Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing in 2010 - WSJ.com

Looking to cut costs amid the recession, Alicia Settle initially thought it would be a good idea to eliminate her company's annual direct mailing.
Spending about $20,000 on the personally signed letters, which offered customers a discount on early orders, seemed indulgent for Per Annum Inc., which sells city diaries, albums, and planners in the struggling corporate gift market. But after swapping snail mail for email last year, Ms. Settle saw a 25% drop in early orders compared with the same period the previous year.
"We realized we had made a huge mistake," says Ms. Settle, president of the New York firm.
The affordability of e-marketing, along with the explosion of social media and the desire to trim costs in the recession, has prompted many small companies like Per Annum to slash traditional direct-mail budgets. U.S. consumers received about 5.2 billion pieces of direct mail in the third quarter of 2009, a 27% decline compared with 7.1 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel Comperemedia, a research firm that tracks direct-mail marketing.
However, some entrepreneurs who were quick to write off direct mail as too pricey or passé are finding it's not so easy to dismiss.

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Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing - WSJ.com

New Ad

Here is an ad Jeanette created for an up coming publication.

New at DeFrance

By our own admission our building has been pretty unimpressive. Mostly because we were not sure if we would be quickly moving again to a different location. We'll we have finally made a desicion that we are not moving for quite some time and therefor are fixing up the place. So far we have added grass along the street, desert plants next to the parking lot and the newest addition is our sign shown above.
Over the next few months we will continue to upgrade and improve our location in hopes to better serve our clients aswell as improve the neighborhood. Keep an eye out for more improvement.

Details about our sign-
We have been tossing ideas around since we moved in this location about something industrial, metal and big but just couldn't decide on exactly what. I was having some parts for a car cut out of metal and started thinking about how cool the process is, like die cutting but out of metal.
We started with a sheet of 4' x 6' 1/8" mild steel that was then waterjet cut from our artwork using an illustrator file. After the sign was cut we then welded on 4 legs to add depth off the building and then took it to be powder coated. After powder coating we glued on a sheet of 1/8" white plastic to highlight the artwork and then mounted it to the wall. It was our first experience with this type of signage but we think it came out great.

Forcasting 2010

"For 2010, I think-I hope!- we'll begin a conversation about balance in the marketing mix. Social media has been the "Next Big Thing" for a couple of years now, but despite the heavy hype, there's been relatively little discussion about it's place as a tool in a toolbox, as opposed it being the salvation of marketing and branding.
Print isn't dead. Television isn't dead. Radio isn't dead. Billboards aren't dead. Direct mail isn't dead. Even newspapers aren't dead. They are all very much alive and there are great opportunities to use them in conjunction(instead of replacing them) with social media and other new media.
By applying the fresh perspectives and philosophies found in new media to more traditional areas of marketing, we can uncover opportunities to innovate and extend beyond what other's have done in the past. Here's hoping 2010 is the year we dust off some of the great media vehicles of the past, and discover new and relevant ways to use them to connect with our audiences."
James Archer Managing Director of Forty Agency

Advanced Viewing

"Oversized windows entice recipients to find out what's inside."

"Back in vogue are oversized-window envelopes that give recipients enough of a peek at the contents to convince them to open it.
The Wilderness Society- a Washington, D.C. based non profit- adopted the larger windows for its bimonthly donor recruitment package, which it mails 2 to 3 million of annually. It now places the traditional single envelope used for the prospecting piece inside another envelope with an oversized window, and donors have taken notice.
When the double-envelope approach was tested against the single envelope, the oversized-window piece produced a 35 percent higher response rate, according to Robin Hickman, the group's director of membership services. She adds that a subsequent test also generated a higher response rate, proving that doubling your efforts really can pay off. - Paula Andruss"

by Paula Andruss from the December issue of Deliver Magazine.

Rain & Hail!

Wow, I have lived in San Diego my entire life and don't believe I have ever seen weather like this past week. Kind of a mess but we really needed it.
Here is a pic of hail that built up on our front door this morning. Be careful outhere and wear your waders. Keep checking in I am going to be adding some samples and marketing tips early next week.

Happy New Year!

Well we hope that all of you enjoyed the holidays and celebrated the New Year! I am ever the optimist and feel that 2010 will bring good news and improved business. This doesnt mean everything will go back to normal but I believe that those of us who work hard, build relationships and have a plan will succeed.
What to expect from DeFrance this year- more ideas/ better solutions/ additional capabilities/ new marketing tools/ our own marketing campaign including directmail, email, phone sales, vehicle and building signage + more/ silk screen printing capabilities for clothing/ increased variable data solutions and more-