Large-format mailings can boost attention and response.

• Author: Turner, Jim
• Position: Direct Mail Essentials

Even though costs have been rising for postage and paper, advertisers still find direct mail can be one of their most productive media. Like most media though, it can suffer from clutter.

If your mailing arrives on a day when the recipient gets several other pieces of mail, yours may not get the attention you had counted on.

One solution is to increase the size of your mailer. For example, postcards typically are at least 3.5" by 5" or larger. But a small postcard can be easily overlooked by the reader or assumed to be of less importance.

Larger format mailers, typically bigger than letterhead size, can be flat or folded, up to a common maximum mailing size of 12" by 15."

Large formats offer several important benefits:

First, the list and postage account for a significant part of the cost of a mailing, in many cases one-half the total. Increasing the size of the piece may not cost much, but it could boost response.

Second, the large format provides room for more and larger graphics and copy. Today's readers are image-focused, so take the opportunity to use appealing graphics that demonstrate either the specific features of your product or show- people using it. This is especially productive for higher-margin products such as mortgages where long copy and applications are beneficial.

For deposit mailings, a large format offers the opportunity to not only use larger graphics, but also to give more details on the features, including comparisons to other types of accounts in tables. The expanded space also works well for new branch promotions.

When advertising loans such as home-equity credit, you can use photographs showing the various uses such as home improvements, cars, college education and more.

When using a large format it is important to ensure that photographs or graphics are high...