Blogs

There are 3 methods of direct mail distribution that sit on a sliding scale from less targeted, cost effective mass marketing at the unaddressed end of the spectrum to highly targeted 1-2-1 communication at the addressed end with partially addressed sitting in between.

Wait what's JIC Mail? JIC Mail (Joint Industry Committee for Mail) delivers industry-standard audience measurement data for advertising mail and door drops. Advertising mail is the third largest media channel in the UK, worth an estimated £1.7bn annually. Prior to JIC Mail there was no standard data available to compare this channel like for like against other media channels such as TV, Radio or social ads. Now you can compare figures for reach, impressions and much more.

The work your print supplier produces for you will only be as good as the brief you give them. Therefore, it’s important to give them as much information as possible to ensure a great result. It might be worthwhile (and certainly more cost-effective) to have several print jobs done at the same time e.g. brochures, mailers, letterheads, flyers, etc., so have a think about all your printing requirements that could possibly be done at the same time.

Direct Mail Driving Conversions

What is Carbon Balanced Paper? Carbon Balanced Paper enables you to offset the unavoidable carbon emissions of your office paper and printed marketing communications. Already one of the world’s truly responsible, sustainable, low carbon products, the average carbon impact of your paper can now be measured and offset through the work of World Land Trust. Carbon Balanced Paper is achieved through the preservation of ecologically important standing forests, under real and imminent threat of clearance, locking in carbon that would otherwise be released and securing continued absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Following the principles of REDD+, this is recognised as one of the most cost effective and fastest ways to arrest the rise of atmospheric CO2 and global warming effects.

Introduction We're kicking off 2021 with a refresh of our how to guides which have be crafted over the past few years and have been refined and updated as new best practices and software updates have been rolled out.

The digital stamp indicia is designed to mimic the look of a stamp, printed in full colour it's bright and engaging. This has the effect of increasing response rates from recipients due to its perception of being more personal than a black printed PPI (Postage Paid Impression).

BLACK FRIDAY AND CHRISTMAS MAILINGS POSTAGE INCENTIVES. It's only 100 days until Christmas! Can you believe it? As part of our planning for Christmas series we examine some key incentives that could see you earn credit on the mailings that you send at these key periods.

I know that with the recent warm weather we're really only just saying good-bye to summer but with schools back and the nights drawing in, Christmas is just around the corner and now is the time to start planning for it. Christmas is the key trading period for nearly all ecommerce, retailer and supermarket's, that's why we're going to be running a series of posts on how you can best prepare for this period. We're kicking things off with a video below from JICMAIL, who have analysed audience impacts and commercial outcomes from Christmas 2019, to ascertain what benchmarks brands should aim for this year to enable better campaign planning for Ad Mail. It is clear that Mail drives response at this crucial time of year so we hope that you find this an interesting and insightful start to your planning.

This was taken from our full guide to the Power of Mail for Charity Fundraising available here.

Introduction There will be a new postage kid on the block come January 2021. An even cheaper way to send letters via the Mailmark service. Prices haven’t yet been released but if you have non time critical mail there will be an even better value way to send the item, reducing costs and negating the annual postage price rises. Leave the techy geeky postage stuff to us and be safe in the knowledge that you’re saving ££££’s on your postage. Get in touch to see how we can save you money on your postage rates with a free postage audit. Want to know the techy geeky postage stuff? Cool… keep reading.

Door drop marketing is a powerful, tactile and cost-effective way to reach new customers, with 73% of door drop messages being read, displayed or kept*. It’s customer engagement like this that can really help to boost your business.

Looking to develop your business during the lockdown? Are you offering a new delivery service locally or nationally? Do you see this growing into a business opportunity beyond lockdown? At Pepper, we can take care of design, print, and distribution* so you can get your message about your product or delivery service into the homes of everyone in your chosen area.

UPDATE - 20th May 2020 - Scheme has now been extended. Following the popularity of the COVID-19 Open for Business Incentive, Royal Mail have now extended the scheme from a volume cap of 20 million items to 120 million items. The incentive is running until 31 December 2020, and is designed to assist businesses with directly engaging with customers and prospects, and provide a much needed boost to their trading and advertising activity. The changing nature of the Covid-19 situation in the UK means that different segments of the market may wish to engage their customers and prospects at a time which is going to be most impactful. To ensure that businesses are able to receive the support when they need it, and with an emphasis on supporting shorter term volume to keep the market active, the allocation of the overall incentive volume cap (including currently approved applications) is being split as follows: 40 million items for May and June; 60 million items for July to September; 20 million items for October to December. Royal Mail are currently processing over 130 applications received since the incentive launched on 6 May 2020. We can help you with your application and handle all of the paper work for you. As Boris announced last week that we're over the peak of the outbreak and further announcements to come on Sunday about the easing of lockdown restrictions we can start to cast our minds to how we will come out of this. Royal Mail have launched a new COVID-19 incentive which saves a massive 5p per item. This has the potential to save 1000's of pounds and get your message directly in the hands of your audience at this much needed time.

Whether you're looking to upskill in your current field or looking to branch out into a new area, dip you toe in and expand your horizons. These courses should help you in your career.

A few clients over the past week or so have asked me, is mail safe, given the circumstances that we now find ourselves. So we’ve considered the risks and how to mitigate them.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update - 03 April

We have outlined some key areas below that may be helpful in getting proactive, whether you're acting now or preparing for the bounce back, let’s get busy!

Whether you’re a seasoned designer or a newb, follow our guide for Pepper perfect PDF’s.

“Marketers waste 21% of their marketing budget because of bad data”.

We’re all now living in a digital society – and increasingly, that’s how we’re talking to each other too.

The dominance of the screen in the digital age tempts marketers to focus on solely online campaigns. While it’s vital to reach people where they spend most of their time, it’s crucial that you don’t entirely ignore the value of tried and tested offline marketing tactics too.

A successful direct mail campaign requires the right planning, some know-how, a little inventiveness and an effective and innovative production partner to help you achieve your targets.

It’s easy to think that marketing is all about numbers. When return on investment and increased growth are in the back of your mind at all times it’s only natural.

We can help to ensure that your data is managed & cleansed correctly but most importantly we will work with you to ensure your data is GDPR compliant. In addition to this we can create prospect pools, perform analysis and profile your data. Our range of sophisticated data processing services are designed to complement and integrate with the full range of mailing house solutions that we provide, including direct mail management, personalisation, lettershop and polythene enclosing.

Though direct mail marketing is an offline channel, digital design is the standard way of creating the campaign’s materials. However, you can’t just have a designer mock something up and assume that the printed material will look good.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy, with 60% of workers in the UK employed by a SME (small to medium sized enterprise). Many of these businesses exist to serve a particular area in the UK. They could be anything from an independent cafe in a town centre to a law firm that works with clients in the same city.

A successful direct mail campaign involves more than sending flyers out and hoping for the best. It takes careful planning, creative skills and good data to reach the right people and make your message stick. When it’s run well, a direct mail campaign can offer an excellent return on investment and win you loyal customers.

Over the past decade, more firms than ever have begun allocating an increasing amount of budget and resources to digital marketing in order to achieve strategic goals, while traditional marketing efforts become more and more scarce. In short, this shift is based on the recent evidence that online marketing efforts can be cheaper, easier to measure and analysed, as well as providing a greater insight into a company’s active clientele base. This, in turn, provides answers to the age-old marketing question of how to build a brand.

A brief summary of each section of the Whitepaper can be read below, enter your name and email to download the full printable PDF version (We send you a link on email too if you're on your phone now, don't worry!)

Read the article below to download the printable PDF version

Read the article below to download the printable PDF version

If your mailing list isn’t current you could face some embarrassing implications to your marketing campaign not to mention loss of investment. How do you expect to get your predicted response rates if you don’t check your data regularly? With seven thousand people moving home each day it’s easy to see how your carefully prepared material can end up in the wrong hands and straight into the recycling.

Using a specialist print finish can make your printed artwork stand-out and can be the perfect addition to your direct mail campaign. There are a wide range of finishes you can apply to your design. Have you ever considered adding a Spot UV varnish, embossing, hot foil or lamination?

It can be frustrating and confusing when you are dealing with the best settings to export your artwork to PDF. Here are our useful tips for Adobe InDesign to ensure you get the best results from your print.

The majority of your marketing will be digital but have you considered that many consumers want information and offers via print communications? Have you considered the advantages of a print campaign? Tangible and attention grabbing media helps connect businesses with consumers at home, on their terms.

If your mailing list isn’t current you could face some embarrassing implications to your marketing campaign not to mention loss of investment. How do you expect to get your predicted response rates if you don’t check your data regularly? With seven thousand people moving home each day it’s easy to see how your carefully prepared material can end up in the wrong hands and straight into the recycling.