For New York City-based consumers familiar with the FreshDirect brand, its orange and green delivery trucks may come to mind first. But the 20-year-old company wants to be known as a high-quality food and grocery retailer first—and a delivery service second. “We’re intimately knowledgeable about fresh food, curated experiences and culinary experiences,” CMO John MacDonald told Chief Marketer. “We just happen to think that the best way for that food to get to you is for us to deliver it.”

So to help tell that story, and to overcome the perception that “all food delivery is equal,” the company created a video series, dubbed “Sourced,” that highlights the stories, passions and motivations of the farmers and producers with whom FreshDirectpartners. We spoke with MacDonald about marketing the video campaign, brand awareness goals, the unique challenges of direct-to-consumer marketing and the company’s omnichannel approach.

Chief Marketer: Why did you decide to leverage vendor partners for this marketing campaign?

John MacDonald, CMO of FreshDirect: Spotlighting partners is something that many companies, specifically in food and grocery, do a lot. They showcase the relationships that process the quality of product. What I wanted to do with this one was turn the prism a little bit and show a different side as to why partnerships matter, especially for us. We show the quality of the food and we talk about the direct producer-to-table ecosystem we’ve built, but more importantly, the passion and reasons why these suppliers do what they do.

CM: How are you getting this message out to people? What’s your target audience?

JM: We created these as evergreens. These are partners who we’ve used for several years in many cases, so we’re promoting them on paid and organic social. We’re putting them on YouTube. We’re promoting them in pre-roll when people watch YouTube. We also have the ability to cut them down and do other things with them. We’ve taken this footage and given it back to them, to the farms and our suppliers as well. We’re hoping that they go back and start using it. They can use the still photography. We’re trying to get this in front of as many people as possible, but we’re also keeping it out there for a long time, so that if people happen to come to our site or our YouTube page they can see it.

CM: What are the campaign’s strategic marketing goals? And the KPIs you’re trying to meet?

JM: Very standard things, like engagement on my social channels and getting likes and views, but I wanted to go back and start telling the story of FreshDirect a little bit more than we have in the past, not just the fact that we’re out there and we’re packing groceries and fresh food and giving it to people. I’d love to start making headway on some brand breakthrough. I want some top-of-mind awareness and top-of-mind consideration. I want this to help people have a better perception of the kind of quality that we engage in, and engage with the brand not in just a functional way, but in an emotional way, and understanding what we do [beyond] delivering groceries.

CM: What are some of the marketing challenges of the grocery delivery landscape?

JM: The first thing I’d say is that FreshDirect isn’t a delivery service. We’re a high-quality food and grocery retailer first. We’re intimately knowledgeable about fresh food and curated and culinary experiences. We just happen to think that the best way for that food to get to you is for us to deliver it. We have temperature-controlled facilities and trucks that deliver the food in the best possible condition. I think the biggest challenge for me as a marketer for FreshDirect is to get customers to understand that, and to understand that not all food delivery is equal. And the relationship on how your food is stored and transported and how long it lasts at your home matters.

CM: What’s your social media strategy for this?

JM: We’ve done some research and we know that there are some awareness problems outside of Manhattan, specifically in the outer boroughs and the suburbs. So we’re using not only the social channels, but other mass media channels to reeducate people and broaden our reach. Social channels are going to be a mix of re-introductions to the customer and telling those great stories about our suppliers through the Sourced videos.

CM: Beyond this campaign, what channels and tactics have proven successful for your brand?

JM: I think anybody who is in our space understands that it’s a mix of the channels. Even though we’re an online, pure-play grocer, you still need to make sure that you’re reaching the customers where they are. And so that means a mix of digital and traditional. Things that work well for us digitally are paid search affiliate programs and very targeted, personalized, communications with our existing customers. But we broadly reach people, too. We still engage in very traditional methods, like direct mail, and this fall, we actually are doing our first broadcast TV [spot] for the New York Metro market. We’re doing a very wide media buy and going out there to try to tell that story and engage with the customer.

CM: Can you talk about your direct mail approach? Being New York City-based, I’ve noticed that your discount coupons have been around for years. How is that working for you?

JM: We use direct mail for a whole bunch of different reasons, and some of them are pure acquisition. We’ll go out there and say, this a group of people in the New York Metro market that we’ve never talked to before and we can target them. Sometimes we know customers who have shopped with us in the past, and some haven’t shopped with us before. So we’ll do some win-backs through those offers.

Acquisition is actually a success story for us through direct mail, because it introduces the brand and gives something people tangible to hold on to. And it also gives them a really good incentive to come into the brand and to shop with us. We still see value out of direct mail. But I think it’s in tandem with the other touchpoints. I’m encouraged to see that people still respond to that because you get bombarded every day with emails and texts. And sometimes it’s nice just to come home, have that piece of mail and sit with it for a little bit, or put it off to the side and then come back to it later, whereas an email or a text is deleted immediately. We see a longer-tail value to some of that direct mail.

But I think that’s the value of a fuller, broader type of funnel approach, where you may be sitting with a direct mail piece and maybe put it off to the side. But then you see our commercial and might go back to it. We want to continue to build that relationship, more than just, “Hey, I’m going to give you $50 off,” and it’s a performance marketing piece. We’re trying to find those areas of life where we can intersect with the customer.

CM: What are the challenges and opportunities of the direct-to-consumer market?

JM: Consumers in this world want us to solve their problem. [We have to] meet their expectations, meet them where they are, and consistently get them what they need–and then surprise them and give them quality. In a direct-to-consumer business, you have to deliver what you promise. We have to get the food to them on time, when they want it, in the condition that they want it in. That’s the bare basics of it.

The second thing is they want to know that you’re a brand that they can associate with this. There’s an aspirational element with brands like us, so we have to fulfill that. So if they’re looking for “grocery treasures”–these are finds that people can’t get too many places–we can get them those things. The challenge is making sure that we’re top of mind and that we are in their consideration set. I’ve got to be relevant to their life. I’ve got to solve their problems. And I’ve got to surprise them.

The post Brands on Fire: FreshDirect appeared first on Chief Marketer.

By Laura Apel, SVP of Marketing, Mitto

Today’s consumers are more connected than ever; the average U.S. household has 25 connected devices. They’re also more impatient than ever. With such tech ubiquity, we’ve lost any remaining patience with inefficiency. Nearly two bakers’ dozens worth of connected devices in our homes and a growing number of channels through which we can communicate has greatly heightened our desire for efficiency. From the palm of our hand—and likely on the same device—we can order food, check our finances, communicate with friends and family and, increasingly, foster meaningful conversations with brands. With so much tech at our fingertips, why go into a store to check if an item is in stock or dial a number for an order status when your favorite brand is already right there on your device on your preferred social media app?

A new survey by Mitto found that 70 percent of adult U.S. consumers have increased their overall social media use since the pandemic began, with 58 percent reporting their messaging with brands via social media has also increased. Today, 87 percent of consumers use social media apps to message with brands. What is it that consumers like so much about social media messaging with brands? Convenience (72 percent), speed (61 percent) and personalization (50 percent) topped the list of benefits.

With brand-consumer social media messaging on the rise, brands have yet another valuable communications channel for effective customer engagement. Let’s take a closer look at the research insights to learn how consumers are using social media messaging to interact with their favorite brands.

Influencing Purchasing Decisions

Social media messaging with brands influences purchasing decisions, with 55 percent of people reporting a brand’s social media messaging had influenced a purchase via the website, followed by 42 percent directly in the social media app and 39 percent in store. With a direct impact on sales, brands will want to ensure social media messaging is part of their omnichannel consumer engagement strategy.

Delivering Customer Support

People are using social media as a way to get help and answers from brands over other communications channels. Seventy-seven percent have used social media to contact a brand’s customer support with 79 percent reporting a positive experience. Further, 58 percent mentioned they prefer that brands use social media to communicate versus other methods, such as email, call or text. Enabling two-way communication on a variety of channels is a great way to enhance the digital experience of a brand’s customers.

Facebook: Preferred Social Media Messaging App

With over 2 billion monthly active users, when it comes to social media app preference it’s no surprise that 78 percnt reported using Facebook regularly to message with brands, followed by Instagram (57 percent) and Twitter (45 percent). Looking at which social media apps consumers prefer for engaging with companies from different verticals, Facebook remained the top app of choice consistently, with 68 percent preferring it for messaging retail/ecommerce, 55 percent for finance/banking, 61 percent for travel and 61 percent for food/delivery service and 58 percent for gaming.

Preferred Message Types

The types of messages consumers would like to see from brands via social media include promo codes (70 percent), sales (61 percent), customer support (54 percent) and order updates (52 percent). When crafting these types of social media messages, brands should consider adding personalization, a call to action or a sense of urgency to enhance consumer engagement.

How brands can integrate social media messaging into their omnichannel communications mix today:

While there are a wide variety of communications channels available, it is important that brands adapt their messaging strategy to meet consumers where they’re at. Clearly social media messaging is a critical channel to enable brands to reach consumers (and vice versa), increase engagement and impact purchasing decisions.

Working with a company like Mitto, a leading provider of global omnichannel communications, brands can implement an integrated omnichannel experience across a variety of communications channels all within one platform, which is critical in providing one holistic voice of the brand and personalized messages no matter which channel the customer is using. This enables marketing teams to increase the chances their marketing messages get read and land well, and customer support and experience teams to immediately reach or respond to customers in a natural, personalized two-way conversation.

Social media has come a long way from simple life updates and photo sharing among consumers, now serving as a strong place of engagement between brands and consumers. Brands that evolve their digital customer experiences to meet consumers where they’re at will be more successful in winning over customers.

Produced by:

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Marketers today are under pressure to tap every possible channel to enhance ROI—and that includes direct mail. Following are additional elements of a mailing campaign to consider that go beyond the typical attributes of the offer, the creative and the database, according to a piece in Multichannel Merchant.

Delivery Day

Target your delivery within a three-day window in order to generate a higher response rate.

Cadence Execution

Most marketers mail the same person multiple offers in what’s termed a “cadence.” Monitor its execution to ensure recipients are receiving the offers in the order that’s intended.

Postage Optimization

Optimize postage costs—which in certain cases means a cost increase—so that consumers receive mail pieces at a time that generates the highest response rates.

In-Home Dates

Rather than focusing on a specific date that mailings begin, embrace an “in-home” strategy, which targets consumers within an optimal three-day window.

For more ways to improve your direct mail campaign strategy, read on in Multichannel Merchant.

The post Eight Ways to Enhance Your Direct Mail Campaign appeared first on Chief Marketer.

By Niki McMorrough / Commercial Director at Relevance

Many of the world’s high-value goods and service providers, such as yachts, cars and real estate, have had an overwhelmingly male client base because, until 2014, men represented more than 93% of all Ultra-High-Net-Worth-Individuals. But this is now changing, and pinnacle luxury companies and brands need to adapt their luxury marketing strategies to appeal to UHNW women. However, it’s not as easy as simply adding UHNW women to a brand’s target audience. Relevance has found key differences in how these women think, feel, behave, and make purchase decisions compared to their male counterparts.

UHNW women require luxury brands to have a fundamentally different approach to doing business, one that is more altruistic, empathetic, and philanthropic. And, this needs to be reflected in their luxury brand marketing. So, it’s not enough to invent a new product or service – companies need to look at their brand ethos, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity, and equality practices to appeal to them.

The team at Relevance has been marketing to UHNW audiences for more than 12 years and specialize in using data-driven insights to drive creative luxury digital marketing strategies that get results.

Luxury Marketing to UHNW Women

Who is a UHNWI in luxury marketing?

A UHNWI is a person with a net worth of more than $30 million in luxury marketing. Net worth is the value of all assets minus the total of all liabilities. Put another way; net worth is what is owned minus what is owed.

UHNWIs represent the second-highest wealth tier on the planet, with around 290,000 of these individuals, surpassed only in wealth by the world’s 2,800 billionaires.

Infographic 1*: Global audience size by Wealth segment

Infographic 2: WealthX UHNW audiences by gender.

UHNW women are rare. There are only 29,300 UHNW women in the entire world. This is just 9.9% of the UHNWI population compared to 263,700 UHNW men.

Ultra-luxury brand marketing needs to be laser-sharp, and, as such, brands need to be seen to move in the right circles and appear in the right places to reach this elite audience.

Closed groups, personalized direct marketing, events and partnerships with other UHNW focused companies are top of the list in the UHNW women luxury marketing mix.

Multi-layered paid media needs to include precise postcode targeting, such as the Cayman Islands, Monte Carlo, and elite U.S. and Dubai postcodes such as Fisher Island, Atherton, Jumeirah Islands, and Al Barera. Relevance has seen great success with multi-layering interest, in-market and personality targeting on top of location to pinpoint audiences even further.

Since 2016, the proportion of UHNW women has increased by some 52%, from 6.5% to 9.9%. The number of UHNW women is rising, and luxury brands should not ignore their presence.

Elite brands should train dealers, brokers, and representatives to notice UHNW women (even if a wealthy man accompanies them) and understand what makes this elite audience tick. They should also seek to employ people that UHNW women will feel comfortable with to handle their inquiries. Initiatives to embrace and encourage gender diversity, such as Rolls Royce’s 25 by 2025 gender diversity campaign, help convince UHNW women that these efforts are sincere.

It seems obvious, but this is still a significant issue for many of the world’s most elite brands, where traditional and sometimes outdated behaviours still preside. Moreover, it can be exacerbated further by regional social customs in some countries.

In Relevance’s data sample, we have found a higher proportion of UHNW women aged under 50 than over 50 (see chart below) and that the disparity is more pronounced than it is with their male counterparts. Wealth-X further backs this up by saying that the mean UHNWI age is 63, but in the under 50’s group, women make up a higher proportion of around 13%, compared to 9.9% overall.

As a result, companies selling to UHNW women need to develop their product offering and luxury brand marketing strategy clearly for both UHNW women under 50 and over 50.

Infographic 3*: Relevance Sample UHNW audiences by age and gender.

How do UHNW women describe themselves?

UHNW women balance business, family, pleasure, and philanthropy. They use keywords such as CEO, mother, founder, wife, entrepreneur, mom, fitness, mental health, foundation, and author to describe themselves, and often found and front charitable foundations, such as Beyone’s Beygood, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way foundation.

Unlike luxury marketing to UHNW men, where business and sports analogies work in almost any situation, UHNW women need a more balanced tone of voice that puts the person before the role or status.

Companies that target ultra-wealthy women should focus on the emotional benefits that their products can provide. For example, this may include allowing UHNW women opportunities to spend time with friends and family, to have the latest new experiences or to support their philanthropic cause. Ultra-luxury brands should highlight what they are doing to give back to the community.

Don’t focus only on rational attributes alone, such as the engineering, speed, power and build of the product, as this is a very male-oriented way of appreciating things, missing the real emotional reasons why a UHNW woman engages with a product or service.

Infographic 4*: Relevance Sample UHNW women audience bio keyword tag cloud.

Who are UHNW women influenced by?

Very simply, UHNW women are influenced by other women who are like them. Pioneering businesswomen, environmental activists, work/life role models, and philanthropists like Melinda Gates, Arianna Huffington, Reshma Saujani, Susan Wojcicki, and Ann Marie Slaughter.

Pinnacle brands should avoid using ‘influencers’ who ‘look like’ luxury role models in their luxury marketing strategies as they are considered fake, one-dimensional pretenders. UHNW women aren’t interested in achieving ‘the look’ of a successful person. They are only influenced by other genuinely successful people. At Relevance, we call these “Genuinfluencers.”

The first place to look for authentic “Genuinfluencers” is in a brand’s existing customer base. Relevance can help luxury brands identify their genuinfluencers and develop collaboration ideas to reach out to influential customers and advocates.

Infographic 5*: Genuine influencers for Relevance sample UHNW women.

What digital platforms are UHNW women using?

Our sample audience of UHNW women shows that they are 20 times more likely than the average global consumer to use LinkedIn. They also have a high propensity to use Medium (x13.04), Snapchat (x9.52), Spotify (x7.69), Whatsapp (x2.38) and Twitter (x2.35). Because of this, companies like Fly Victor realize it is essential to utilize LinkedIn, and companies like Blacklane have used Medium’s business-focused environment to showcase their working ethics, humanitarian business practices, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and philanthropic endeavors when looking to attract UHNW, rather than simply focusing on the service.

UHNW women are less likely than the global average person to be using Facebook and less than half as likely to be using Instagram and Youtube. So, while elite brands can still find and target UHNW women on these platforms as part of their luxury brand marketing strategy, it’s not a ‘habitat’ that feels ‘just for them’ and therefore requires paid targeting and an extremely audience-centric creative approach to ensure their content reaches the right individuals – Patek Phillippe’s episodic approach to Instagram helps to create a befitting environment.

Infographic 6*: Propensity to use platforms for Relevance sample UHNW women.

What media are UHNW women consuming?

Relevance’s UHNW women sample are reading the New York Times (19%), Wall Street Journal (16%) and The Economist (14%) as well as The New Yorker (11%), Politico (10%), Forbes (11%) and Time (11%), Fortune (8%), Fast Company (8%), and Vogue (9%).

What places and events are UHNW women attending?

UHNW women profiled by Relevance are attending and consuming content from Vogue Runway (6%), Ted Talks (6%), Local Scale (3%), Whitney Museum (4%), Moma (4%) and Guggenheim (3%).

Unsurprisingly, according to Wealth-X, many of these places and publications are centered around New York, which has the second-highest concentration of UHNWIs after Hong Kong.

What are the interests and passions of UHNW women?

According to WealthX, UHNW women are different from their male cohorts because philanthropy ranks as the top interest for UHNW women, at least half of UHNW women are involved in philanthropic causes, whereas UHNW men are more interested in sports. At work, 20% of UHNWI heirs/heiresses work in the not-for-profit sector, compared to only 6% of self-made UHNWI. This Charities Aids Foundation article explains how UHNW women are driving a move towards more sustainable, diverse and collaborative philanthropy than ever before and how this is made possible by gender equality in entrepreneurship and inheritance laws.

The next most important interests of UHNW women include art, education, health, wellness and animals instead of the male preference for technology, aviation, and politics, and these interests are often reflected in their charitable work, such as Emma Watson’s HeForShe project and Shakira’s Barefoot foundation.

What are the personality traits of UHNW women compared to UHNW men?

Relevance have analyzed the personality traits of UHNW women to find that they are vastly more emotionally aware, loving, appreciative of art and self-transcendent than UHNW men. Therefore, UHNW women will resonate with companies who value EQ as much as IQ, such as Adoreum, an international members club for UHNWIs, philanthropists, investors and creative visionaries, who bring like-minded UHNW women together at networking events. Ultra-Luxury brands will need to double down on their art and creative collaborations, as ‘The Londoner’ West End hotel and Rolls Royce have done with their ‘Muse’ program. Since UHNW women can appreciate and resonate with the plight of others (and have the power to do something about it), the messaging for a luxury brand should focus on the collective social gain of a product or service, rather than purely the personal benefits. This might mean pledging to plant trees for every carbon-neutral private jet charter, telling the story of a hybrid, solar-powered yacht such as Nobiskrug’s Artefact, or indeed, pitching a socially responsible business idea for investment by an UHNW woman investor.

What are the personality traits of UHNW women compared to the general population?

UHNW women are more altruistic, energetic yet calm, confident, and driven than the general population. Therefore, like their male counterparts, they will appreciate luxury brands who make the celebration of good causes their number one priority, like Olivela, as well as those who curate bespoke itineraries just for them, such as Ten Group and Quintessentially. If an UHNW focused brand shows appreciation for women who like to constantly challenge themselves to learn new things, try new experiences, travel and soak up culture, as personified in this Patek Phillippe video, this will be appealing to UHNW women.

What are the top personality traits of UHNW women?

UHNW women are highly empathetic, uncompromising, sociable and outgoing, meaning they feel what others feel and are compassionate towards them, they think it is wrong to take advantage of others to try and get ahead and they enjoy the company of others and make friends easily.

As a result, Maari’s brand pillars of Consciousness, community and culture feel spot on for this audience who will reject brands called out for unfair or exploitative working practices. UHNW women may look for brands with Positive Luxury’s butterfly mark, signifying a commitment to making a difference in creating a sustainable and circular economy, and brands who support the philanthropic causes which are close to their hearts.

UHNW women: a growing minority that cannot be ignored.

UHNW women may be in the minority, but their proportion has doubled in the last few years. This fraction of the world’s population (0.0000039%) have the immense power to change the world for the better with their empathetic, altruistic, philanthropic, loving, diplomatic, and culturally appreciative approach to the world. Indeed, they expect ultra-luxury brands to be using their own power for the greater good, and not solely for commerce.

Elite luxury brands should therefore focus not only on what they produce but the way that they produce it to gain the respect and patronism of UHNW women.

Only then should luxury brands look to target and communicate with UHNW women through their platforms, media, and events of choice by using multi-layered targeting that includes postcode, demographics and triple interest targeting, engaging the right “genuinfluencers”, reviewing their luxury marketing, branding and design, and partnering up with other UHNW companies.

If you think your brand has the credentials and ethos to appeal to UHNWIs, then contact us to find out how our ultra-luxury digital marketing, advertising, and design specialists can help you reach and resonate with your UHNW audiences.

—

*Sources for Infographics: World wealth report, Knight Frank, Wealth X, Global Wealth Migration Review, IPSOS, Insead, Forbes, Fortune. Discrepancies are due to rounding and mixed sources.

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Enter: HBO’s premium unboxing experience for its new fantasy- and sci-fi-themed show “The Nevers,” which by all accounts has bucked the trend. The intricately-designed custom kit, named “Penance’s Curiosities + Cocktail Compendium” in reference to the central character’s sense of curiosity and invention, was targeted at the influencers and superfans most likely to curate social posts while interacting with the kit’s contents—from a Victorian-inspired china set with tea accoutrements to an electro-magnetic “Hoverbulb” to a puzzle designed to challenge the most detail-oriented fans. (For a closer look, check out our photo tour of the compendium’s touchpoints.)

To explore the key strategies HBO employed to create an escape room-inspired, at-home experience that more than delivered on the wow factor, read on in Event Marketer.

The post HBO Max Delivers Premium Unboxing Experience to Influencers and Superfans for ‘The Nevers’ appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Transforming Customer Experience With Data: 5 Tips
Usability and transparency are key when it comes to data and analytics. Brands suffer from one of two extremes: Either insights are so impenetrable that only data scientists can decipher them, or interpretations are so superficial that they provide no value to stakeholders.

Q&A: Michael Brenner on Empathy and Marketing
We chat the author of  “Mean People Suck author and discuss why compassion and empathy should be on the mind of marketers—and why so many people in general today seem to be lacking in these qualities.

B2B Online Shoppers Want Loyalty and Simplicity: Report
Over half of B2B online shoppers use loyalty programs, optimizing benefits both for the company and employees, according to new research from UPS.

5 Tips for Creating An Agile Marketing Environment
Was 2019 the year your team pledged to move to a more collaborative, agile marketing approach, testing and iterating new ideas more quickly? You’re not alone.

Integrating AI Into Your Marketing Strategy: 6 Steps
Implementing AI in a marketing strategy is becoming the new standard. In fact, 70 percent of business leaders expect marketing AI to be critical for the future success of their businesses.

Direct Mail Improves Multichannel Mix: Report
Direct mail ROI goes up by nearly 63 percent when the tactic is used as part of an integrated marketing campaign, according to new research.

Don’t Be Afraid: The Risks—and Benefits—of Driving Change
Increasingly, consumers are looking to businesses to drive change on issues they care about. Edelman found that 64% of buyers say CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for the government to impose it.

Q&A: PWC’s Path to Digital Transformation
Reggie Walker, chief commercial officer of PwC, recently chatted with Chief Marketer about the part digital transformation plays in addressing shifting customer needs, and the challenge of connecting with a global audience.

Why Martech Investments Aren’t Optimized: Infographic
Over half of marketers expect their martech budgets to increase in the next year, but many still don’t feel they are optimizing their technology spending, according to Chief Marketer’s Martech Outlook Report. 

The Changing Face of B2B Social Media
For B2B marketers, social media no longer necessarily just means having an up-to-date LinkedIn page. Today, savvy B2B marketers are expanding their social circles to connect with audiences where they want to engage.

The post October’s B2B and Martech Top 10 appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Response rates are 41 percent higher in integrated campaigns, compared to mailings not integrated with other channels, according to new research from PFL and Demand Metric. Still, only a small percentage of the 600 respondents—16 percent—reported that they have completely integrated direct mail into their campaigns and implemented solutions to track mail’s influence on overall results.

Half of the respondents reported using between three and four channels in their mix. Email was the most used channel in a multichannel marketing mix, utilized by 91 percent of respondents. Social media came in second, used by 81 percent, followed by events (73 percent), digital advertising/retargeting (60 percent), direct mail (56 percent), search/PPC (51 percent), outbound sales and business development reps (47 percent) and content syndication (35 percent).

Events were cited as the most effective channel (83 percent),  followed by integrated, branded, personalized direct mail (78 percent) and search/PPC (73 percent).

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Fifty-two percent reported that adding direct mail to their multichannel mix delivered “moderate to major” improvement to their  overall campaign performance. That number jumps significantly when direct mail is personalized and tightly integrated into the channel mix, with 89% of respondents saying it delivers a moderate to major improvement to response rates.

“Direct mail is ideal for certain audiences that marketers are trying to reach,” said Jerry Rackley, chief analyst for Demand Metric. “When direct mail is done intelligently—meaning it’s integrated with the campaign technology, it’s personalized, and the formats that represent the brand best are used—it’s very effective.”

Postcards were the most frequently used format by respondents (53 percent), followed by letters (52 percent), dimensional mail (42 percent), oversized postcards (29 percent) and oversized letters (nine percent). Dimensional mail was cited as the format that best represented brand identity.

The post Direct Mail Improves Multichannel Mix: Report appeared first on Chief Marketer.

Dimensional direct mail pieces can get the attention of B2B buyers, but they’re not always meaningful when it comes to creating a brand connection. Thomson Reuters is using direct mail to creatively engage tax professionals and start conversations.

“We’ve had a lot of learnings in the space,” says Matt Hummel, former VP of marketing and demand gen, Thomson Reuters. “Dimensional mail needs to be thoughtful and tied in to the theme of the campaign.”

The brand has gotten away from higher-cost dimensional mailers that simply offer a pricey gift—like a pair of AirPods—and rather offering something that speaks to the needs of the audience and gets their attention. “Of course someone will do a demo in exchange for a $200 headset, but that doesn’t mean they’ll convert,” Hummel says. “We’ve put a lot into the message that will drive [the prospect] to a microsite and landing page, where we can track engagement.”

Working with ABM platform MRP Prelytix, Thomson Reuters worked on crafting packages to begin conversations on the company’s tax and accounting solutions with tax pros dealing with recent federal tax code changes. The packages include automated handwritten notes and reusable notebooks, which allow users to write with a pen, transfer the notes into the cloud and they erase the contents by popping the notebook in the microwave.

“We anchored [the theme] around the changes rolled out in the President’s tax plan, and created compelling messaging around the idea that you’d have a fresh, clean notebook to keep up with the constant changes in the tax base,” he says.

The notebook was the perfect premium for several reasons, Hummel notes. It wasn’t something someone would buy on their own, but when they received it, they’d think it was really cool. And, it was inexpensive enough that it could be sent to more than one person in a corporation, so several different buyers or decision influencers could be reached.

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“We might have four, five or six influencers in an organization, so we thought, let’s do something that will create a little office noise,” he says. “The tax manager will tell their co-workers, so it becomes a little experiential.”

Thomson Reuters uses direct mail at different points in the sales funnel. “It depends on the type of engagement we’re getting,” he says. “If we have a high value account that is showing tons of engagement but we’re struggling, we might use it to engage, both early and later in the cycle. We don’t want these pieces to be over used. We want to be intentional about when we send them.”

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Marketers are constantly shifting dollars toward digital channels, but don’t count direct mail out just yet. The USPS reports that 77.3 billion pieces of marketing mail were sent in 2018, proving that many brands are still integrating direct mail into their strategies.

Direct mail can be an expensive channel, but when done right it can drive awareness and engagement at multiple points in the marketing funnel. Here’s seven tips to improve your luck in the mailbox.

Get to the point. One of the mistakes many people make is wanting to fill every bit of white space, says Nancy Harhut, chief creative officer of HBT Marketing. “They want to get their postage stamp’s worth, and figure people will find what is interesting to them. But you need to stay focused. If you’ve got something to say, say it. Don’t have a long wind-up.” Marketers with multiple messages to relay should consider multiple mailings, or cross-marketing with other channels. “Cramming everything into one piece is not a good idea. It’s a rookie mistake.”

Don’t be afraid to think big. In B2B direct mail, dimensional pieces can cut through the clutter and create a “wow” factor that can open the door for future communications and engagement. Think about how you can “surprise and delight” recipients with pieces that they will show or pass along to other people in their office, either with something fun (like a personalized Coca-Cola can) or valuable (a report on industry research). “When something shows up in an overnight envelope, it can look like the recipient would be passing up on something important if they don’t open it,” Harhut says.

Want to hear more tips from Nancy Harhut and John Sisson on improving your direct mail strategy? Join us at LeadsCon’s Connect to Convert 2019 in Boston, Sept. 25-27

Make your list and check it twice. Sending the right message to the right audience is crucial, notes John Sisson, president of HBT Marketing. Take the time to make sure your list is clean and targeted to the prospects and/or customers you really want to engage. “Otherwise, it’s a wasted effort.”

One size does not fit all. When it comes to targeting individuals for healthcare coverage, direct mail is a key component in BCBS of Michigan’s marketing strategy. The insurer works with PFL and Salesforce Marketing Cloud to help score its membership based on various criteria to see what buckets they fall into and where a direct mail piece might be appropriate to drive engagement. “We used to have a scattershot approach, but now we use variable content within each of our pieces, depending on certain audience demographics or psychographic attributes,” says Angela Dunbar, manager, individual business marketing at BCBS of MI.

Take the time to test. Because of the cost of mailing, some brands might want to skimp here. But testing offers and creative elements is extremely important, especially if your brand is new to the world of direct mail. “We encourage people to test,” says Sisson. “You want to know right out of the gate that you’re headed in the right direction.”

Make sure you can track the ROI. As with all marketing techniques, attribution in direct mail is essential. No one tactic exists in a vacuum these days, and most direct mail campaigns are part of multichannel strategies. Before you mail, says Sisson, consider how you will gauge the ROI, such as visits to a unique URL, dedicated 800 number or other call to action.

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Decide where direct mail fits into your branding strategy. There’s no hard and fast rule as to how direct mail should tie into other branding efforts. Harhut advises looking at other campaigns from other parts of the organization, including digital and TV, to makes sure any direct mail pieces are part of consistent cross-channel branding initiatives.

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If you’re looking for a multichannel lift, consider adding direct mail to your marketing mix.

“People don’t throw out the mail—everyone is trying to find a way to use it as part of a multichannel campaign,” says John Sisson, president, HBT Inc.

Marketers who are utilizing direct mail are getting more clever about who they mail to, says Sisson. “Acquisition is happening more effectively, because data has gotten better—marketers are building models based on their own best clients and overlaying data to create segments of the folks who are the best fit based on response or lifetime value.

Want to hear more? John Sisson will be a featured speaker at LeadsCon’s Connect to Convert, Sept. 25-27 at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Join us!

“As we become more and more addicted to smart phones, it can be a nice departure to look at mail,” says Grant Johnson, chief measurable marketing officer, Responsory, noting etailers like Amazon are turning to direct mail to create awareness and response around key times like the holidays. And while Starbucks loyalty program is heavily powered by its mobile app, the company still sends physical cards to members at certain status levels, to make them feel special.

“With the oversaturation of electronic channels, better production capabilities and rise in automation, everyone is getting back on the direct mail bandwagon and trying it in different ways,” says Johnson.

“From a haptic standpoint, direct mail is more memorable, because you’re able to immerse yourself in the content because its tactile,” agrees Lianne Wade, vice president, marketing, Universal Wilde, noting that new tactics such as UV inks, lenticular printing and 3-D pop-ups are offering new creative opportunities.

Here are seven tips for getting noticed in the mailbox:

Make it multichannel: Direct mail works well when it tied to other triggers, such as an email alerting recipients to watch their physical mailbox, and then another email after the direct mail piece drops, all with alignment in the call to action to drive people to the same place.

“Think about what you are trying to sell and who is your customer,” says Wade. “What is the value of your relationship and how does it fit into other channels? We’ve had success sending warm-up emails to let people know a package is coming, so they’ll pay attention [when it arrives].”

“Sending one direct mail piece is not a campaign—you want to have multiple touches to engage [prospects,] because you know your audience isn’t paying attention to just one channel,” says Sisson.

Be on target: Segment your audience to make sure your message is on target, and use personalization, but make sure you get it right. “I once got a mailing for ‘John R. Sisson,’ which is great, except that my middle name is Edward. Maybe I was in the right segment, but they showed me upfront that their data wasn’t good.

“People expect personalization today, and if your data is bad, that can do more damage than benefit,” adds Wade.

It’s about the customer: Your creative should be about the customer and not the company. Customers want the focus on communications to be on them and not what you’re selling, says Sisson.

Try different formats: Test different package sizes, colors and textures. “If [your mailing] is a number 10 envelope and white with a window, then it’s just like everything else,” says Sisson. Copy changes are also easy and essential to test, notes Johnson, and can help create effective control packages.

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• Making Direct Mail Work Harder: 3 Tips
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Know your vertical: Different markets respond to different types of creative approaches. In financial marketing, for example, “official” looking mailers get more opens than anything looking promotional. Know what your audience wants to see.

Make it measurable: Having a way to track response—such as a URL, QR code, dedicated 800 number or some other form of personalization.

Get the data right: “Make sure your data is pristine and that you’re targeting the right people,” says Johnson. “The list is the most important thing.” A digital test before you roll out a direct mail initiative can help insure that you’re targeting the right demographic with the right product, to see if there is a true affinity.

This article was originally published in April 2018 and is frequently updated.

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