Relevante Media

09/11/2022

05/30/2022

Remembering our Heroes the Day

01/22/2020

07/26/2019

This.

07/02/2019

&more

07/02/2019

06/21/2019

Friday

03/25/2019

09/25/2013

Why high-resolution images are important...

Have you ever asked your designer to pull a logo or image from your or one of your affiliates’ websites, only to receive a blank stare? This is because your designer understands that the use of web images is not a good practice, and it will very well degrade the overall professionalism of your mail piece design.
So why exactly are web images such a no-no?
To start with, you need to understand what makes up a digital photo. All digital photographic images (including website images) are created of hundreds of pixels. These pixels are incredibly small and should be completely invisible to the naked eye when you are viewing an image at full size. If you were to zoom in very closely on a digital image you could see each pixel and how each one’s color slowly shifts to provide optical illusions of smooth color transitions that make up your photo.
Web images are saved at 72 or 96dpi (dots—or pixels—per inch) because web browsers view at this resolution, and print images are saved at 300dpi. When a print designer is asked to take an image from a website, it must be scaled up from 72dpi to 300dpi, which essentially means each pixel will be enlarged to three times its original size. This creates a “pixelization” effect. Pixelation appears because the pixels that make up the image have been enlarged so much that you are now actually starting to see each one individually and the smooth optical illusion breaks down. The information in the image has essentially been stretched to such a degree that there are now gaps in the display of the pixel information, and no amount of “photoshopping” can supplement this lost information. Because the pixels are now over-sized, pixelated images will appear blurry in print, which does very little to enforce the professionalism of your organization.
To avoid this problem, all individuals who are involved in coordination of print design should make sure you always keep a copy of the native, high resolution image files on your hard drive or on a back-up disc. This way, when your you or your designer needs high-resolution images, you will be able to access them quickly and easily.

08/19/2013

Should you add brochures to your direct mail mix?

Your organization probably has some sort of brochure or collateral that you distribute to prospects who request it. The great thing about a corporate brochure is that it can perform many functions throughout your marketing. If it is designed in a mail-friendly manner, one might even consider using it as part of your direct mail efforts. However, is it a good idea to use a brochure as part of your direct mail campaign?

If your direct mail campaign has the right goal in mind, your brochure can be a great element to add to your direct mail campaign. Here are a few ways they work best:

Use your brochure as part of an awareness campaign
Your company brochure most likely depicts a general overview of your company, and its service or product offering. If you are looking to distribute a mail campaign to generate awareness alone, your brochure could be a great, readily available way to do just that. The only thing you would need to be sure about is that the brochure has a mail panel built into it to be mailed as a self-mailer or that it can be housed in an envelope to be transported through the mail. In the future, you may want to design your corporate brochures with this possibility in mind, and make sure to include a mail panel area.

Include your brochure with a letter mailing
Another way to integrate your brochure into your direct mail mix is to include it with your letter mailings as extra information about your company. As we discussed last month, letter mailers are great for building credibility, and inserting a brochure can help supplement the information provided in your letter mailer and help build that credibility.

Follow-up to information request
Finally, your company brochure can be used as part of a follow-up campaign to prospects requesting information. Most organizations receive dozens of leads per day, and implementing a follow-up campaign to touch base with those leads who fail to make a purchase can convert to more sales in the future. Following up with your prospects through the use of a direct mail piece, such as a brochure, is a great way to maintain contact with your prospects for a greater duration of time and strengthen their bond with your organization.

08/01/2013

Sales letters are one of the most common forms of direct mail. One might be tempted to think that the design and layout of a sales letter is a pretty cut-and-dry project. However, before you set your typestyle to 12-point Times New Roman and call it a day, consider these proven tactics to get more out of your sales letter.
Use bold, italics and underlines
Draw attention to the most important, motivating phrases of your letter using bold, italics or underlines. Be careful to use these tactics properly and sparingly. Overusing them can create a reverse effect, causing the page to look cluttered with nothing standing out.
Use indentations
Indenting paragraphs or lists of information help to create texture within your layout and set certain information off from the rest of your letter.
Use bullets to highlight lists
Breaking up your text with a bulleted list is a great way to grab your readers’ attention. Pair this technique with an indentation to draw even more attention to the list.
Include a P.S. note
Studies show that about 80% of people actually read the P.S. note first. To make the most of this behavior, its in your best interest to make sure the P.S. reads quickly and is set in an interesting and noticeable manner.
Handwritten notes
Adding a handwritten call-out or note in the margin of your letter creates an authentic, personal feel to your letter. For an added response, try using the handwritten technique on your P.S. note
Don’t forget the envelope
It’s easy to get so caught up in your letter that you forget all about the vehicle that carries it. Using a mysterious and motivating tagline is a great way to add some drama to your outer envelope. Don’t forget that a well-chosen image can sometimes increase the motivation factor of your envelope as well.

http://relevantemedia.com/design-a-smarter-letter-mailer-2/