer that we got from system pavers, and the thing that I really love about them is right on the front. Save up to eighty six hundred dollars on your next outdoor remodel. Then on the back, save today with free demolitions. So they keep repeating the idea of savings on this, even on the front web, save up to eighty six hundred dollars. It's an immediate I can immediately understand exactly what I'm going to get when I take action on this mailer. I know how much I could potentially save. Now that's I'm not saying I'm definitely going to save that. It's the up to. But I already know that this is gonna be an expensive project because my husband and I are going to be redoing our backyard. This is very timely, especially since this this mailer is a little bit older. It came right after we moved into our house, so they knew exactly what's up. We were new.

KIM: And you saved it all this time.

STEPHANIE: Oh, yeah.

KIM: Nice.

STEPHANIE: Like, their work looks beautiful. We they have social proof on there with like a four star rating. And then again, I also I guess I just really like kind of the three bullet points. I feel it's very clean. I can quickly scan this. I understand what I'm getting, and they're also pointing out other benefits of taking advantage of this offer with an unmatched warranty, zero percent financing, and full service management of the design project. So I just really love

KIM: Sorry.

STEPHANIE: I'm just gonna I think it's a yeah. It's a really great piece that again, the only thing I would recommend that they could have done a little bit better is again personalizing it. You and I have talked with some of our customers who talk about, you know, using variable data and they could have easily pulled in being like, hey, here's some work we've done in your neighborhood or your town. Check out these houses. We've worked on houses like yours before, or, you know, we know all the regulations in Blah County that I live in. This would have probably helped speed the deal a little bit faster just because I would know that, oh, okay, they're, you know, local, they know what they're doing here. But, obviously, we've kept it, so we're still interested.

KIM: Yeah. As I say, I love a couple things too. A, I like the image on the front because it makes you sort of imagine being in that space, right, and, like, this really beautiful backyard. During the pandemic everybody went into, like, let's fix up our spaces because now we're home so much. We're kind of getting out of that obviously now, but still now everybody has nice areas and they wanna stay around. I love the QR code, and that's gonna take me into my section because I'm a big QR fan early. And I love that you kept it. That says a lot. Right? Because in our State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights, we also found that, you know, seventy one percent of people read direct mail, almost immediately, or the same day they bring it to their residence, and then typically keep it for about two days.  

STEPHANIE: But this has been on there a lot longer.

KIM: Exactly. Because it it's also something physical that you can save. Right? If that was an email, it would probably get very lost in your your inbox. Right? And, yes, you can go and search it. But, this is a physical reminder, and I love that you have that. Cool.

STEPHANIE: Yeah. No. We've definitely hung on to this one. And again, I think for me, just that offer or promotion caught my attention. I see the dollar amount and that I can immediately understand how this offer is going to benefit me. That makes it much easier to hold on to it. Because even though, obviously, we've missed the deadline for this specific promo, we know they're gonna have another one so we can contact them, say, hey, what are some of the current offers that you're running? Because again, we've kept it. We're obviously interested in them. I know what I'm getting from their service.

KIM: Send them this recording.

STEPHANIE: Good job, guys. Whoever pay per listen to our podcast.

KIM: That's awesome. Alright. Ready for me?

STEPHANIE: Yep.

KIM: Okay. My first example is from a company called O Positive, and they sell, like, vitamins and supplements, and I'm a big health junky. And so I had ordered some of their supplements on Amazon, interestingly enough. And I got this little postcard. It's a smaller sized postcard format and it's actually offering me twenty five percent off my next Amazon order. I've actually never received an offer like this, so I thought that was really interesting. And, it shows their whole array of supplements on here, and then it has a really easy to take action on QR code there. And then same thing, they reiterate the offer on the back. They have a fee female over here. Sorry. I'm female. So that's that imagery resonates with me. You know, and at the top, it says thanks for being a O Positive customer. So this is a really nice retention campaign getting me to be a repeat buyer, I'm absolutely gonna take advantage of this offer. I've actually had it now a couple of weeks. As a reminder, when I do need to reorder, it's right here on my desk, like, ready to go. So I think that was super cool. What they could have done better was obviously maybe include my first name, something like that, or, I would say maybe, like, remind me of what I bought, but I know.

And I like, actually, instead of that, that they have their whole array because I'm like, maybe I didn't know they had all the other things.

STEPHANIE: Yep.

KIM: And I'm like, oh, maybe I'll try that out. So they too.

STEPHANIE: I was just gonna say they are actually sending you back Amazon because they're taking your preferences into account. They understand that you prefer shopping through Amazon to get introduced to their brand, and instead of trying to be, come to our website. They're like, we already know you enjoy shopping through Amazon, so let's meet you where you're at. Here's a coupon code so you continue shopping where you want to, but also getting a discount from us.

KIM: Absolutely. And I actually did that, like, kind of process where I went to their website, then I'm like, oh, let me see if they have it on Amazon so I can use my Prime. And did all of that. So, yeah, they're it's it's smart. So the second one is a little bit different. It's from a a fund that I'm invested in called Sweater, Sweater Cashmere fund, kind of a fun name. But they sent me a a postcard, a direct mail postcard, to check out, like, the portfolio and get access to it. And so making it really easy to access, you know, the report by scanning this QR code over here. And so I just thought that was a little bit different. Like, typically you would get this in maybe a letter, right, in an envelope, but It doesn't have any information. It just shows here the QR code. It also has, you know, sweater venture score slash cashmere fund. And also has the the sport and the the one eight hundred number so I could access that as well. So, just quick and easy. And just a little bit different. It was an unexpected format. Any thoughts there?

STEPHANIE: No. I really like that. And I again, I agree. I think it's kind of that nice little, like, tease. It's not the envelope. It's not something you have to open. Like, if you're that interested, you can quickly scan the QR code.

KIM: And they also send this to me in email as well, but I like a additional touch point because, again, so many things just get lost in my inbox. So I like, again, this physical reminder. This is also sitting on my desk so that I can take a look at that when I have some spare time.

STEPHANIE: Yep.

KIM: Okay. Last but not least, you know, I have a little dog named Teddy, and, he's getting old kind of like me. And so I'm looking for some new food options for Teddy. And I went online and I checked out the Farmer's Dog. And they have this cool little quiz where I filled in all these things, my dog's name, how old he is, how many pounds he is, activity levels. Etcetera, etcetera. Lo and behold, I got a direct mail postcard that offers fifty percent off. You know, and it talks about that this dog food, it says, you know, not you shouldn't be giving Teddy these terrible little dry ground bits. You know, this is better for him and offering me fifty percent off my first box. Whoa, I just disappeared crazy. On the back, it also has a really simple to use, you know, QR code. Again, So we're seeing QR codes everywhere. On both examples, you showed, it had them as well. So, you know, people like them. We said in the survey on consumer insights that thirty nine percent of consumers are likely to scan my QR code. And that number actually shoots up if you're in a younger age demographic, and I'll talk about that a little bit more, as we go down into our personalization options. So, QR code just make it super super easy for people to take action, which is what we're talking about. So I liked all of these.

STEPHANIE: Yeah. Well, that actually makes me think. I have an example that I actually feel they could have done a little bit better, especially looking at some of the results that we've seen. So it's a postcard from Tommy John. And it was around Christmas time.

KIM: Oh.

STEPHANIE: But so they have they're really pushing the QR code on the front and scan for our best holiday offers. What are your holiday offers? Like, can you give me a clue? Is it a dollar amount it a percentage off? Is it free shipping if I buy, you know, three holiday sets? And even on the back, like, I just shop our gift guide.

KIM: Keeping it really vague could make you feel like what it is. Yeah.

STEPHANIE: Yeah. Which almost to me, I'm like, if I don't know what I'm getting in, like, I'm not gonna in my time typing in your URL or opening my phone to scan your QR code.

KIM: The mystery thing doesn't work on you.

STEPHANIE: The mystery did not work. Or at least for this, man, because again, I'm like, But but what is it? Like, what what am I getting out of this one? So this is one area that while their mailers are beautiful, they've got great images, They've got really clever text on it. Like, give me give me a sneak. Like, tell me what I'm going to be saving. Cause if it was like, at least, like, twenty five percent off holiday sets, like, okay, I'll go check those out. But if it's just shop our gift guide. Why?

KIM: Yeah. Falls a little flat.

STEPHANIE: What's in it for me?

KIM:  On this one. That's what I would say too. I gave them so much data. Like, they know everything about Teddy at this point. And none of that was included here. You know, it could have had a lot more information about Teddy on here. And, unfortunately, that he was not mentioned. So poor Teddy.

STEPHANIE: They want him...

KIM: We're all learning and testing and, you know, trying different things and It's just an additional way they could have personalized that. But all in all, I think all of these examples show show great things that people are doing with their direct mail marketing campaigns.

STEPHANIE: Oh, definitely. I mean, we kept him for a reason.

KIM: Right? Right.

STEPHANIE: Exactly.

KIM: What's our next category? I like this.

STEPHANIE: Alright. So you teed me up pretty nicely. So we're gonna be talking about personalization. Personalization continues to be a key element for marketing success in direct mail. According to our 2023 State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights report, sixty eight percent of consumers are more likely to engage with a message communication from brands that are personalized to them. So we already kinda talked about your Teddy example, but let's look for a film and see how these brands did in the personalization category. So first up, I actually have a customer acquisition, another letter. This one from the security company ADT. And one thing that I did like is they use my name everywhere, which normally, like, when that first became the thing in email, like everything you opened, it was, like, Hey, Stephanie. Hey, Stephanie. Hey, Stephanie. Did you check this out? People are doing that now in direct mail, but I also think it is a very easy tactic to get my attention because we are more likely to look for our names. We are more likely than to read what text is around that, and you don't often see that as much in direct mail. Again, email has become very saturated but I think it could potentially be a really good tactic, especially on a letter format where I'm gonna be scanning down the page. The other thing that I liked about them is kind of going back to our first point. So they talk about that I've been chosen for an offer. Again, okay, tell me more about your offer. I'm more likely to take a look at it, but then they really did do some good personalization. So I'm not a current customer of theirs. They don't know me. But dear Stephanie, and then they talk about keeping security at the top of my mind in my neighborhood in Broomfield where I live. I was like, oh, okay. Like, I know exactly what you're doing. You're popping those variables in, but it's still just an easy way to tell me that at least you're paying attention to where I live. Like, it wasn't just like, in your neighborhood. What neighborhood? Like, do you know my specific neighborhood? So I do appreciate that. Yeah. They put that in there. And I also really like so you don't typically see these outside of financial services or insurance, but they had a buckslip in there. And it's, you know, a handwritten note to me that is telling me the number to call, telling me reminding me that I can save up to thirty percent, and when the offer ends, it's just a really nice little catch all of here's your offer. We're talking to you. Here's how you take advantage. So I just thought that was a real good example.

KIM: We could do a whole episode on buckslips and just like because they're kinda like this little hidden secret. A little surprise. I got a little ticket, you know. I think of, like, Willy Wonka with a, like, golden ticket inside.

STEPHANIE: They really are because, like, I would be a lot more likely to just put this on my fridge than the entire letter, and so they're really using their real estate well since these are so easy to add on. And insert into your mailing without incurring extra cost?

KIM: I think there's some really interesting things happening here. Right? I'm laughing because I'm wearing my personalized necklace. And as as we're about personalization because that's my name on it. But, I'm wondering if there's an element of psychology involved in this as well because this is talking about security. And your personal security. So they're using your name. Right?

STEPHANIE: Yep.

KIM: And so kind of sprinkling that in. And then, also, you're not a customer. And so we talk about direct mail being an excellent way to build relationship, right? And consumers have raised their hand and said, I I prefer direct mail for companies I don't know to to build a relationship with me. And so when you're just meeting someone, what do you do? You introduce yourself and you get their name, right? Hi. I'm Kim. What's your name? Oh, well, you're Stephanie. Nice to meet you. Right? So so that's exactly what's happening there. So well done. Good job, ADT.

STEPHANIE: They did do a good job. And plus the rest of their letter is just nicely formatted. There's enough white space that the copy can breathe. I can scan through it. They also utilize apparently my favorite thing in the world, which is the three callout sections down the side to explain the benefits of it.

KIM: Good, better, best.

STEPHANIE: Rule of Three works for me. Alright. I have one other example I want to talk about. So it's a postcard from my Meineke where I get my oil changed. And again, they're using their personalization variables. They're saying, hi, Stephanie. And then it looks like your Hyundai Santa Fe is due for an oil change. So they're using their customer data to target me based on when I got my last service they're putting in which car I have because who knows? Maybe I have three cars that I take to this place, and they're making sure that I know which one instead of getting a looks like your vehicles do for service, but which one? And what service? So I really think, again, it's very simple. Like it's just Hey, hi. Your car, but then they've also got their coupons and their offers so I can look through it. And I already know I'm due for the service. I might as well take advantage of the offers they're sending me. It's personalized and it's very timely and relevant.

KIM: So I think we're gonna have to go head to head, Valvoline versus Meineke because I'm such a fan girl of Valvoline. I go to them, like, legislatively. I love their emails. I love their mailers. But the same thing. Right? They do this so well where they remind you of your mileage and And that's why they collect all that when you go on-site. You go to their physical location.

STEPHANIE: Right?

KIM: But they're not just keeping that data in their computer. So when you come back, they're actually feeding that data and powering it with their direct mail. Right? So we talk about data and busting data out of silos. And being able to use it, in your direct mail, in your email, in all of your marketing touch points. So that's a great example of that. And I love the the other offers that you showed at the bottom.

STEPHANIE: Mhmm.

KIM: Because they're not just like, hey. Come in. Get your oil change and get out. They're like, oh, while you're here, we could change air filter, you know, we can check your alignment, like, all that stuff. They always try to upsell me on, and they're like, it's safer. And I'm like, okay. I'll buy everything. So, yeah, there's that.

STEPHANIE: Whereas I go in and I'm like, I drive my car once a week and I drive it, like, twenty miles. I'm I'm okay if my car is not safe.

KIM: Oh god. Don't say that.

STEPHANIE: Alright. What examples do you have for us, Kim?

KIM: Okay. I'm gonna keep it really simple. In my family, we have a a a teenager who's on a college hunt. And so we are getting a lot of mailings from, upper higher education. And I thought this was a really unique example. It's from the University of Chicago, and they have this really unique kind of font that they're using. And this was a direct mail postcard. And, it's about financial aid because University of Chicago is not inexpensive. None of them really are, but what I thought was so cool is that they personalized the front with the name in the super cool font, and, you know, I just thought that was so unique. It stood out, like, the minute we saw it in the mailbox. We were like, what? Also, if you have a unique name, you don't see it on things very often, and this name is quite unique. So I just thought this really caught our eye, caught our attention But one thing that you see missing here, there's a lot of copy. It it's pretty tiny, but there's not a great way to take action.

STEPHANIE: Oh!

KIM: And I thought, you know, if they had put a QR code on here to quickly scan and go right to, like, the financial aid page, would have been more effective in that QR codes are about fifty one percent of consumers in the age bucket of eighteen to thirty four. Exact sweet thought would be taking advantage of this postcard. Right? Will scan a QR code. Right? And even though maybe the parents are the ones that ultimately are gonna take action on this. And that that's not always the case. Right? Sometimes that the kid has to be like, hey, mom, dad, check it outside that. Having a QR code would have made this, way more effective but super, like, props University of Chicago because this is super well done. And then, not on the personalization front, but just another college mailing that we got that, you know, little self mailer. It has all different panels kind of giving all the benefits of going to SMU, which is in Dallas, and they definitely did incorporate, QR code. Sorry. It's a little blur there. QR codes all throughout, and, just made it very, like, picture yourself here, which I thought was well done. So if I could take the two of those and marry them up, they'd be fantastic. So, we also got a big glossy catalog from NYU, which was beautiful, like a magazine. Which is a very, as we saw from State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights, a very popular format, right, catalogs and magazines because they're so consumable. They're colorful. They're glossy. Actually, I can hold it up. Really pretty. Right? But, like, throughout this whole thing, not a QR code, not a URL. So it really is more of a just like I feel like more brand awareness kind of thing.

STEPHANIE: Yeah.

KIM: Not so much. But it comes from the admissions office. So interesting. But maybe this is just more of, like, half a funnel, let's establish a relationship with this perspective student and see where we go. But it's a lot of variety out there.

STEPHANIE: Yeah. I mean, that is very interesting with the University of Chicago example.

KIM: Yeah.

STEPHANIE: How are you measuring the results of this mailer? Like, wouldn't you want, yeah, wouldn't you want to send them to a landing page? That's designed for them. Because even that, you could do, like, personalization based on, like, the UTM parameters that are involved in that string. It could've been, hey, Poppy. Here's how you afford to go here. Like Yeah.

KIM: Yeah. They've done a lot. We've received a lot of mail from them, kind of the full gamut of formats. We even got this really cool map of Chicago, all kinds. So there's a very long, kind of, like, trail of, of touch points in their direct mail campaign. So this is just one piece of that. But it'd be interesting if for us to actually do an episode in the future where we look at all the kind of different lines and look at the different formats used throughout. So

STEPHANIE: Oh, yeah. Well, I'm even thinking, again, just the personalization because I really do, like, that artwork, it's custom, I mean, like, obviously, we know behind the scenes how they're inserting some of that, dynamic content but it does just open the door that that is very personal to her because again, going back to, like, my Meineke example, if they had a photo of my make and model, on there, like, driving to the Meineke. Like, again, that's gonna catch my attention because I'm like, that that's my car. Like, where's it going? What am I?

KIM: I thought you're gonna say they're gonna spell your name in, like, motor oil.

STEPHANIE: I mean, I have a long name. That would be very interesting to see.

KIM: Get creative, right?

STEPHANIE: Right!

KIM: I got it as funny with this Chicago example because I I was so intrigued by it that I sent it to our head of design, and she pinged me today. And she's like, my son got this name one, and she sent me a picture of his with his name on it. They're laughing. So there you go.

STEPHANIE: Good job, University of Chicago. Alright. So finally, we're gonna talk about sustainability. Because in our 2023 State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights report, we found that fifty four percent of consumers agree that they are more likely to purchase from a brand that prioritize sustainability. Let's see who lets their customers and prospects know that sustainability is top of mind for these brands. So first up, I am gonna do a little Lob plug just because I do love our little logo that we have right next to our Indicia. So it is eco-conscious mail because we send one hundred percent carbon neutral mail, and it's super small. Like, it's tiny, it's right there, but it still just makes you think about it. And then if I had gotten this, okay, when it's time to take it down off my fridge, I'm gonna see that and it'll be a lot more likely to recycle it. Just making sure that that kind of messaging is top of mind.

KIM: I like the little logo inside the QR code too. That was like you don't see that often. That's neat.

STEPHANIE: No. You don't.

KIM: I think it was my cashmere example too.

STEPHANIE: Luckily Lob is a short name, so that helps. But, yeah.

KIM: Yeah. I guess you could do, like, your symbol too. Right?

STEPHANIE: You could. Yeah. Alright. Next up, I do have a real world example, not from Lob, and it is one of our favorite companies Bath and Body Works. I just got their Halloween mailing, which I'm like, because people, it is July.

KIM: It's July!

STEPHANIE: They also know me. I start buying Halloween stuff in June, so I guess they know what's up. But I do like that on the, mailer information, they do have their FSC certified logo just letting you know that this paper was sourced from responsible sources and again, just a quick little reminder of Hey, when you're done with this, when you've cut out the coupons, just make sure you recycle it. But even if you don't, they're still doing their part to make sure that sending this mailer to me was as sustainable as possible.

KIM: Yeah. Absolutely. We love them. We could talk about candles for the rest of the day. But, you know, as marketers, we have a huge responsibility, right, to consider the natural resources we use, especially when it comes to direct mail. We hear that a lot. And consumers not only told us that they're more likely to purchase from a brand that prioritizes sustainability, but they also shared sixty eight percent still opt to receive at least some, like, paper statements from brands. And thirty two percent have opted into paperless statements from every brand that offers it. So this is very top of mind with consumers. And so if you do have sustainability goals and you are doing things to make your direct mail more sustainable, like, show them because that can, like, really resonate with them. So let's take a look. This is Daily Harvest, and I love on, the second, like, the backside of this postcard that they encourage recipients to recycle. And I like the even the copy, like, keep a good thing going, recycle me, please. Like, it almost makes the the direct mail postcard feel like a living thing.

STEPHANIE: It does.

KIM: With it like it by calling it like me, right, it really personalizes it. It would actually be really cool was made of, like, seed or something. You could plant it or something. Right. Which we've seen that before too. And then they also have their Forest Stewardship Council indicia on there, as you pointed out in the lower right corner, corner. That's what FSC is. So that's really cool. And I noticed it. Right? We look for these things. So you can see other great examples like this on, actually, you can see the URL right here. It's our best direct mail campaigns page. And we have a number of different examples there. And so if you're a company and you're doing these kinds of motions, like show it because customers really do care.

STEPHANIE: Yeah. No. I love it kinda makes it feel almost like a Pixar character.

KIM: Like, yes.

STEPHANIE: I've done my journey. I've gotten to your house now, you know, scan the QR code, but then when you're done, like, please send me back to my next life.

KIM: Like when a bill becomes a law. I don't know if you remember that from Schoolhouse Rock.

STEPHANIE: Good old Schoolhouse rock.

KIM: Yes. But but it's your little postcard, and now you're sending it to its next life.

STEPHANIE: But I think that is good to know because I know we've done several blogs on sustainability here at Lob, and I think there was some that it was like, you know, depending on where the envelope comes from, like, some of those windows aren't recyclable or shouldn't be recycled. And it's like, I don't the average consumer doesn't know that. Like, I didn't do that. So I'm just causing those in my recycling bin, and now it's okay. Now I want to make sure that I'm separating and taking out the letter, which that makes me give it a quick scan before I toss it in the recycle, but just making sure that we're educating consumers when we're sending them direct mail campaign pieces of they can responsibly get rid of it and letting them know that it was responsibly created.

KIM: Absolutely.

STEPHANIE: Alright, Kim. Do you have any final thoughts or any other pieces of mail that we didn't get to that you wanna talk about or any other things from the State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights?

KIM: I have so much mail, but we'll save that for another episode. I love it. This has been really fun. I like deconstructing and talking about, the great things that brands are doing with direct mail and some of the opportunities that we all have as direct mail practitioners to do with things even better and keep learning and growing and evolving. So I look forward to another episode soon Thanks for having me.

STEPHANIE: Of course. Thanks for coming back on. And like you just mentioned, to our listeners, if you do wanna check out some other really great examples where we break down elements that are really working for the mailer. Please check out our Best Direct Mail Campaigns collection page, has that daily harvest example we showed you plus a plethora of others. Again, where we focus it on different themes such as these are letter-based campaigns. These are campaigns that use QR codes. Here are some examples of really strong CTAs and getting people to take action. You can look at all of those examples, see what's working, see what you can adapt, or just get inspiration for your next direct mail campaign.

KIM: Yeah. And feel free and reach out if you have a great example that you want us to take a look at. Send it our way.

STEPHANIE: Alright. Well, to our listeners, thank you so much for joining us for mixers and marketing. If you want to dive even deeper into the topic of consumer's preferences when it comes to direct mail marketing, please feel free to download your copy of our 2022 or 2023 State of Direct Mail Consumer Insights report at lobdemo.co/consumers, or you can scan this QR code over here. As always, you can browse our library of episodes over at lobdemo.co/lobcast. Otherwise, thanks for listening, and that's all folks.

KIM: Bye.