Detached Address Label Posctards: A Winning Marketing Tool

Postcards are designed and used to advertise or raise awareness of a company, service or cause. They make a a great addition to your print advertising such as catalogs, letters and flyers. Clipper Magazine is always trying to find new ways to provide direct-mail solutions that work. Clipper tested DAL Postcards in 2005 when Bernie Cederholm, our regional vice president, introduced the concept to Papa John’s in Harrisburg, PA. “The product was then rolled out as a test in Maryland. That year, two clients, combined, spent close to $100,000 with us. It was then that we knew we had a winning product in DALs!” recalls Cederholm.

Why Should Your Business Consider DAL Postcards?
When you think about it, you could produce postcards in house, then print, stamp and mail them. BUT. . .can you really do it more cost-effectively than we can? Can you print on a high-quality paper stock and still keep the cost low? How would you define your distribution lists? Based on what marketing data? Probably not as simple as it would seem initially. Postcard printing and distrbution is far more efficient and convenient when you use a reputable direct-mail and printing resource. Postcards are one of the best cost-efficient tools to present a call-to-action message.

Cederholm continues, “DAL postcards allow a client who prefers solo mailing to land in a consumer’s mailbox for approximately 1/3 of the cost associated with other postcard venues, Next, it is a call-to-action piece. It allows interaction between the consumer and the advertiser. . .kinetic advertising, kinetic response (the touch, feel, read and remember approach). It is cost effective, image oriented, sets the advertiser apart from others in the mailbox, and the best part is that the DAL postcards can meet the needs of an advertiser with segment mailings which are zip code specific–and all done with ad agency quality and design, but without ad agency cost!”

Donna Mast is an expert when it comes to DAL postcards. Here, she highlights 5 of the benefits of using DAL cards as a marketing tool:

1- Price – A DAL postcard is 1/3 the cost of traditional direct mail

2 – Exclusivity – Your advertisement becomes a solo mailer, rather than one of many ads in a packet/envelope/magazine

3- Impactful, high-quality postcards – Its beautiful full-color, glossy coating makes your postcard stand out

4- Can target your marketing area with specific zip codes or parts of zip codes closest to your location(s)

5- All inclusive – Design, printing and mailing for a single price; there are no “up charges” or hidden fees

The Design and The Message
“DAL postcards are sized at 8.5″ X 5″ with a full-color front and a full-color back live area of 4.125″ x 4.75.” To be successful, “a postcard should get people’s attention and deliver the message with value. A great image is one that best represents the business, and supports a call-to-action message–similar to billboard advertising,“ says Melanie Luther, one of our talented graphic designers.

“A great visual on the front to catch the reader’s eye, a strong offer or incentive for the reader to call, a headline that captures the reader’s attention, not too much copy, and don’t forget to include a website address, if available,” adds Mast.

Quality of the Distribution List: as Important as the Quality of Your Message!
The DAL‘s distribution is based on the distribution of the magazine – full-saturation carrier routes—meaning that a DAL advertiser has the advantage of using the same zips and carrier routes to which we mail the magazine. However, as a DAL advertiser, you can select which zips and which carrier routes within those zips you would like to target, as well as choose specific carrier routes by median household income, median home value, and median head-of-household age. We mail to households that are your end users–and who have the disposable income to buy!

You can also ask for carrier routes within a 5- or 10-mile radius of your location. DAL postcards mail at the same time as the magazine, since the DAL essentially serves as the magazine’s address label.

“I strongly reccommend that a business use the DAL in segments of a minimum of 10,000 homes for the best results. Also, the segments selected should be as zip code specific as possible to total that,” suggests Cederholm.

DAL Postcards: A Healthy Add-on to Your Clipper Advertising Program
Keep in mind, nothing replaces the on-page Clipper ad in exposure, design, distribution and cost. The DAL is a healthy “add-on” to a Clipper advertiser’s marketing program. In some cases, the DAL serves as a “coupon-shy” advertiser’s introduction to Clipper and may become the vehicle by which they eventually enter the magazine. DALs can help build the relationship between Clipper and advertisers—and often significantly increase the number of Clipper “believers.”