How to command attention with dimensional mailers

As the economy starts to come back to life, most businesses are ramping up their marketing to remind their target audiences about their products, services and solutions. But because so many companies are competing for attention, most marketing messages will get lost in the cacophony of advertising, content and promotion.

How can you make your message stand out? What’s the best way to reach your key prospects and let them know that you’re open for business and ready to serve them?

One powerful way to do that is to include account-based management (ABM) in your marketing mix. ABM is the practice of developing campaigns where sales and marketing work in sync to engage highly desirable prospects that have a need for your products and services.

Why do you need to use such a hyper-targeted marketing strategy? Because traditional one-size-fits-all messaging is only effective to build brand awareness. You still need it to ensure that your company is top-of-mind with prospects who may someday need your product or service.

But it’s not enough to attract senior-level executives at your key prospects. They tend to ignore most marketing and promotion. To get their attention and persuade them to consider your offer, you need a more personalized, high-impact approach.

Now is the time to expand your marketing efforts to include an ABM or key account focus, using tools and strategies that will give your messages the impact they deserve.

One powerful solution: dimensional mailers

What can break through the clutter, capture the attention of your key prospects and provide them with a one-of-a-kind experience? Dimensional mailers.

These hard-working print pieces aren’t flat like conventional mailers. They get their name from the fact that they have a third dimension. Examples include boxes, tubes and other complex shapes. They tend to be more expensive than postcards or letters – but make up for that by delivering exceptional response rates compared to traditional mail pieces.

Dimensional mailers enable you to make an irresistible impact with the prospects you want to influence the most. When an elegant box or distinctive mailing tube hits their desk, it immediately stands out and compels them to open it.

Here are four creative examples of this high-impact type of marketing collateral:

1. “Eye” see what you did there

An insurance provider that specializes in vision services needed to generate more appointments for its salespeople with key corporate decision-makers. To get their attention, it mailed a brightly-colored box containing an empty vinyl case emblazoned with the company’s logo. Brief instructions told prospects if they scheduled a meeting with one of the provider’s salespeople, they would receive a complimentary pair of Oakley or Ray-Ban sunglasses.

2. A message in a bottle

One savvy marketer placed a tattered, elegantly hand-written note within an empty wine bottle. A tag on the neck of the bottle contained a welcome message. It was delivered in a cardboard box that looked like distressed wood. This clever idea provided recipients with a truly unique and unforgettable experience. Who can resist a mysterious message in a bottle?

3. When only the finest will do

Porsche’s customers are notoriously discerning about high-performance vehicles. How can you get their attention? With an origami-like mailer that opens into a 360-degree wrap-around piece. It ships flat to minimize postage costs, but when consumers open it, it transforms into a memorable, three-dimensional brochure that highlights the details and features of its Porsche Connect service.

4. A door-raising experience

The final example comes from a recent project that Heritage worked on for a client that manufactures high-speed roll-up doors. For the last several years, this firm has utilized whimsical dimensional mailers to attract auto dealer decision-makers to visit its booth during the National Auto Dealers Association trade show.

For the 2020 show, Heritage designed a mailer that was inspired by Weight Watchers’ “slide rule” points calculator. The outside consists of a rectangular pocket made of thin-walled cardstock. It’s closed on three-sides but open on one end. It contains a window that enables the recipient to view the contents of a card nested inside it by pulling a tab on one end.

Heritage designed this trade show invitation with a picture of a roll-up door on the insert card. When the recipient pulled on its tab, the door appeared to open up. That revealed a unique code that recipients could bring to the manufacturer’s booth to see if they won a free give-away.

Heritage purchased the dies to create the cutout in the pocket. It digitally printed the recipients’ mailing information and random codes for the booth give-away and mailed these pieces to 135 VIPs.

Perfect for ABM or key account programs

Because of their higher cost, dimensional mailers aren’t cost-effective for large mailings. But they can be a powerful part of account-based or key-account marketing campaigns.

Dimensional mailers offer huge opportunities for creative, eye-catching and unique experiences. You can even blend online and offline elements – providing recipients with a high-touch experience with the mailer, which then leads them to an online landing page to engage with your company.

If you plan to use dimensional mailers as part of your outbound marketing strategy, be careful: They must be relevant to your key prospects’ needs and on-brand with your other messaging. Otherwise, they risk becoming an expensive, unfocused experiment.