Improve response by going 'three dimensional'.

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

Nearly every direct mail advertisement ever mailed has been printed on paper. But sometimes it pays to be different, and that's especially true in direct mail marketing.

Direct mail campaigns come in a variety of formats--standard business envelope, invitations, large or small format, postcards, double postcards, and one more type that's seldom used called a "dimensional."

A dimensional mailing contains a three-dimensional enclosure or is printed on a three-dimensional medium. It's likely to be delivered in a box of some type. For example, a bank once sent an imprinted brick to real estate agents promoting their real estate lending capability. They followed that with a second mailing containing a telephone that could be plugged in to respond to their offer.

Other banks have used dimensional mailings containing such items as a small desk clock, golf balls, toy trucks or cars, a basketball or football to dramatize a point about their promotion, product or bank image. Some have mailed food, such as chocolates with either the bank's or the prospect's logo imprinted, fortune cookies, and some have even delivered a pizza to a prospect's office.

Choose appropriate products

Dimensional mailings can be used for both businesses and consumers. But because of their cost, they most often appear in promotions selling business services or, sometimes, relatively high-end services to consumers. For example, a small desk clock imprinted with your logo might be effective for promoting fast loan processing or cash management to businesses. The desk clocks are inexpensive, small and likely to be kept by the recipient. This type of mailing has the advantage of breaking through the clutter of all the other mailings the prospect receives. Dimensional mailings have a high rate of readership and usually are well remembered by recipients. However, they can be expensive, depending on what you choose to mail. While a typical...