The summer postage discount offered by the USPS is back. This year they are promoting mobile commerce and personalization. The mobile barcode (aka QR code) must lead the recipient directly to either A or B as described below:
A mobile optimized and personalized web page/URL that is tailored to an individual recipient. The web address and content of the web page must be unique to each recipient. CPC Solutions does this practically everyday. If you need to create thousands of personalized mobile barcodes, we can do it.
A mobile optimized web page that allows the recipient to purchase an advertised product or service on the mobile device. The entire purchase and checkout experience must be mobile optimized.
- Registration Begins: May 1, 2012 (Mail service providers will be able to register after the June 10, 2012 PostalOne!® Release.)
- Program Period: July 1 - August 31, 2012*
- Discount Amount: 2% of eligible postage
- Eligible Mail Classes: Standard Mail letters and flats, Nonprofit Standard Mail letters and flats, First-Class Mail Presort and Automation letters, cards, and flats
- Download Program Requirements
- Download Mobile Commerce & Personalization FAQs
We are here to help.
A lot has been said in recent years about how irrational we are as consumers. Whether we are buying toothpaste or investing for our retirement, we think we are using our logical minds to make wise choices, but market research and psychology studies prove otherwise. In fact, recent studies claim that 90% of our thoughts are unconscious. That means as marketers we only appeal to 10% of our consumers thought processes. Clearly to succeed, we need to learn how to tap the other 90%.
CPC Solutions has partnered with psychology-based marketing expert Jeanette McMurtry to develop emotionally relevant direct marketing campaigns that appeal to the unconscious mind while engaging the conscious mind. Sound a bit too out there for you? Consider the fact that these campaigns have generated 3100% ROI and beat past campaigns by as much as 640%. If that is not too out there for your marketing budget, give us a call.
Whether you are the marketing agency or the end user, we can help add value to your current marketing strategies with these psychology-based emotional marketing concepts. We’d love to tell you more about how to achieve greater results than your unconscious mind can imagine!
Jeanette McMurtry
Author, Keynote Presenter, Consultant
Principal, e4marketing
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
970-390-6909
e4marketing - Four Degrees of Emotional MarketingExperiences – Enlightenment – Engagement = Excitement
In the last several blogs we have discussed the mechanics of mailing with the USPS. However, your direct mail efforts will amount to nothing if your lists are junk. The term junk mail does not refer to the content; it refers to the relevance of the piece to the recipient. Relevant mail is valuable and you should take care that your campaigns are reaching the right audience.
Do you know who your clients are and how to find more of them? An extremely useful tool available is a household-based consumer lifestyle segmentation report. In a nut shell, it can profile your current core customers, so you can purchase lists with similar profiles. It classifies all U.S. households and neighborhoods into 71 unique segments and 19 groups (see the link below). This system reflects the latest data presented in the 2010 census as well as a host of other reliable and relevant data sources. 
If you are in need of data and information for your next campaign, please let us know.
One of our trusted partners, Convertible Solutions, offers a variety of products which truly enhance the direct mail experience. Convertible Solutions specializes in pre-converted stock, meaning that the sheets come prepared with perforations, glue, laminations and scores, eliminating the need for post-press converting.
Pre-converted sheets work well when utilized with personalized direct mail and variable data printing, since it eliminates the waste and time that a typical post-converted process can take. Once the piece is printed, it’s simply trimmed, folded and it’s ready to mail. The image to the right leads to a 24 page PDF catalog of all their products. Because the bindery on the back end is minimal, these pieces are perfect for weekly or daily campaigns.
Several of our clients are already using these solutions; make it a part of your next campaign!
Paper is one of the few truly sustainable products. Compared to other materials, wood and paper-based goods, produced in a sustainable manner, can be a wise choice because:
- They come from a renewable resource
- They capture carbon
- They store carbon
- They are recyclable
A reputable company will have some level of certification. At CPC Solutions, we are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and all of our house sheets are FSC certified papers that use recycled content, some as much as 100% recycled fiber (i.e., Reincarnation Matte by New Leaf Paper). FSC certified forest products are verified from the forest of origin through the supply chain. Ask to have the FSC logo on your next project.
We all have much to be grateful for this holiday season, so please have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We’ll have limited hours on Friday, November 25th, and back on Monday all fattened up to get us through the winter.
In the right-hand column, under Weblinks, is a little holiday entertainment brought to you by Sappi Papers. Click to see Off Register’s Thanksgiving adventure.
When did you first realize your name was important to you? Was it when you signed your own letter to Santa Claus; if you even believed in that sort of thing? Or was it when you proudly signed every piece of artwork you produced as a child, even that piece made from uncooked elbow macaroni?
The last post in our personalization series focuses on what we call the Image Character Live. Live because we use a live piece of art such as a drawing or object and then convert it, essentially, into a custom font.
Does using your first name in zany ways seem trite and overused? Perhaps, but when you step back and consider the end-user, you realize that the use of our names in everyday conversation is important and it breaks down barriers. Below is a link to a blog that you might find interesting as it relates to first names.
What would be a stocking, hung on the quintessential mantel over the fireplace, if it were not personalized? Imagine the chaos and confusion that would ensue. You too can bring clarity and nostalgia to your marketing pieces by utilizing what we call the Image Character Photoshop effect, the fifth trick in our ongoing series.
Personalization using a name is the first step, but true one to one marketing goes even deeper. In a study conducted in July, 2011, three-quarters (74%) of North American consumers said they "don't feel they're receiving a benefit from sharing personal information with marketers," and just 52% said they somewhat or strongly agree with the statement that companies use their personal data "so they can better serve me," according to a survey designed to test consumer attitudes about personal data collection and use by marketers. To read the full post, click Print in the Mix below.
The “tiling” technique is the fourth trick in our personalization series. Tiling is best suited for grid-like images, such as windows in a skyscraper, bricks in a driveway or ink swatches on a color chart. Your product, service or environment probably has grid-like images associated with it. When someone sees their name blended with your image, happiness and bonding will result; subconsciously at least. If you’re not feeling that way now, perhaps it's because your last name isn't Picasso!
Do you remember the slogan; M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand? M&Ms may not melt in your hand, but they sure do get sticky if held too long.
Part three in our series about personalization tricks revolves around the “fill randomly” technique. The sample shown in this post is a good example of how it can be utilized. The trick is making it look real and legible. Baseballs, golf balls, popcorn or jelly beans are all objects that would work well. Imagine a postcard targeting golfers with their name, message or offer written in golf balls. Send a marketing piece that the recipient will want to keep for awhile (aka sticky) and your chances of a response increase.
Giving your marketing a name badge is easier than you think. Part two in our series about personalization tricks revolves around the “masking” technique. The samples shown in this post are variations of that method. It is a relatively easy way to create an effect to personalize any piece while using variable data printing or email.
Personalization has come a long way in the last decade, but it is still underutilized. Let it elevate your response rates and the campaign’s overall effectiveness. Over the next several weeks, we’ll explain in detail how we can help you with the following personalization tricks.
