When you walk in a casino, chances are, you are going to walk out with less money than you came in with. (How else could they offer all-you-can-eat crab legs?) Maybe you’ve heard the term, the house always wins. That is because casinos play the ‘house advantage’ by mathematically determining favorable odds to ensure they win almost every time. They have dealers, who are being watched by their pit boss, who are being watched by their floor manager, who are being watched by the casino manager, who are all being watched by the cameras, just to ensure that advantage is not lost.

Except, what would happen if the casino wanted you to win? And to give you a better chance, they had their staff analyze your hand and give you tips to get the most for your budget. Then if you didn’t get the return you had set out for, they would refund a portion of your money.

While direct mail marketing is not a gamble by any stretch of the imagination, the USPS has begun guaranteeing the effectiveness of integrating direct mail into marketing campaigns, by offering a postage-back assurance program.

The program is available to companies who send 500,000 to 1 million first class pieces a year and have a $25 million marketing budget. Before launching the campaign the USPS will work you to create the most effective campaign possible and will set mutually agreed upon results. If those results are not met, they will refund up to $250,000 of postage costs.

While we understand most companies do not qualify for this program, it is still good news for you. This program shows that the USPS is making efforts to continue growing direct mail volume, which will keep the price of postage down and keep it viable.

At Kopytek, we see this program as one of many steps that are contributing to direct mail’s recent growth and resurgence. If you are interested in marketing, give us a call at Kopytek. We can take the guessing out of the equation and give you the ‘house advantage.’

As Americans we have always held our independence very dear, fighting for our personal freedoms. Next week we will celebrate our largest victory, marking the day that we secede from England.

One of the most famous stories from the American Revolution is the heroic midnight ride of Paul Revere. As the British moved to capture patriot arms, Revere rode through the New England countryside yelling “The Regulars are Coming, The Regulars are Coming.”

While you have undoubly heard this story, there is a piece you might not have heard, Revere made the ride with two other riders and they were all captured by the British at a roadblock. The other two riders escaped and Revere was punished by having his horse taken away and forced to walk home – talk about a blow to his legacy!

In the printing industry today, we are always hearing about the end of print, the business card, the Internet and now even Facebook. Usually assumptions are based on bad data, but always seem to gain attention.

So, before you go driving down the street yelling “Facebook is Leaving, Facebook is Leaving,” think about the lesson Paul Revere taught us.  If Revere had been the only rider, the message would have never been carried to Concord and the revolution might have been ended.

In the marketing world, we use an integrated approach for your campaign, including social media, direct mail and other forms of marketing, so that if one “rider” is stopped other channels of communication can be delivered. Only that way will you truly be able to reach your audience effectively, with elevated response.

This year, don’t let your company’s message get stopped by a roadblock. Integrate your message, so that it can reach its destination. Research has shown that campaigns combining direct mail and Internet yield up to 25 percent higher response rates than Internet alone. We bet Paul Revere wishes he could have coordinated an integrated campaign instead of riding for hours! If you have any questions, give us a call at Kopytek. Have a fun and safe Independence Day!

In the earliest days of the United States Postal Service, the agency delivered the mail seven days a week, rain, snow or shine. But in 1912, something strange started happening, church attendance was dropping! Looking for the source, ministers and priests noticed people were using post offices as gathering places and appealed to the government to end Sunday delivery and bring their congregations back.

Obviously the measure passed and with it came the end of Sunday delivery. Today though, the push to cut a day from the USPS’s delivery schedule is not coming from a group of concerned clergy, it is coming from within the agency itself.

Running an $8.5 billion deficit, the USPS believes they can save $3.1  billion  annually by switching to  a shorter work week. According to the USPS, a shorter work week will lead to better productivity and efficiency, cost savings from lower highway transportation costs and mail processing expenses.

While this might sound terrible to the everyday person, many marketers and commercial printers are actually happy about the decision, which might seem strange when their business hinges on the USPS.

The truth is direct marketers and their printers have been preparing for changes in mail service for some time.  The common view is that cutbacks to the mail service are acceptable as long as they protect the mail service as a whole. Cutbacks, like removing Saturday mail service, may be the best option for the USPS to be viable, without further raising rates.

Direct mail is expected to grow 5.8 percent 2011, showing that that the work of the USPS is paying off. While overall mail volumes will likely never hit their past highs, there is still a strong purpose for the service. Moving forward Kopytek supports any action to keep the USPS moving in the right direction, while protecting the agency as a whole.

What’s the most effective way to market the end of the world? With print that is. When Harold Camping of Family Radio predicted the end of the world on May 21, he did it in part with a massive print campaign. While Camping’s message might have been a little off, his implementation was not.

Yes, it’s true, the world did not come to an end. But, what we did see is the power of print media! Using an integrated approach and more than $100 million, Camping’s campaign put a heavy focus on billboards and brochures.

You might ask, why did he choose brochures? Easy, they are one of the most effective ways of leaving a lasting impression and educating your audience. Brochures are cost-effective, quick to print and fulfill new orders.

When you put a brochure in someone’s hands they are likely to come away with your messaging. And when they want to reference more details, they can keep the brochure in a safe place like the refrigerator.

And a brochure can say a lot about your company. It should explain your business, show the benefits and give a call to action. Your selection of color, folds, and paper type will send a message to your audience about you.

The possibilities on a brochure are as endless as your imagination. If you can dream it, we can print it. Whether you are looking to open up a whole new world, or market its ending, print could be your best choice. If you have questions about brochures or any other print media, give us a call at Kopytek.

You are feeling sleepy, very very sleepy. Your eyes feel very heavy. You are drifting off into a deep, deep sleep. Well, us saying that probably didn’t change anything, unless you were already tired, but it might have made you think about sleep. When people go under hypnosis, the person administering the instructions is using the power of suggestion.

Suggestion is a very powerful psychological process by which one person guides the thoughts, feelings, or behavior of another person. Because when someone is under hypnosis they are not actually under someone’s control, they are merely being given an idea and guided.

In the marketing world, we do not have control over others’ behaviors with hidden messages and subliminal messages. (If we could we’d make everyone bark like a dog instead of talking.) We instead offer suggestions with a strong call to action, directing readers to a product they might like.

Because we do not have magic powers or have the ability to read minds, we use the data that you collect from your customers – to target market specific, items to specific customers. And to do so, we use a digital method of printing called variable data printing. With variable data printing, we can print special offers in direct mail pieces to each person on your mailing list. We consider variable data printing to be mass customization, as opposed to mass production with a static printed piece. Instead of printing one offer to 500 people, you can print 500 offers to 500 people.

For example, if you run a travel agency and one of your customers went to Florida last year, we can print an offer for a similar location in Florida, because you already know they enjoy the location. And as you collect more information, we can craft more specific offers to your audience for better response rates, as high as 5 to 30 percent, which is significantly higher than the average .5 to 1 percent response of a static piece.

There are no magic tricks in the marketing world, only proven methods which deliver a significant return on investment. If you are working on a variable direct mail piece, we can help you craft your message and utilize your data to provide an enticing offer you’d have to be under hypnosis not to act on.

Quality, speed and cost effective – that’s what you expect from your commercial printer. In the past few years Kopytek has invested more than $5 million into new technologies, including the latest in digital printing. Kopytek President John Peterson will explain how this strategy brings a clear competitive advantage over the competition and the benefits you can expect!

First impressions are everything. It’s a moment you can’t get back or change, and your one chance to impress or disappoint. Whether or not you rely on first impressions as way to gauge people, it is nearly impossible to avoid subtle assumptions about another person.

In an experiment to test first impressions, researchers had 30 students watch the first 15 seconds of an interview and make assumptions about the person being interviewed. The troubling part was most of the student’s assumptions about the person being interviewed, matched the interviewer’s final assessment, even after a full 20 minute interview.

The point we are making is that first impressions very important. And when giving someone a first impression, even if it is for a company or organization and not a person, it’s always important to put your best foot forward.

In the printing industry one way we recommend to give a great first impression is with a customized folder. A folder can portray who you are as a person or business, even before it is opened up.

Folders are just as customizable as any other printed piece, allowing for full printed graphics, logos, colors and even embossing and gold leafing.

And folders come in many different designs, including three panel (opening like two doors with one pocket), two pocket (traditional) and contemporary designs (with many custom folder flaps). There are also choices of paper, including glossy, matte finish, or even recycled paper.

A tip when choosing your folder design is to make sure it is consistent with the rest of your printed materials. Because you are almost certainly going have additional inserts and brochures inside of the folder, everything should work seamlessly together and give a strong brand identity.

You wouldn’t show up to an interview in ripped up jeans and your old Motley Crue t-shirt, so why would you give the same impression of your business or organization. Folders are perfect for trade shows, new clients, or for presenting proposals.  If you want to give others the first impression you intend, give us a call at Kopytek. We can get you on the road to creating a memorable folder.

Just Facebook me! How often have you heard that term? Probably too many to count. The truth is Facebook and other social media platforms are a new and exciting way to reach your audience. With more than 600 million users, there seems to be an endless supply of people to interact with in order to build your brand.

But even with all of those people at your disposal, many marketers agree that the best way to utilize your marketing budget is through a strategic mix of marketing tactics. You may have heard us speak about the marriage of print and social media, and how an integrated campaign can boost response rates and drive business. But, don’t just take our word for it, because the numbers don’t lie. According to data, campaigns combining direct mail and the Internet yielded up to 25-percent higher response rates than Internet alone.

So, what does that mean for your social media strategy? Simple, it is another tool in your marketing tool box and should be used accordingly.

Facebook, which was started as an exclusive social network for college students, is now one of the most important pieces of a social media strategy. Except Facebook does have its drawbacks. Because Facebook is setup for social networking first and marketing second, company pages are unable to seek out new and past customers. Meaning that users must “like” your company page on their own, without the luxury of a friend request similar to profile pages.

That is why you can’t just rely on social media to run your campaign. You need more to keep it going and to penetrate different demographics. While Facebook’s fastest growing demographic is adults over 55, many of the fans you might desire might not be present or active on the social networking site. Keep in mind that many of the users are not even in the United States. By integrating your campaign you can capture more information about your customer, raise direct mail and social media responses, and give your customers somewhere to go when they read your messages.

Social media and print are more interdependent than ever with one another. By effectively utilizing the two, marketers can expect more targeted and strategic communication with their audience. If you want to speak further about creating a strategic mix of targeted direct mail and social media, give us a call at Kopytek or message us at @kopytekstl on twitter.

One of the most important things a person hands to a new business acquaintance, the business card can tell a great story about you and leave a lasting impression. It’s an extension of the handshake, and a tradition. We’ve all heard many stories about technology making the business card obsolete, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, many forms of technology have come and gone (some which even predicted the demise of the business card), while the business card remains.

Rabbits can be found almost anywhere in the wild, in cartoons and even in astrology. But there is one rabbit which is more popular than the rest, the Easter Bunny. Not much is known about this mystical animal beyond the treats he leaves for good children all over the world. In fact his origins are largely a mystery.

But there is one thing that we do know – he is fast and efficient. Which got us thinking, the Easter Bunny delivers results very similar to those of direct mail. So, we put together a list of similarities you can expect to see when ordering your next direct mail piece from Kopytek:

• Quick turn around times: It can’t be easy dying eggs, preparing baskets and making candy for all the people of the world in a year. Heck even Santa has helpers. Similarly printing direct mail pieces is flexible and can be run quickly to accommodate nearly any deadline. With digital printing there is very little setup time with amazing results.

• More than meets the eye: Sometimes the Easter Bunny delivers plastic eggs filled with candy or even money, you never know until you open an egg. Getting a direct mail piece is the same way.  You never know what sales you will find on any given day. Some pieces have PURLS or QR Codes which bring the reader a treat they never anticipated.

• Targeted list: The Easter Bunny is able to maintain an accurate list of people and addresses, so much so he always seems to find the good kids. In the case of direct mail, a targeted and accurate list will bring better response rates. With regular maintenance and continued collection, you too can have an amazing list.

• Customized: The Easter Bunny seems to know everyone’s name, address and interests. I mean,              how else does he know to dye your egg red, spell your name right and include a soccer ball? Nearly as customized, variable data utilizes information from past purchases to give you offers unique to your tastes.

• Proven: As far as we know the Easter Bunny has never missed a year or come a day late. And it is obvious that he lands excellent response rates every year. Direct mail is just as proven, delivering great response rates for more than 100 years, time and time again.

We may not deliver candy, but we guarantee you will find the results very sweet. Direct mail is one of the most cost-effective and targeted ways of growing your business. And this year alone direct mail is expected to grow 5.8 percent. If you want to learn more about direct mail and some of its hidden “Easter Eggs” give us a call at Kopytek.