Heat Up Your Holiday Direct Mail with Interactive Postcards

People receive more mail during the last three months of the year than at any other time.1 So how do you get your audience’s attention when all your competitors are mailing to them, too? If you’re looking for a unique way to stand out in the mailbox this holiday season, interactive postcards are a great choice.

Why Send Interactive Postcards Over the Holidays?

Interactive direct mail is an excellent choice for any business looking to advertise over the holidays. Here are a few ways in which interactive postcards can boost your holiday marketing efforts this season.

holiday direct mail engage iconInteractive postcards engage the senses. According to neuromarketing – the study of interactions between our brains and marketing – the more senses you engage, the more appealing your advertising is.2 Interactive products are more effective because they engage more of the senses than your standard direct mail piece.

Depending on the product you choose, prospects can do things like touch the waxy texture of a peel-tab, hear the zip of that tab being opened, or scratch a textured surface with a coin to reveal a special offer. In other words, rather than just holding and reading your advertisement, they’re engaging and interacting with it.

holiday direct mail emotion iconInteractive postcards provoke an emotional response. Using an interactive mail piece also increases your audience’s emotional processing and helps you make a more significant impression. In fact, a recent USPS study discovered the parts of our brains that control motivational response are 20% more engaged when we view print advertising as opposed to digital marketing.3

holiday direct mail memorable icon
Direct mail is hard to forget. On the whole, direct mail is proven to stand out in your audience’s memories. According to the USPS, brand recall is 70% higher when prospects are exposed to direct mail rather than digital advertising.3 Add in the tactile and sensory engagement required to process an interactive direct mail piece, and you’ll stay in your audience’s minds even longer.

Interactive Direct Mail Options

Now that you know how effective interactive direct mail pieces are, you may be wondering how you can take advantage this holiday season. Luckily for you, we have several pieces to help you capitalize on the benefits of interactive postcards: Oversized Scratch-Off Postcards, Jumbo Scratch-Off Postcards, and Peel-a-Gift Postcards.

  • holiday peel-a-gift example

    Peel-a-Gift Postcard
    (5.5″ × 10.5″)

  • holiday jumbo scratch-off example

    Jumbo Scratch-Off Postcard
    (8.5″ × 10.5″)

  • holiday scratch-off example

    Oversized Scratch-Off Postcard
    (5.5″ × 10.5″)

Read on to learn more about the specific features that make these interactive postcards so engaging.

They’re Eye-Catching

Our interactive postcards can be designed with fun, festive looks that are perfect for the holiday season. For example, you might want your postcards to be red and green or have a snowy landscape as the background. These visuals get prospects in the holiday spirit and help them build more positive associations with your brand.

These interactive pieces are also large enough to stand out in any mailbox. Our Oversized Scratch-Off and Peel-a-Gift Postcards offer 115.5 square inches of marketing space, which is nearly 2.5 times bigger than a traditional 4″ × 6″ postcard. And our Jumbo Scratch-Off Postcards provide almost 3.5 times the space at 178.5 square inches.

They’re Exciting

Interactive postcards grab your audience’s attention and create anticipation with the chance to win. Our Peel-a-Gift Postcards mimic the look of a holiday present, so they’re fun to open and will intrigue your prospects. And our Scratch-Off Postcards are like lottery tickets, which many people traditionally give to friends and family during the holiday season. However, unlike lottery tickets, everyone’s a winner with our interactive products.

They’re Customizable

We use variable data printing (VDP) to print the offers on your postcards. This gives you the ability to completely customize your direct mail holiday offers on any Scratch-Off or Peel-a-Gift Postcard. You can print a different offer on every piece, or stick to a small number of offers that are proven to get results.

You can also use VDP to add your prospects’ first names to your ads if you’re using a targeted mailing list. In fact, according to a 2017 study, including a name to your mail piece can increase response rates by 135%.4 Plus, the Direct Marketing Association reports that targeting on a 1:1 level increases response rates by at least 50%.2

Conclusion

It’s never too early to get started with your holiday direct mail campaigns. Try throwing some interactive pieces into the mix this year to take your print marketing efforts to the next level. They’ll help you connect with your prospects on a personal level and make an impression that sticks in their memories. Best of all, they’ll stand out from the boring pieces your competition is sending and boost your sales, making your holidays even happier.

Sources

  1. ‘Tis the Season to Be Strategic: Holiday Direct Marketing
  2. 2018 DMA Statistical Fact Book
  3. Still Relevant: A Look at How Millennials Respond to Direct Mail
  4. 30 Direct Mail Statistics for 2017