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The difference between multi-channel and omnichannel (omni media)

by Content MarketingDataDigital MarketingDirect MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsOffline Strategy

In our industry, we often find that “multi-channel” and “omnichannel” are not only used interchangeably but are perceived to be the same concept. From our perspective, that’s inaccurate. Yes, we said it!

What is multi-channel marketing?

This is when a brand is utilizing multiple independent channels to interact with its customers. Each channel operates independently. With multi-channel marketing, the brand is focused on providing customers with several different ways to engage with them.

What is omnichannel marketing?

This strategy takes a more integrated approach, aiming to provide customers with a seamless, consistent, and unified brand experience across all channels. With this strategy, customers can transition between digital and offline channels effortlessly – with their interactions and preferences being recognized and remembered. With a successful omnichannel strategy, channels are interconnected and share data and insights to deliver more personalized experiences. Think in terms of integrating online intent with offline channels such as direct mail.

Why omnichannel works:

While multi-channel marketing focuses on providing multiple independent channels for customer engagement, the actual customer experience may not be seamless or consistent across these channels. In fact, they’re often treated as entirely different campaigns or initiatives.

In contrast, an omnichannel strategy facilitates a fully integrated experience. The customer experiences all touch points in a cohesive manner – both offline and online – the creative format and content all flow together.

For example, a customer may begin their shopping journey by receiving a postcard in the mail, continue browsing on the website, and make a purchase in-store, with the brand maintaining a cohesive understanding of their preferences and history throughout. Because of this, a successful omnichannel strategy helps with attribution and thus, more effective marketing techniques to ultimately grow the brand.

How can you be more omnichannel-focused?

Align company goals

Talk to each other internally! Offline, digital, sales, and operations should all be working together. For example, the offline team is reading results from their campaigns while the digital team is doing the same – and they’re not syncing up external efforts (or even internal communications for reading results). Don’t fall into this habit!

Be aware of changing consumer behavior, and get more familiar with your audience

Consumer behavior is consistently changing – make sure you’re staying top-of-mind with your top spenders in terms of brand benefits (loyalty programs, offers) and mission.

Identify key channels and be strategic with them

Ensure you’re being consistent yet innovative across channels. This doesn’t mean serving all the same content – it means presenting cohesive messaging that is complimentary to the branding.

Did you know that “direct mail” is a channel? Make sure you’re not excluding offline channels. The more each channel “talks to each other,” the more successful your campaigns will be.

Integrate your tech stack

Remember that integrations are not one-size-fits-all. Take time to determine the most important tools for your brand and integrate them strategically.

This includes offline! The power of print is real; integrate online intent with direct mail.

Optimize social media

Don’t forget that social media can support your broader business goals such as attracting new customers, building brand loyalty, and promoting brand awareness.

We recommend thinking of an omnichannel approach as customer centric. An omnichannel strategy starts with the customer and ends with a purchase. In fact, it can start offline and end online; or vice-versa. It ensures a smooth, convenient, and unique shopping experience.

Omnichannel is a powerful strategy; in fact, we think it’s THE most powerful. Not only does it help provide a seamless and personalized experience across all channels (both offline and digital), but it can help brands differentiate themselves. Whether it’s building stronger relationships with its audience, figuring out a more effective way to spend your marketing dollars, or testing a new channel (offline or digital!), it will ultimately drive growth and profitability for a brand. Not convinced? Let’s discuss in more detail why omnichannel is the way forward! 

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Tom Says… Here’s What You Need to Know About the July USPS Increase

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsNewsOffline StrategyUSPS

Thanks for bearing with us this month with this two-part post! We thought it would be helpful to refresh everyone about how postage rates are charged. Now, we can get to the super important details: this month’s USPS rate increase.

Effective July 9, 2023, the USPS has put into place the following increases in their postal categories. Keep in mind that while these percentages are overall changes, specific sortation increases will be larger in some areas than others creating fluctuations from these announced increases.

– First Class mail has increased on average of 5.38%

– Flats (catalog) mail is increasing 7.38%

– High Density / Saturation Flats is increasing 3.07%

– Carrier-Route mail is increasing 7.39%

– Letters is increasing 5.20%

– High Density / Saturation Letters is increasing 5.06%

– Periodicals (Magazines) is increasing 8.12%

– EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) is increasing 4.76%

Letter Mail

Most letters mail optimally at a 5-Digit/SCF entry mail. The 5D/SCF for-profit rate has increased 5.82% to $0.291/pc. With non-profit rates increasing 6.25% to $.136/pc. Saturation & high-density mail offers lower rate possibilities, but they are very difficult to achieve in national demographic programs.  Commingling offers cooperative solutions to help minimize postage costs and should always be considered for pieces that do not qualify for 5-Digit/SCF entered rates.

Drop Ship SCF discounts for letters is increasing to $0.035/pc vs $0.030/pc & NDC discounts are now $0.027/pc vs $0.023/pc. Non-profit rates are increasing at a higher percentage than for-profit rates.

NEW: Effective with the July changes, the USPS is now offering a SCF entry Discount for 5-Digit & 3-Digit sorted mail. A similar discount was introduced for Flat Mail in July 2022, and it will offer some postage relieve for SCF pallets. Each qualified piece can earn $0.003/pc discount.

Flats – Four Ounces & Under

Basic Carrier Route mail will see average increases (6.82% at the SCF entry level), and High Density Plus and Saturation entry mail will see below average increases. High Density/SCF mail will see no increase after seeing much larger than average increases in the last several postal changes. Origin entered mail will see larger increases. 

As with letter mail, drop ship discounts are growing, $0.091/pc for SCF entry and $0.071/pc, over all sortation levels.

Non-profit rates four ounces and under will also see larger increases that for-profit mail. We have seen this common occurrence with non-profit rates happen over the past several postal changes as they are trying to narrow the gap difference.

The USPS is also increasing their 5-Digit Scheme Pallet and SCF Pallet Discounts to help minimize increases. The discounts are the same regardless of for-profit or non-profit qualified mail.

Flats – Over Four Ounces

There are significant changes taking place with flats mail over four ounces. Previously, postage for pieces in this rate category received a piece postage charge PLUS a pound postage charge applied on each fraction of a pound mailed. The new rates continue to apply a piece rate, but the pound rate will only be applied for each fraction of a pound over 4 ounces (0.25#). Comparing rates from January 2023 to July 2023 will look odd (see chart below) because the new rate structure is pushing more postage in the piece portion and less in the pound portion, it is comparing apples to oranges. Drop ship discounts for pieces over 4 ounces used to be discounted from the pound portion of postage, but it will now be discounted from the piece portion of postage. You can see the differences in the chart below.

To better understand the comparison of before and after rates, here are a few for-profit sortation scenarios calculated at different piece weights:

There are three scenarios above, High Density, Basic Carrier Route & 5-Digit flat postage. As the piece weight grows, the impact of the increase also grows at a substantial rate.  Heavier pieces are seeing much higher than average postal increases.

The same Pallet Discounts as outlined for Flats four ounces and under apply to pieces over four ounces giving some relief.

First Class Mail

– A stamped 1-ounce letter has increased to $0.66/pc from $0.63/pc (4.76% increase)

– First class flats have increased 7.15%

– First class postcards have increased to $0.355/pc from $0.352/pc (<1% increase)

USPS Promotions

As a general best practice, we advocate that all direct mail customers take advantage of the discount promotions that the USPS offers. The USPS has made the approval process much easier and more responsive with the addition of the Mailing Promotions Portal (MPP) on the USPS Gateway. The USPS is managing all inquiries and approvals through the portal, so it is imperative to sign up for the service.

2024 USPS Promotions

– Tactile, Sensory & Interactive – 5% USPS incentive for Marketing Mail & First-Class Mail – 2/1/2024 – 7/31/2024

– Personalized Color Transpromo – 3% or 4% USPS incentive for First Class Mail – February 1st – July 31st

– Emerging & Advanced Technology – 3% to 4% USPS incentive for Marketing Mail & First-Class Mail

*NEW – Direct Mailer can pick the 6-month window they would like to use this promotion

– Reply Mail IMbA – 3% USPS incentive for First Class Mail – July 1st – December 31st

– Informed Delivery – 4% USPS incentive for Marketing Mail & First-Class Mail – August 1st – December 31st. The mail preparer also receives a 0.5% incentive from the USPS

– Retargeting Mail – 5% USPS incentive for First-Class Mail – September 1st – November 30th

Not only can we help you take advantage of these USPS promotions, but together we can add strategy and innovation to your print marketing efforts. Additionally, with our network of printers & suppliers, we’re bound to solve challenges together that you may not have known you even had! We look forward to helping you navigate these updates and most importantly, use them strategically to ultimately grow your brand. 

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Tom Says… Here’s How Postage Rates Are Charged

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsNewsOffline StrategyUSPS

We know you’ve been waiting for Tom’s latest update! So much has happened with the USPS in the last 1+ years, but we’re here to help you navigate this unchartered territory. Before we get into the actual updates that occurred this month, Tom wanted to be sure you understand the structure on how postage rates are charged.

A basic knowledge of sortation and destination entry will help with an understanding of the current rate structure.

Postal Sortation Qualification Requirements

The USPS offers discounted pricing for brands to sort the mail rather than having the USPS manage the sortation process. The higher the sortation level achieved by the brand, the lower the overall postage costs that are charged.  Achieving sortation levels to minimize postage costs are totally reliant upon where pieces are going and what volumes are going to those destinations. Common sortation qualifications include:

From top to bottom, the deeper sortation requires less USPS processing results in lower postal rates to the customer. For mailers to achieve high density & saturation postal rates, there either must be a significant volume of mail, or it must be a very regional mailing. 

Letter mail is sorted to the 5-Digit scheme rather than to the Basic Carrier Route level. The reason for this is because the USPS automation equipment will sort mail at the 5-Digit level, and they do not want mail in carrier-route bundles. The higher postage costs for Carrier-Route Letters discourage Carrier Route mail. There is an advantage for letter mail to sort to the HD, HD Plus or Saturation levels. However, it is very difficult to achieve without significant volumes. Sortation to more efficient levels is why cooperative mailing programs such as co-mail (flats & periodicals) or commingle (letters) exist and should be part of every mailing program.

Destination Entry

The USPS also offers discounts from the base rates if the mailer coordinates dropping the mail into the USPS at the destination rather than dropping at the mailer’s location. This is called destination or drop ship entry.  For this to make sense, the mailer will determine where pieces are mailing to and calculating if the USPS postal discounts exceed the additional freight costs, that the customers will be responsible for paying, in transporting and dropping to USPS facilities at the destination.

From top to bottom entry levels, origin mail is simple, but offers no discounts because the USPS must take responsibility to ship pieces to their destination while progressively larger discounts are offered for NDC, CSF & DDU entry.  DDU entry is difficult unless there is significant mail going into a specific (regional) area.  Most larger mailers will enter mail at the SCF level.

This is just a quick snapshot of how postage rates are charged. However, we felt it was important to reiterate some of these details. We all read headlines about “rate increases” and industry-wide postage changes, so we thought it would be helpful to set the stage. Stay tuned for part two highlighting the actual increases from the USPS this month!

Next up: The July 2023 USPS Increase – what it is and how you can combat it.

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How to Add Innovation to Circulation Planning

by DataDirect MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsOffline Strategy

As we know, direct mail works. It’s a proven strategy for acquiring new customers. In fact, 74% of marketers say direct mail delivers the best ROI of any channel (source: Lob). However, with today’s economic landscape, we understand that budgets are top-of-mind.

Tighter budgets mean working diligently to keep innovation in your print marketing campaign, which begins with circulation planning. Circulation planning has the power to help clients reach customers effectively, efficiently and strategically.

We thought it would be helpful to share a few approaches to consider.

  1. Back to Basics – As more data about your customers becomes available, selections can create more confusion than clarity. Take a step back and simplify selections. Some things to consider are:
    1. What are you looking for with the segmentation? Over-segmentation can impact the statistical significance of results and make future forecasting difficult—segment for a reason.
    2. How are priorities being assigned in your merge? Prospects should allow for random allocation of duplicates unless there is a specific reason not to do so.
    3. Are you accounting for list fatigue? Remember that even the best models can experience fatigue and diminishing results. Have a plan for resting lists and implement depth tests to have results before needing to increase quantities.
  2. Don’t Outsmart the Model – Although we may develop personas to understand how various markets are addressed, selection models are designed to find commonalities that we weren’t aware of. To do this, providing as much transactional history as possible is critical as is allowing the model to do its job without over applying what we think it should be returning.
  3. Know What the Models are Based On – While we are discussing the use of models, ensure you understand how the models are being built. Coming out of the pandemic, this distinction is critical. Is it looking at the same season in the prior year or the last three to six months? There could be a monumental difference in your outcome. Work closely with your modeling partner to avoid unexpected consequences.
  4. Use All Available Channels – There are more ways to speak to a customer (or potential customer) today than ever before – use them! Studies show that converting a prospect to a customer can take 20 or more touches, so use all the options available to integrate multiple touches (both offline and online), while taking care to create a cohesive and consistent customer experience across all channels (source: Comscore). 
  5. Remarket Prospects Who Raise Their Hand – Has a potential customer spent time on your website? There are programs that help you target this prospect that came in digitally with a piece of direct mail to increase conversion. These qualified prospects can prove valuable!
  6. Test, Test and Test Some More – This is often the first thing to be cut when budgets get tight, but finding opportunities to test campaigns, selections, messaging and formats is essential. Customers and the marketplace are continually changing, so don’t be afraid to repeat tests that have “failed” previously. From our perspective, one of the most dangerous thoughts in business can be: “We tried that before, and it didn’t work.” Clearly define the success parameters of a test and remember that they are not always the same.
  7. Don’t Sleep on Multibuyers – Unless you have only one source of names, you will have multibuyers. Make sure to use them! This may not seem “innovative,” but the effective use of these names is often overlooked. Even a brand with heavy seasonality can use these names to target customers out of season and improve their acquisition.

There’s never been a better time to invest in your circulation plan. A successful circulation that targets the right audience and hits a brand’s budget will ensure that campaigns deliver maximum revenue and improve lifetime value. Get started with an audit today.

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Tom Says… Here’s What You Need to Know About the Latest USPS News

by DataDigital MarketingDirect MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsNewsOffline StrategyUSPS

Recently we sat down with our colleague, Tom VanWestrienen, also known as our resident USPS expert. We thought it would be helpful to share that latest USPS news with you – and what this means for your direct marketing efforts.

On January 22, postal rates for all classes of mail were increased. Average increases by class were +4.20% (First Class), +6.25% (Marketing Mail Flats), +3.29% (Marketing Mail Letters), +4.20% (Periodicals), and +20.49% (Parcels).

While we know this news is less than ideal, we’re here to help you optimize your direct marketing strategies in the most efficient way possible. In fact, we are excited to share several incentives that would help offset some of your clients’ new costs. Check out our recommendations here: 

  • The USPS is offering a 5% postage discount for their Tactile, Sensory and Interactive promotion from February 1 – July 31, 2023 on First Class and Marketing Mail products. The USPS has approved this promotion for mailing direct mail on coated paper stocks (coated gloss, matte, soft gloss, SCA, etc). 

Our recommendation: All direct mailers should consider applying for the promotion to mitigate the recent January 2023 postal increases.

  • Adding to the Tactile, Sensory and Interactive promotion to maximize postal savings, direct mail marketers should plan on seeking the 2023 Informed Delivery promotion running from August 1 – December 31, 2023. As with 2022, the USPS is offering a 4% postage discount for using Informed Delivery. This provides direct mailers with an effective USPS promotion strategy spanning all of 2023.

Our recommendation: With USPS increases happening twice a year for the foreseeable future, it is critical for customers to come up with an effective strategy that provides savings opportunities throughout the year. Many direct mailers embraced the Informed Delivery promotion in 2022 and this promotion should be mandatory in 2023.

  • The USPS is again offering the Emerging Technology from May 1 – November 30, 2023 (3% or 4% incentive). If customers opt for this promotion, the USPS is offering a new promotion called Retargeting, which provides a 5% incentive from September 1 – November 30, 2023 for Direct Mailers sending out First Class postcards to recent visitors to their website or mobile apps that did not convert.

Our recommendation: There has never been a better time to explore retargeting as an acquisition tactic. If you are not currently retargeting your website visitors, get in touch with us to implement a solution. 

It is important to note that registration for these promotions needs to take place in the Business Customer Gateway (BCG).  Many of these promotions require advanced USPS approval to ensure the mail pieces meet the requirements of the promotions. Located within the BCG is a Mailing Promotions Portal (MPP), brands can seek approval for individual mail pieces. Refer to the guide here.

Insider Tip: The USPS encourages all approval requested to be entered through the MPP. All samples being sent for USPS approval must be shipped through USPS products, UPS and Federal Express packages will not be accepted.

Unfortunately, Tom says to expect another postal increase in early July. At this point, the impact of this increase is unknown, but changes in the 3-6% range should be expected.

Considering this news (and anticipating more changes!), there’s never been a better time to explore relevant digital channels to help maximize your offline investment. We can help support with various audits to provide valuable insights and recommendations. Diversifying your media mix will propel your business forward.

As always, we asked Tom to describe today’s print marketing environment in one word. For the beginning of Q1 2023, he said “defensive.” Specifically, Tom shared, “It feels like one on one basketball right now. We’re all trying to react effectively while not knowing what challenges the USPS is going to drop on mailers’ laps these days.” Let the teamwork continue so we’re all shooting nothing but net with our marketing campaigns!  

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Tom Says… Here’s What You Need to Know About the USPS Today Part II

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyNewsUSPS

We’re excited to share Part II of our conversation with Tom VanWestrienen of Eliezer Consulting. In follow up to last week’s conversation, we wanted Tom’s perspective on how to handle these USPS updates. For example, are there any opportunities that these changes could present? How can brands adjust to these changes in a positive way? Here’s Tom’s take:

Q: Since it will affect the above formats, how can brands prepare / update their DM strategies accordingly?

Consider changing to a different format. Updating the physical make-up of a piece can move it to another, less expensive rate class. At this juncture, creative thinking while partnering with your vendors on strategy would provide the best overall outcome (we’re talking response rate and cost-efficiency!).

Q: What are some other opportunities that these increases present?

Are you fully utilizing opportunities offered by your printer? Processes such as co-mail or co-bind can reduce postage by improving sortation levels and increasing discounts. Additionally, the USPS offers several promotional discounts which can reduce postage by 2-4%/piece (See 2022 promotional calendar here). The USPS is also continuing the promotional discounts in 2023 with discounts up to 5%.

Q: What are some tips for preparing for the all-important holiday season?

Make sure that every customer is using cooperative mailing programs to minimize postage costs. Co-mailing for flats & periodicals and commingling for letters are cooperative mailing programs that should be used whenever possible. Also, the USPS offers mailing incentives that are too good to pass up. Today, the USPS offers a 4% immediate postal reduction if a direct mailer is using their Informed Delivery program. This program started August 1st and runs through December 31st. The USPS offers other incentives throughout the year and for minimal effort, these savings really add up. We can help you utilize and manage this!

Q: Do you think that we expect any leniency / decreases in early 2023?

Unfortunately, we do not anticipate postage reductions in the future. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is operating the USPS as a business, and as outlined in the Delivering for America plan, he is focused on achieving financial stability and service excellence at the USPS. 

Q: Tom, can you describe today’s catalog and direct mail market in one word?

Challenging – but there are solutions that help navigate increased postal costs! Let’s have a conversation. Don’t hesitate to reach out!

We hope you enjoyed the first of our quarterly USPS updates from Tom! Each quarter, he’s going to describe the catalog and direct mail market in one word… we’ll see where we net out around this time next year! We’re excited about what the future holds for offline marketing and look forward to partnering with you. For now, that’s what Tom has to say!

 

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Tom Says… Here’s What You Need to Know About the USPS Today

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyNewsUSPS

Would you have ever thought the USPS would be such a hot topic? We didn’t! However, the last few years have proven to be challenging when it comes to postal rate increases and how they affect brands’ catalog and direct mail strategies. That said, with challenge, often comes opportunity and reward.

We sat down with Tom VanWestrienen of Eliezer Consulting to get his take on the latest hikes. Not only are the changes daunting, but they can be difficult to understand. Tom is here to tackle some of the tough questions, and hopefully help future-proof your offline strategy. He’s seen it all in his 35 years working with catalogs and direct mail.

Q: What are the latest USPS rate increases for catalogs and direct mail?

The industry saw two significant postal changes in 2021 resulting in double-digit increases for catalogs (Marketing Mail flats) and near double-digit increases for Direct Mail (Marketing Mail letters). On July 10, 2022, the USPS again increased postal rates on average by 8.5% for flats and 6.5% for letters. While these are averages across each class of mail, one really needs to understand the changes on each postal sortation level to fully comprehend how the postage increases impact a customer’s mailing.

A few examples of this are in the August 2021 increase: Larger catalog mailers who consistently achieve high density and saturation sortation levels saw increases in these categories in the range of 11% – 14%, but the USPS impact the Marketing Mail flats class was published at 8.5%. On the latest July 2022 increase, non-profit flats saw significant increases in the range of 11% – 18%. Also, heavier catalogs approaching 16 ounces saw much smaller increases in the range of 2% – 4% with the latest postal increase.

The USPS has also recently announced their next increase, which will take place on January 22, 2023.  Marketing Mail letters can expect an increase of 3.3% while Marketing Mail flats should expect an increase around 6.3%, but just like the 2021 increase, the USPS is hitting high density and basic carrier-route sortation levels more significantly. This results in surges much higher than the announced flat increases for direct mailers who regularly achieve these sortation levels.

Q: Why are there increases for catalogs and direct mail?

To achieve financial sustainability, the USPS is now allowed to pass along two increases annually, one in late January and the other in early July. 

The USPS now determines postal increases based on four factors:

  • – Consumer Price Index (CPI) impact
  • – Address density impact
  • – Retirement funding for its workers
  • – Underwater products in compensatory classes

Current underwater products include Marketing Mail Flats, Marketing Mail Carrier-Route Flats & First Class Flats, which is why their rates are being increased.

Each increase will include some or all the components depending on specific rules around when or how they can be applied to postal increases. We expect that in the next couple of years, the USPS will annually pass along one large increase and one lower increase as they work to become more financially sustainable. Past increases based solely on a CPI factor are no longer in place. Underwater classes will see at least a 2% surcharge on postage to normalize pricing to cover costs.

Q: How will this affect print production and circulation planning?

While costs continue to escalate, direct mailers have been hit especially hard these past few years. One would think that there will be circulation and/or page reductions to help minimize these escalations. We would also expect direct mailers to change the formats of their programs. While overall catalog costs have elevated significantly in the last three years, letter mailing may still be an attractive alternative for direct mailers. “Slim Jim” and letter sized all-inline formats should become more popular because the cost to mail these types of products are much more affordable.

 

Stay tuned for Part II of our conversation next week! In our follow-up conversation with Tom, we discuss how brands can prepare for the all-important holiday season and update their DM strategies for 2023 based on the upcoming USPS changes. Be sure to check in next week!

 

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How Marketers Are Responding to the Global Paper Shortage

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyNews

Direct marketing is arguably the way forward. To be an effective omnichannel brand, print marketing efforts should be included in your strategy. In fact, did you know that there is 400% effectivity of marketing campaigns that combine print and digital ads? (source: Finances Online)

Additional Stats to Keep in Mind:

  • – 95% of people under 25 read magazines
  • – 82% of consumers trust print ads the most when making a purchase decision
  • – 70% of households with income over $100K are newspaper readers
  • – 92% of 18–23-year-old adults say it is easier to read print than digital content

Most importantly, 80% of consumers acted on targeted printed mail ads, and 77% of consumers said that print drives higher levels of recall (source: Finances Online).

As you know from last week’s blog post, we are experiencing a global paper shortage. So, even if you want to launch a direct mail or print marketing campaign, can you do it? The answer is a resounding yes.

A Few Ways That Marketers Are Responding to the Global Paper Shortage:

  • – Page count and circulation fluctuations
  • – Increased use of direct mail (less paper)
  • – Clever interplay between offline and online efforts
  • – Digital natives turning to print in new ways (NTF, trigger, loyalty, and retargeting campaigns)
  • – Short and long-term adjustments to marketing cadence
  • – Willingness to try new things

What’s Next:

Traditional ad spending set to increase, which is a demand driver. After 10+ years of decreases in traditional ad spending, marketers are predicting an increase of 1.4 to 2.9% in traditional media. Traditional channels – TV, radio, and print – outperform digital channels in terms of reach, attention, and engagement, relative to costs. In fact, the top five most trusted ad formats are traditional with print advertising at 82% and direct mail at 76% (TV and radio as well) (source: MediaPost).

Tips for Smart Paper Buying:

  • – Make quick decisions
  • – Be open to grade substitutions and alternative substrates
  • – Look for the “sweet spots” such as basis weight, finish, location, and trim
  • – Improved forecasting and budgeting
  • – Level ordering
  • – Assess whether inventory programs make sense
  • – Spot vs. contract buying
  • – Maintain a sourcing strategy
  • – Pay your bills

Container prices are decreasing – specifically marginally by 0.1% to $7,625.56 per 40ft. container (source: Drewry’s composite World Container Index).

We are hopeful for a more balanced market in 2023. In the meantime, ask us about our tips for smart paper buying!-old 

paper industry

A Status Update on the Paper Industry

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyNews

Today’s paper market themes include price increases, mill allocations and late deliveries, low inventory at the mills, rising input costs (pulp, labor, energy, chemicals, freight), machine conversions, surcharges, and port congestion and container shortages.

Where We Are

  • – Global pulp prices are up 20% in the last four months. (source: RISI Fast Markets)
  • – Input costs are still on the rise.
  • – U.S. trucking market is softening slightly.

How We Got Here

  • – Pandemic
  • – Issues with supply & demand
    • Port congestion
    • Schedule reliability
    • Warehouse congestion
    • Container imbalance, congestions, and chassis shortage
    • Rail car shortage (especially in Canada)
    • Trucking challenges
  • – Rising input costs
  • – Supply chain issues

Forces Impacting Paper Logistics / Supply Chain

  • – Russian invasion of Ukraine (impact of Russian sanctions)
  • – Economic uncertainty:
    • Weakening consumer confidence
    • Inflation and rising interest rates
    • Reversal of quantitative easing
    • Phasing out of COVID-19 stimulus
  • – U.S. midterm election
  • – ILWU contract negotiations this summer
  • – Additional COVID-19 lockdowns in China
  • – Potential strikes and associated logistics congestion
  • – Energy costs

Understanding where we are and how we got here is imperative in determining how we can move forward. Stay tuned for next month’s post featuring how marketers are responding to the global paper shortage. There will be bonus tips for maximizing your brand’s success.

 

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Why Is Insert Media Still So Relevant Today?

by Direct MailMarketing StrategyMarketing TrendsOffline Strategy

With 2022 well underway, there are still so many unknowns in terms of post-pandemic consumer behavior — are changed behaviors here to stay? Brands continue to launch omnichannel strategies hoping for the best possible outcome with growth and sales.

Insert Media has been a highly responsive media channel for over half a century. It’s a tried-and-true channel that is not only reliable, but it’s cost-effective. However, here’s why it is still so relevant right now:

1. The Tight Paper Market

With press and paper shortages, companies utilizing catalogs and direct mail face several macro challenges today (in addition to those mentioned above!). In fact, leading supplier of print and packaging, Lindenmeyr Central, recently reported: “Paper supply has never been tighter.” Brands that rely heavily on direct mail for Acquisition need alternative solutions. Since Insert Media involves smaller formats and therefore uses less paper, it is easier to get paper for this channel than others.

2. Cost-Effective, Targetable and Measurable

In marketing, response is everything. After all, our goal is to earn your brand more revenue — in a cost-effective way. Moreover, a brand’s performance with Insert Media is similar to Direct Mail at a fraction of the cost. Insert Media is targetable based on a brand’s audience. It can then be measured to determine the impact of the media on a brand’s campaign. This high-level of traceability will ultimately help your bottom line.

3. Implied Endorsement

In our post-pandemic world, partnerships are more popular than ever. Not only do they offer exposure to new audiences, but the shared resources are ideal. Helping brands with category or product expansion and customer loyalty, the power of partnerships is real (source: Shopify). With Insert Media, there is an implied endorsement — like partnerships — and trust is further established given that your brand’s insert is included in another company’s communications.

4. No Privacy Concerns

In today’s marketing landscape, privacy concerns are top of mind. As we continue to navigate our way through privacy issues with other channels, the great news is that there are no privacy concerns for Insert Media.

5. Different Types to Fit Your Brand’s Needs

From catalog blow-ins, package inserts, shared mail, onserts, and single-sheet inserts to statement inserts, there are many different types of Insert Media. Whether you’re a high-end retailer or mid-ticket company, there are Insert Media strategies for each brand. Whether you’re a high-end retailer or a mid-ticket company, there is an Insert Media strategy that fits your brand.

If you’re looking for new channels for your brand, get in touch with us today and discover all that Insert Media has to offer.