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I think that we would all agree that it is important to integrate your brand into your direct mail pieces. That’s pretty much a given. However, I would like to pose the question: how far does your brand extend? Obviously, it is important to include your logo. In many cases, it can be appropriate to integrate your corporate colours and other identity material, such as mascots and taglines. Even the choice of typography can have significant brand implications.

But is that really where branding ends when it comes to direct mail? Maybe. Then, again, maybe not!

In a recent article on the Canadian Marketing Association blog, entitled “Direct Mail: Content vs. Design”, author Eli Nicholson writes:

People are much more likely to take interest in a mailing piece that they recognize. If they received a white piece of paper in the mail that read, “McDonalds, two can dine”, they would think of the offer as a prank. This is where design is vital in a campaign.

Direct Mail: Content vs. Design

It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it? I have to say that I would probably agree with the assertion, too. I mean I’ve been receiving McDonald’s coupons in the mail on a periodic basis for years now. Even before I moved out my parent’s house and had to start contending with my own mailbox, I would see these pieces and grew to recognize them.

As far as I can remember, they have always been the same (or at least very similar) – featuring a multi-fold layout, bright red and yellow colouring, pictures of burgers that look so much better than anything you would ever actually get from the restaurant itself, and perforated coupons offering some sort of deal. That’s it. That’s what McDonald’s direct mail is supposed to look like. Anything else would just seem strange and out of place, and wouldn’t fit with the overall brand.

Nicholson’s white piece of paper reading “McDonalds, two can dine” would be so incredibly jarring that I don’t even know how I would respond.

From this point, the next logical question to ask would surely be: how does the shape, structure and appearance of your direct mail relate to your brand? Additional questions may also follow. If you’ve been mailing for years, have you developed a particular style or format? What are the key elements? How would changing any of those elements effect the way that your customers and/or potential clients view and/or respond to your brand?

On the other hand, if you’ve had very little direct mail experience but are looking to get into this form of advertising (and, of course, we really think you should), then the questions can be entirely different. What kind of format would best suit your brand? Can you develop a unique mailer (with specific branding guidelines), which will remain viable and recognizable for years to come?

Either way, it’s probably a good thing to know and understand how the (repeated) shape and design of your mailers impacts your brand. Effective testing is probably the best way to figure this out. What qualifies as “effective” and how you want to go about doing that testing is up to you, but some of the areas that you will want to consider might include:

• shape
• colour
• folds
• perforations
• packaging (envelope, poly, self-mailer)
• dimensions
• paper stock

I’m sure you can come up with a few more too. Do all of these elements need to be consistent across all of your direct mailers? Certainly not! That would probably get more than just a little restrictive. Selecting just 2 or 3 and using them to set standards for all your direct marketing pieces can help to establish a sense of uniformity across your direct marketing efforts.

There can also be a developmental benefit too. A couple months ago, I wrote about the boundaries of creativity, and suggested limits and constrains can actually be beneficial for designers (within reason). This is because it allows for greater focus, and the same basic concept can ring true here. Establishing a few basic rules of your direct marketing pieces can provide a framework for creative development, and having this kind of starting point can be much less daunting than approaching a completely blank end empty canvas.

In closing, I feel the need to underscore that nothing we’ve considered in this article is absolute, or carved into some tablet somewhere, as one of the commandments of direct marketing. These are merely some thoughts and ideas that emerged through my reading of Nicholson’s own article. Still, I hope that you can find them interesting or useful – or maybe even both!

Tagged As: brand Design Direct Mail