benefits direct mail

For Transactional, Direct Mail, and In-Plant Printers

This article is a reprint from Canon Solutions America.

How Production Inkjet Can Help You Achieve Your Sustainability Goals

The Digital Advantage

If you currently print predominantly on offset or other non-inkjet technology, reducing your environmental impact and boosting your reputation for sustainability are just some of the substantial benefits you could achieve by moving to inkjet production printing.

By its very nature, digital printing offers many sustainability benefits, such as less waste, chemical-free production, and reduced make-ready and set-up time

By its very nature, digital printing offers many sustainability benefits, such as less waste, chemical-free production, and reduced make-ready and set-up time. You also can add cost-efficient production of shorter runs matched to actual demand, even down to a run length of one, among its green attributes. And being a digital process, efficiencies and consequential sustainability benefits can be enhanced—and the risk of human error reduced—by putting in place fully automated workflows managed by software.

Digital printing also gives print providers access to more sustainable business models, such as:

  • On-demand Printing: Sell first, then print.
  • Dynamic Publishing: Highly targeted content based on streamlined data workflows and automated production processes, resulting in lower page counts.
  • Programmatic Print: Linking marketing automation platforms and highly-automated print production workflows.

If you’d like to find out more about these business models, you can read our reTHINK Commercial Print guide here.

Elevated by Inkjet

Through the use of production inkjet technology, however, the environmental benefits of digital printing can be elevated to an even higher level—starting with the printheads.

Engineered for precision and durability, these printheads can have a lifespan of thousands of hours and may only need to be replaced after years of use.

Most inkjet sheetfed and web presses use piezo printhead technology, which works by rapidly passing an electric charge through a piezo crystal that flexes and, in doing so, forces a drop of ink out of a nozzle. Engineered for precision and durability, these printheads can have a lifespan of thousands of hours and may only need to be replaced after years of use. The longevity of the print heads also is aided by the close interdependency between the printhead technology and inkjet inks, resulting in minimal maintenance costs.

Eco-Friendly Inks

As for inkjet inks, the most environmentally friendly are stringently manufactured aqueous pigment inks. Being water-based, the inks emit low odor; do not carry substances of very high concern (SVHC); and are free of mineral oil, aromatic hydrocarbon (MOAH), and saturated hydrocarbons (MOSH). Look for process-color inks listed in the Nordic Swan database of approved printing chemicals that show good deinking properties, according to INGEDE method 11, when combined with appropriate substrates.

Look for process-color inks listed in the Nordic Swan database of approved printing chemicals that show good deinking properties.

Solvents used and produced in the manufacture of inks, coatings, and paints contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), human-made chemicals that may have adverse health effects. However, sustainability-conscious suppliers see to it that the VOC emissions of ink and paper conditioning products remain well below the levels allowed by governmental guidelines. In addition, some inkjet presses use innovative technology to further reduce the impact of VOCs. For example, some drying technology uses a sufficiently low temperature that any VOC particles that do enter the paper fibers are not released into the air, so no exhaust air cleaning is required. Other presses also have integrated exhaust air cleaning systems that can eliminate VOC emissions.

Even More Sustainable Credentials

The main sustainability benefits that can be gained through adopting inkjet production technology offer a lot to consider. But there are other features and sustainable benefits to seek out when evaluating an inkjet press investment. For a start, energy consumption: while a press that is robust enough for heavy-duty 24/7 operations is a given, there are inkjet presses that feature low energy consumption per printed page.

Then, hand in hand with durability are longevity and upgradability. Though digital machines have at times been associated with “built-in obsolescence,” look for an inkjet press that has proved itself in the market and offers a clear upgrade path for new features and speed enhancements, maximizing the lifespan of the system and making it truly sustainable. An inkjet press that has been built to last and to operate around the clock—especially one that incorporates preventive maintenance concepts—is most likely to deliver the high levels of uptime and productivity required and, potentially, up to 10 million impressions per week.

An inkjet press that can be refurbished and has multiple recyclable parts also will add to your sustainability credentials.

Finally, an inkjet press that can be refurbished and has multiple recyclable parts also will add to your sustainability credentials. So, look for a supplier that maximizes the economic life of its inkjet presses with a high refurbishment rate and that recycles, within industry standard recycling processes, a high percentage of the parts in its presses.

Plus Canon’s Commitment

With sustainability becoming an increasingly important topic for print service providers, it is even more of a reason to think about moving some, if not all, your work to production inkjet and assessing which technology partner is going to be best for your business. Not only does Canon Solutions America offer a range of production inkjet presses to suit every application and run-length but, for us, sustainability is a key consideration from the very start of the inkjet innovation and development process—including using sustainable and/or recycled materials and energy-efficient manufacturing processes and eliminating hazardous substances wherever we can.

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Political Elections

3 Musts for Your Election Campaign

 

It’s crunch time for your campaign! Due to our current environment, the election season looks a bit different than in previous years – but things are improving slowly.  With this in mind here are some options to connect with your voters.

Get your name out there with a direct mail campaign

Direct mail is a great way to make a personalized touchpoint for voters. Sending a postcard with a customized name and the right target audience gives them a reminder of who you are. Make sure you have a call-to-action with a unique QR code. Keep your message focused – and create a memorable campaign.

Strengthen your campaign with customized products and apparel

Follow-up your direct mail campaign with a tee-shirt or ball cap! Tailor your promotional products to meet the needs of your target audience. These items double as great gifts to thank supporters, as well as, more exposure for the campaign. Say someone wears a campaign shirt to the grocery store.  Now everyone in the store is aware of the nominee and may even ask questions or look them up to learn more.

Your message is our mission – with signage and wearable’s

You can’t be everywhere all at once – but your name can! Since larger in-person rallies are still limited a great tool to advertise your name is wearable promotional products and setting up signage!  This allows voters to interact and see your name outside of the rally environment.

Prepare today – to win tomorrow!

Election Day is just around the corner, so discover what we can offer you!  Contact us today at 866.816.2378. We would be happy to discuss your goals and how to achieve them.

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3 Musts For Your Election Campaign

These steps will help increase awareness and support for your campaign.  With elections right around the corner, it is crunch time for your campaign.  Due to our current environment, the election season looks a bit different than in previous years.  This makes it harder for nominees to connect with voters.  Here are three “musts” for a campaign in the COVID-Age:

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a great way to make a personalized touchpoint for voters. Send a postcard that says “Hey (insert name), we can’t wait to see you at the polls on Nov. 3!”.  This gives them a reminder and also puts your name in their hands. Considering that not everyone will want to go to vote in person, use direct mail as a way to inform about the other voting options.

Tip: Add a QR code to your mailing piece that leads to the campaign landing page.

Virtual Campaign Rally

Since larger in-person rallies are still limited, utilize one of the many online platforms to hold a virtual rally.  A great tool for this is Facebook Live.  This allows voters to interact during your rally.  Have someone behind the camera monitoring and engaging with viewers.

Tip: If you are holding an in-person rally, still consider using a platform such as Facebook Live.    This gives an option and allows those to see who may not be able to make it.

SWAG

Who doesn’t like getting a swag bag?  These double as great gifts to thank supporters, as well as, more exposure for the campaign. Say someone wears a campaign shirt to the grocery store.  Now everyone in the store is aware of the nominee and may even ask questions or look them up to learn more. Some great products for a swag bag include; T-shirts, Pens, Car Decals, Magnets, Cups, Flags, and Hats.

Tip 1: Hold giveaways on social media to increase engagement and followers.

Tip 2: Set up a storefront to sell merch for the campaign.

Need help implementing these steps? Contact us today 866.816.2378 and ask for Karly Rouillier. We would be happy to discuss your goals and how to achieve them.

 

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Email or Direct Mail?

“… consumers are spending 28% less online time using e-mail, according to the measurement company [Nielsen].” Alex Palmer DMNews

“… Ben & Jerry’s is abandoning its e-mail marketing initiatives”

In a recent blog by Howard Fenton, senior consultant at NAPL, the ice cream company is going “to focus exclusively on social media advertising.” Ben & Jerry’s has apparently decided that there are better alternatives than email for building customer relationships. If true, the only use left for email marketing is as an acquisition tool.

But direct mail is more responsive, less expensive than email for acquisitions!

All the hype from email providers hides the fact that email is more or less a non-responsive medium. Their claims of being more responsive are based on comparing email’s click response with direct mail’s purchase response. On the cost side, they promote the idiocy of comparing the cost of distributing emails to the cost of distributing an equal number of direct mail pieces.

Email responsiveness, as with nearly all on-line advertising, is measured in clicks. A click on-line is when a consumer clicks on a link, opening a new web page containing more information. According to www.listpriceindex.com’s Top Email Offer Calculator, this happens 0.52% to 1.87% of the time for a Business to Business list. In comparison the traditional direct mail response rate is 1% to 3%. But the traditional direct mail response is a purchase response, or some other significant activity.

A click isn’t a purchase; clicks simply display new web pages with more information. There is an identical consumer action in direct mail… it’s called opening an envelope! Opening an envelope, or other direct mail piece, also displays a new page with more information. In fact opening a direct mail piece and clicking on a link are identical in fulfilling a consumer’s request for more information. Both deliver the requested information, email delivers it on a new screen page; direct mail delivers the information on a printed page.

Since on-line advertisers call the action of a consumer requesting more information a “click”, it’s also accurate to call opening a direct mail piece and instantly receiving more information a “click”. By establishing a common consumer action associated with both mediums, it’s possible to accurately compare common response rates and the costs associated with generating those responses.

The USPS has been conducting a survey called the Household Diary Study for over twenty years. A five year average (2004-2008) of the data shows that 82% of recipients of direct mail advertising read or scan this advertising. Reading or scanning the contents of a direct mail piece certainly qualifies as a click. Because of the Household Diary Study we know that direct mail’s click rate is 82%.

Comparison of response rates: direct mail 82%, email 0.52% to 1.87%.

Of all the costs associated with an email campaign, the only number used to calculate the cost of generating a click is the list cost, which includes distribution. To make a comparable click cost calculation, only the costs associated with direct mail’s in-mail cost should be used. In-mail costs are printing, manufacturing, list costs, list prep, fulfillment, mail prep, shipping and postage.

Email has a perceived functional advantage in its ability to deliver direct connections to the web. But by adding digital media such as an optical disc, thumb drive, web key, or simple QR code, direct mail is also able to provide direct links to the Internet. For a fair cost comparison with email, digitally linked direct mail must be used. The in-mail cost of a direct mail piece containing an optical disc can be as low as $1.00 per piece and will be used in the following cost comparisons.
To calculate the click cost of a mailing, the in-mail cost per piece is divided by the click rate. For disc based mail divide $1.00 by 82%, yielding a click cost of $1.22. For email divide the list rental cost by the click rate.

Listpriceindex.com has a chart tracking the cost of email lists. The current average cost for BtoB lists is $279/m; the average for consumer lists is $112. So to do the math divide the cost per email address by its click rate or $279/1,000/0.52% = $53.65 per click. An alternative option would be to let listpriceindex.com’s handy dandy click cost calculator do the math for you.

Cost-per-click comparison: direct mail $1.22, email from $14.92 to $53.65.

A case study provided by a reputable list broker (summer 2010), had a BtoC company purchasing 30,219 email addresses. Of these 985 were “opened”. The definition of an email “open” is that the graphics were downloaded by the consumer, making the email readable. The reason it’s unreasonable to compare the cost of distributing an equal number of email messages with an equal number of direct mail pieces is that the direct mail industry does not (typically) send blank or unreadable pieces to consumers!

With email, a marketer’s message is only delivered to those consumers that download the graphics. In this case study 29,234 marketing messages were left “blank” or unreadable by consumers. Using listpriceindex.com’s average list cost of $112/m for a BtoC list, the current cost for renting 30,219 email addresses would be $3,385.

With direct mail’s functional advantage of delivering 100% readable messages, this marketer only needed to mail 985 printed pieces to equal the same number of readable messages delivered through email. An accurate one-to-one cost of distribution comparison for delivering 985 readable messages results in a disc based direct mail cost of $985 compared to an email cost of $3,385.

Cost to distribute 985 readable messages: direct mail $985, email $3,385!

This case study generated 74 clicks or a click through rate of 0.25%. An email list cost of $3,385 divided by 74 clicks yields a cost per click of $45.74 per click. A direct mail piece containing optical media would generate the same number of clicks by entering 91 pieces (82% click rate) in to the mail stream. The total cost of generating 74 clicks using direct mail would be $91.00!

Cost to generate 74 clicks: direct mail $91, email $3,385!

In comparing email to direct mail, the important numbers to compare are the number of responses (clicks) generated and the cost of each response. When using these metrics, email underperforms…badly. Maybe that’s why Ben & Jerry’s is dumping email for the next hot thing. The fact is that when comparable responses and their costs are used, direct mail (with digital content) delivers greater functionality at a lower cost than on-line advertising.

Todd Butler of Butler Mailing Services can be contacted at 513-870-5060,toddb@butlermail.com or visit www.ekeymailer.com.

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