Yesterday I received a package in the mail from Sappi. It’s not too often that something arrives in the office with an announcement of Attn: Donna Moulton. I quickly opened it and found a brilliantly designed pull tab package on the inside. Here is a little background on Sappi to get you up to speed: Sappi is a leading global producer of dissolving wood pulp, specialties and packaging papers, printing and writing papers and biomaterials. Essentially, they make beautiful paper stocks to fulfill all your printing needs. Upon further investigation of the package, I realized that it is an add-on to support their article on Direct Mail in a Digital Age
The Sappi article forecasted that digital advertising will only account for 46% of all advertising. It also noted that direct mail has the highest rate of success. This is a statement I am sure you have read in more than one of my blog posts on direct mail but it is true! Direct mail leaves more of an impression on the recipient receiving it than that of digital advertising clutter.
Inside the package itself, there is a book titled Act Now! A Better Response To Direct Mail. Inside there are 5 case studies. The one that stood out to me the most was Style & Error, Style Case Studies & Protocol.
This case study talked about making sure your format fits your overall message. The study describes various types of printing methods (Digital, Web Offset, Sheet-fed, Off-Line) There are even samples (folded and diecut) in the book.
They also provide a chart of print techniques and finishes that shows which techniques work well with each method of printing.
Ex: If you were looking to print a direct mailing piece digitally you would have to keep in mind that you cannot print with metallic inks and the finished piece cannot be UV coated. **This chart is extremely helpful to keep close at hand when designing for print.
The package also included a few direct mailing samples from a few companies that were mentioned in each of the case studies along with bound samples in the Act Now! Book.
For presentation, I give this Sappi case study pack a 4 out of 5 stars (I may be a little biased as I do really like the way that Sappi packages and designs their media kits). I would have given the package design a 10 but it was a little roughed up and the pull tab opening was a little confusing at first, I didn’t want to tear apart the very well put together package.
As far as the information provided about direct mail marketing and design I give Sappi 5 stars. There is a wealth of information within the pages of the Act Now! book that every direct mail marketer should keep close by.
For more information on how premier can help you with your next direct mailing campaign and to receive a copy of the same brilliantly put together package please email us at: info@premieruplink.com
Donna Moulton is the Sales & Marketing Associate at Premier Graphics. A designer at heart, she uses her design skills to develop creative content, in-house marketing materials and client design work. In her role, she manages all aspects of marketing and advertising, from website updates, blog content and Premier events.