Can Online Video Pep Up Your Direct Marketing?

The addition of online video to a multi-channel direct marketing campaign recently boosted sales by 20% for a performing arts organization, according to a "Target Marketing" magazine blog report. A series of five "behind the curtain" videos were aimed at creating curiosity about upcoming performances and were interspersed with three "music" videos where the product was basically given away. Direct mail, because of the target demographics, remained a key channel, but radio, a primary advertising channel (and expense) in prior years, was dropped. Meanwhile, the videos allowed for expanded e-mail marketing because they gave purpose to frequent messaging, and the videos helped leverage the viral impact of social media efforts with Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter to attract new patrons. The blog authors argue that the online videos turned around a tired direct marketing effort because they provided content purpose, enabled frequency, and allowed use of a "free" component in the marketing. For a complete discussion, see the post at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/turnaround-tired-direct-marketing-campaigns-with-video

Snail Mail Taking the Leap Into 'Augmented Reality'

The U.S. Postal Service has embraced "augmented reality," so prepare for a new wave of "augmented" direct mail that will marry physical ads and interactive digital with the wave of a mobile device. Some retailers and direct marketers already have used the technology to take engagement a step beyond QR codes. For example, over the holidays, cataloger Ballard Designs debuted its own app so readers could grab their ever-present mobile phones and scan a catalog page to instantly read a product review, add an item to a cart, share the item, save the item to a favorites area or see additional content not available in the print catalog. But you know a technology has arrived when the USPS jumps aboard. The USPS debuted its own "augmented reality" app for mobile scanning of mail at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. "We worked on this to show companies that hard copy mail can be a part of their editorial content," Chris Karpenko, head of USPS outreach, told "VentureBeat" reporter Sean Ludwig on the CES show floor. "It’s all about the customer experience. And there is a measurable ROI on click-throughs." Karpenko is quoted as saying the app will likely be released "before the end of 2013." For the full article and a demo video, go to http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/10/usps-augmented-reality-app/