Freakin' Genius...Loved this!

I just read about a local printer who wanted to encourage prospects to use them, so they sent 1,500 roundtrip transit bus and subway cards to show them how easy it was to get to their facility for a press check. The card, was sent attached to a full-color, 5-panel mailer that spelled out "Take a swipe at us" as the prospect unfolded it. RESULTS: 5% of all mailed recipients placed an order!

Marketers offer sweat, tears and blood to their potential clients

Some marketing agencies promise to give blood, sweat and tears to clients. Touch branding, a european-based marketing company has been intent on backing up the claim "We'll give our blood for good branding" with an edgy direct mail campaign built around the message.

With a flair for the dramatic, Touch has mailed real blood bags filled with fake blood to potential clients in their geographic target zone. The mailer includes a letter with a short intro to the company and a link to its website, which resembles a blood bag. They produced the whole thing in-house for around $1 a piece.

The edge that works for this campaign can only be achieved when marketers take risks and aren't afraid to get creative with their direct mail campaigns, even when they are only a part of the total effort.

"Direct mail works when it brings a positive surprise to the recipient", says Creative Director Martin Marusinec. "The postal service can deliver almost anything these days, so there's no reason why your direct mail has to be yet another letter or plain brochure."