2. Idea Production Mailbox
• Take Aways
– Advantages of having a production partner
– Direct Mail production best practices
– Cost saving tips
3. Why Have a Production Partner?
• Experience
– Specialized fields
– Resources
– Supplier network
– New industry technology
– Innovative formats/techniques
– USPS knowledge
– Delivery optimization knowledge
4. Why Have a Production Partner?
• Management and Coordination
– An extension of your staff
– Get partners involved early to avoid issues
– Schedule and keep all parties on task, on time
– Set supplier expectations
– Manage products, services and relationships
5. Mail Dates Drive the Schedule
Concept
65 days
before Mail
Date
Final Art
25 days
before Mail
Date
Print
14-21 days
before Mail
Date
12-16 days
before Mail
Date
Personalization
10-14 days
before Mail
Date
Lettershop
7-10 days
before Mail
Date
Mail
Date
Data
Processing
6. Many Facets of Direct Mail Production
Direct Mail
Production
Creative
Print
Data
Processing
Personalization
Mailshop
Postal
7. Direct Mail Production –
It’s Own Language
SLW
OSE
BRE
IMb
RAE
CMYK
PDF
DP
PPI
CASS
WW
FPO
FIM
Simplex
Duplex
Lock Up
Grain Direction
De-dupe
NCOA
PCW
8. Best Practices
• Know your supplier partners
• Print
• Data Processing
• Personalization
• Mailshop
• Postal Optimization
9. Supplier Partners
• What is their niche?
• Just because they can get something
produced does not mean they should
• Order takers
• Think outside the box
Your Problems
Solutions
The Box
10. Print Best Practices
• Size
• Stock
• Colors
• Will the components fit into the OSE?
• IMb
• Fold
• Copy
11. Data Processing Best Practices
• Seeds
• Counts/Codes
• NCOA
• Salutation
• Ask String
• CD Append
• Foreign Records
15. Postal Optimization
• Has an analysis been performed on the data
file to determine most cost effective way to
mail?
– Commingle
– NDC
– SCF
– Combination
– Co-palletization
16. Cost Savings – Without Sacrificing
Quality or Creativity
• Bulk Purchasing Power
– Contract Pricing
– Program Pricing
• Experience to avoid common DM mishaps
• Creative Savings without sacrificing creativity
or quality
– Bleeds – lose a little in size, but gain creativity
– Form Sizes and Setup
– Handwriting versus auto-pen
18. Interstack Form Setup
17”
11
”
Slit
Page 1 of Letter
Page 1 of Reply
8-1/2”
11”
Stacked Letter &
Reply
Both letter and reply will personalize giving
the appearance of a 2 way match. Because
of the form layout it’s not a match.
19. Drop Cut (Gatefold) Form Setup
8-1/2”
14”
Reply Portion
Top of Letter – Flies
the Package
Gutter/Take out for
Drop-Cut
Top of Letter – Flies
the Package
Reply – Nests into
Letter
Entire form will personalize. The reply will slit and nest
into the letter again giving the appearance of a 2 way
match. Because of the form layout it’s not a match.
20. Why Have a Production Partner?
• Integration of mailing/campaign/program –
online and offline
– Importance of seamless integration
– Value of multi-channel donor
– Cohesive campaign
– Maximize efforts
21. 24M Value of a Multi-Channel Donor
Multi-Channel Donors are 30% more valuable
$176
$117 $111
$144
$121
$165 $161
Avg Val of a 3+
giver, $134
All Three
Channels
DM Only TM Only OL Only DM&TM DM&OL TM&OL
24M 24M Avg$
Let’s Talk Production
So you’ve heard from Joel, Kelley and Elise on their specialties and their role in the big picture of Direct Mail which leads us to…
Why use a Production Company?
Our collective nonprofit clients have a very important mission – whether it’s
feeding the homeless,
advocating for children or minorities,
protecting the environment or its wildlife,
promoting the arts,
whatever the cause is…
Your direct marketing campaigns are critical for engaging people to support the great work that you do. It’s imperative that those campaigns are compelling and executed efficiently and effectively.
Clip Art Slide
A production firm is there to manage the process of each mailing within a campaign from the concept, through the many moving parts of production, and into the mailbox where your donor will be compelled to open it.
Why Have a Production Partner? – Experience
A production partner will afford you a dedicated team of technical experts with an exclusive focus on production needs
Many years of experience in Specialized Fields - Typically Nonprofits are operating in a lean staffing environment – trying to make every dollar count - and cannot afford to have a team of people with diverse knowledge in specialized fields… A good production firm on the other hand hires experts in all areas of production.
A Production partner can provide the staffing Resources to react to busy times of the fiscal or calendar year, emergency mailings, vacation schedules etc.. They typically have a large client base, therefore the buying power and access to resources that an individual nonprofit may not. They also have exposure to a diverse group of clients and mailings and all the ideas, “tricks,” and solutions to issues that goes along with that exposure and experience.
A production partner has access to an extensive Network of Suppliers capable of specialty products and services. All of which have a different vantage point and can be a very valuable resource for
creative mailing strategies,
pricing economies and
issue prevention
Staying Current on New Industry Technology – a good partner will have a commitment to higher, most current DM education. They will hold memberships to the many industry associations and attend conferences and seminars. (Ideally they are participating in that education as a thought leader in their industry too!) They will be in tune with industry updates and new technology available - all of which will lead to innovative package formats and mailing techniques and other creative mailing strategies
Detailed knowledge of the USPS in terms of rates and regulations. As we all know the USPS has a lot of rules – those rules change and they are often open to interpretation depending on what reps you are speaking with.
Another area of expertise is Delivery Optimization – maximizing your postage dollar - which Elise spoke to you about earlier. A production firm can help you identify weight and size issues and come up with alternatives before they hurt your bottom line. They can coordinate the analysis of your file and find you cost savings and in home efficiencies. Shannon will be speaking to you a bit more about that as well.
Why Have a Production Partner? - Management and Coordination
If you make the most of your partnership they truly can be an extension of your staff allowing you to free up your time and energy to focus on your organization’s mission. They should be as intimately familiar with your programs as you are – in some aspects, more so!
But that means getting your partners involved early so that they can maximize their contributions and help you avoid issues before they happen
They will create and manage the schedules that will keep all parties on task and your projects on time
We can’t emphasize schedule enough – it doesn’t necessarily matter what tool you use as long as all stake holders involved are on the same page and agree to use it – throughout the process! Very few projects go exactly according to plan so it is not uncommon to have many iterations of the original schedule. As aspects of your mailing change, the schedule will need to be adjusted and readjusted and readjusted to account for the ripple effect. Your production partner will manage those changes and the communication updates they require.
They will set supplier expectations - and reset them as package and schedule evolves. Who is responsible for what, when, where, how…
A Production Partner is responsible for managing the physical components –
Envelopes,
Reply devices,
Letters,
Inserts such as Lift Notes, Buckslips
Front end Premiums such as Labels, Cards, Notepads, Decals, Pins
and backend premiums required for fulfillment
They are also managing the Services that are required to execute the strategy –
Data processing
Personalization - whether it’s lasering, handwriting, digital printing, auto pen
Mailshop processes such as bindery, live stamping, inserting
And they are managing the relationships – it truly does take a village! Think of how many people touch your DM program:
Copy writers
Designers
List Brokers
Data providers
Printers
Laser and Mailshops
Online Integration
Telemarketing
Data Analysis
Your production firm is keeping all of those people informed of their responsibilities, and communicating changes that affect each of them along the way.
Mail Dates Drive the Schedule
Start with the end in mind and work backwards
The length of time your project requires is very much dependent on:
The type of package - a #10 package with a simple letter, reply and return is much different than a Card Package with 14 inserts or a handwritten package or something that requires hand inserting.
The quantity can be a variable – 5M versus 1.5MM
The number of packages or test panels affects the schedule – machine time
The intricacies of the data – how much programming is involved, NCOA?
The time of year – Christmas?
The internal approval process required can be a factor
This is a guide as to how long each step in the process takes.
Ideally we can plan ahead allowing for more time in the schedule and edit from there.
It’s always a good idea to get the minimum requirements from the people involved though.
Before you can put best practices into place you have to understand all of the hats that are worn during a direct mail production process as well as the language of DM production.
This industry requires a very unique skillset – it requires a mix of science and art which are usually not characteristics that an individual is equally strong.
While it’s important to bring the right experts to the table it is equally important to have an understanding of each area’s significance and its role in the grand scheme of things.
A good production partner has that unique perspective so that they can apply industry best practices within each area or concentration for a flawless and efficient campaign. (At least flawless in the eyes of the donor!)
Creative – designers and copy writers
Printers – varying requirements and varying levels of quality
Data Processing
Personalization
Lettershop -
Postal – rates, regulations, logistics, tracking…
Direct Mail Production – Its Own Language
A Production Partner can serve as your translator!
Much like the text language and online chat abbreviations sometimes need translating so do DM acronyms!
You need to have an understanding of the language and if you are confused about something, ask for clarification! Clear understanding of what you are trying to accomplish depends on how you are communicating your needs and requirements.
Facing Identification Mark
Coding Accuracy Support System
Shannon will be speaking to you about industry Best Practices in each of these areas.
