Why Did I Keep This Direct Mail Piece?

The mail I receive at my home address consists of bills and direct mail pieces. I will normally skip right over the advertisements but occasionally will examine one of the direct mail pieces to say informed of the latest direct mail trends. Such was the case with a curious mailer I recently received from a local retirement planner. See for yourself:


I don't perceive marketing messages like a normal person. When I originally noticed this mailer, I instantly looked past its message and began to estimate the paper weight, postage cost, call to action, ROI potential and other details.

My initial observations about this direct mail piece are as follows:

• This mailer arrived to me folded in half. It was obviously designed to grab my attention by being longer than any other piece of mail. That feature (and the money spent to create it) was negated by the dimensions of my mailbox or a grumpy postal worker.
• I really like the paper quality and coating. This must have been a very expensive print job.
• I also like the use of a well-placed QR code on the interior of the mailer. When scanned, the code takes the user to a video and not a static mobile site. That's a big "bonus" in my book.
• The interior message features engaging questions about retirement plans and a clear call to action.

This mailer did not prompt me to contact the sender and schedule an appointment to plot my retirement. However, as a marketer, I appreciate this piece's size, quality and effort. Thanks to the high costs associated with direct mail, advertisers see it as a big gamble these days. I hope that it paid off for the sender. Please let me know your take on direct mail and it's effectiveness in the comments section below.