I have done direct mail pieces over the years that I liked and got great results with. One memorable black and white piece even got a 20% conversion  because we had the right list, the right offer, as well as the right creative graphic.

You may not agree, but I really think direct mail still has an important role to play in marketing strategy. No, Virginia, it’s not dead and this piece proves it.

Just look at it. It’s a Happy New Year card with a purpose. It came in a clear wrapping to intrigue me. Sent to my home address. I LOVE IT.

It has great appeal and is something to emulate.

Inside copy says it all - "we're looking forward to the turnaround. happy new year!" Pete & Laurie

It’s:

• Clever – it made me smile
• Modern – simple, clean typestyle and colors
• Focused – has one message
• Positive – it believes in a brighter future
• Even a bit humorous – a new year card sent in mid January that pokes fun at the current economic situation

In addition, in an under-stated way, it clearly demonstrates  two of three characteristics of a good marketing piece.

1. The presentation is unique and interesting – the graphic makes you think when you see it.
2. It presents a unique advantage – the copy suggests Laurie Smith Design is ready now – implying others aren’t.

The third characteristic is:  a good marketing piece communicates that advantage in a clear and concise way. This one is a little harder to see here unless you have a frame of reference.

I have a strong framework. I have known Laurie Smith Design, an interior planning and design firm, for many years, especially Pete Gasper, the Marketing Manager, whose card was inside.

Now I know they do more than even I remembered because I went and looked. They’ve added graphics and architecture to their list of services. So this direct mail piece was a driver for me to reconnect with them and to share their information with you.

This simple direct mail card also recalled the times Pete and I had talked and worked together on the Street MBA program* that my partner Dan and I created for Continuing Education at Austin Community College. He and his staff member Joe Prado were often speakers for the section on location. I still like to share their handout,  Laurie’s article “Offices that Work”, published in the now defunct Austin Magazine. It is still relevant. Function is still key to worker-friendly space.

It has another marketing advantage. It reminded me of what it must be like to work there and to work with them. It demonstrated their corporate culture as I understand it. Neat, talented people who can see humor where others do not, who are visionaries and encouragers. Is Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If“, your mantra?  Great job on the direct mail piece, Pete, Laurie et.al.

Special thanks to my colleague Julie Gomoll for helping me make the graphic for this post. As a technology marketing and graphics expert, she agrees with me. This is just plain neat. But, she is not so sure snail mail has much of a place in the world still.

Suggestion: ask Pete, to send you a card of your very own to study and admire. This is a keeper! You’ll find him on linkedin. If you get to him first, I  left a message saying I am trying to find out from him what response he has gotten. It should be good. He’s probably out handling all the inquiries he got from this.

Do you have a marketing piece that makes you go “Wow!”? I hope you will share it.

Sharing helps stimulate the “little grey cells” as Hercule Poirot would say. That makes everyone try a little harder to communicate better with our audience.

If you would like a copy of Laurie’s article, let me know. Always like to pass good info along.

You also might want to check out what’s happening at the Direct Marketing Association, especially the market research section.

* The Street MBA is now called the Owners MBA and done at the Business Success Center and soon to be online.

P.S. I’m looking forward to the turnaround, too. How about you?