Direct Mail Virtual Half-Day Conference Presented by United States Postal Service

OPENING REMARKS

Mark Kaline

Senior Vice President, Data & Technology Practice ANA

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: HOW THE DIRECT MAIL TEAM ADAPTED THROUGHT 2020

We all thought we’d be working from home for two weeks. That was clearly too optimistic! Once the reality of the pandemic set in, the American Cancer Society direct mail team was along for the wild ride all non-profit fundraisers endured. This is how they managed their direct mail fundraising programs to generate double digit growth in 2020.

Catharine Holihan

Managing Director, Direct Mail and Marketing Operations American Cancer Society

USPS: HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED DIRECT MAIL

Customer needs and expectations have grown and evolved rapidly in the last year; yet the challenge remains on how to deliver relevant content that successfully engages your key audience. In this session, you will hear directly from the USPS on how the pandemic has fundamentally altered the landscape of direct mail and what brands need to know about the new normal.

Chris Karpenko

Executive Director of Brand Marketing United States Postal Service

GAME CHANGER: CREATING A WINNING PLAYBOOK IN DIRECT MAIL

Speed matters in today’s environment, and it’s okay to fall in the process – as long as we’re falling forward. The faster we make decisions, the faster we progress; but making those decisions based on data-driven processes are the key to success. Through the acquisition of its largest dealer and the adoption of methodologies that drive a true data-driven culture, ADT challenged the way to think about direct mail. Melissa Rosenhouse, ADT, will discuss how a best-in-class marketing skillset and a rigorous test and reinvest approach helped create a winning direct mail playbook.

Melissa Rosenhouse

Direct Marketing Manager ADT

BEST BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SECRETS FOR DIRECT MAIL SUCCESS

Your audience thinks they make deliberate, informed decisions, but science tells a different story. Up to 95% of decision-making actually takes place in the subconscious mind. Humans are hardwired to conserve mental energy, so they default to automatic, reflexive decision-making shortcuts.

The good news for direct marketers? These shortcuts can be triggered or prompted, which means you can greatly increase the open, read, and response rates to your mail. All you need to do is add the right behavioral science tactics to your creative strategies and executions.

Discover some of the best-performing ones in this example-jammed presentation, which reveals how to easily use proven, neuromarketing principles to drive direct mail success.

Nancy Harhut

Chief Creative Officer HBT Marketing

WHAT YOU'RE MISSING ABOUT TODAY'S DIRECT MAIL

In this presentation, Curtis will address some of the common myths and misconceptions about direct mail, such as it's too expensive, it doesn't connect with younger consumers, and it just doesn't work anymore. He will share new consumer research and talk about recent case studies that will serve to shine a light on the tactic's effectiveness and provide marketers with practical tips on making the most of the moment that direct mail seems to be having with consumers. 

Curtis Tingle

SVP of Print Media Valassis

ATTRIBUTION MODEL 2.0 – DIRECT MAIL GOES DIGITAL

Many models exist to gauge the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign, but each have their challenges. This session will dive into their flaws, discuss strategies to overcome barriers, and review new technologies that move us away from indirect, multi-touch attribution towards 1:1 attribution. 

Michael Cruz

Partner/Head of Content Summer Friday

THE ANA 2021 RESPONSE RATE REPORT - INITIAL FINDINGS

How much should direct marketers invest to reach their customers? Without understanding direct marketing channel performance (even in the best and most predictable of times), there's no way to accurately plan to reach prospects with enough scale to meet marketing and business needs without having the latest benchmarks.

The ANA 2021 Response Rate Report tracks the performance of direct marketing channels based on survey input from over 500 direct marketing clients, agencies, and service providers. The full report, produced by the ANA Data & Analytics Practice in partnership with Demand Metric, is due to be released this summer to all ANA members and covers a wide variety of channels, including direct mail.
 
During this session, Nick Runyon, President at PFL.com, and John Follett, Co-Founder at Demand Metric, will preview a series of initial findings into why brands are leveraging direct mail, how direct mail response rates are being tracked, which formats perform the best, and how direct mail usage will evolve in the next 12 months.

In addition to revealing these preliminary findings, Nick and John will also share several real-world examples of how companies are successfully blending digital and traditional channels, as well as the revenue impact of direct mail. 

John Follett

Co-Founder and Chief Compliance Officer Demand Metric