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Letterbox Distribution the Forgotten Marketing Goldmine

By Daizy Gedeon & James Roach

 

Most businesses these days operate entirely through a digital, social or video advertising strategy and overlook a powerful option that only a decade ago was comparatively the most effective and cheapest marketing channel available. The channel?

 

Letterbox Distribution

The humble letterbox, once stuffed with at times up to 30 different catalogues, brochures, flyers and cards, today sits relatively empty as even postal letters are on a significant decline. Now your “Inbox” rather than the “Letterbox” is cluttered with not 30 but hundreds of unsolicited emails, notifications, surveys, offers dropping in daily.

 

 

What that means is that most Australian letterboxes are OPEN FOR BUSINESS and, fortunately for our clients, current and new, we are undeniably Australia’s leader in this space with over 40 years of real data, experience, innovation and passion for this channel that no other agency can even come close to.

In the words of a great American author...

 

“It’s funny, in this era of email and voice-mail and all of those things that even I did not grow up with, a plain old letter takes on amazing intimacy...”

Elizabeth Kostova - American Author

 

Kostova is right, the intimacy of being able to place something, literally, in someone’s hands simply by having it delivered to their letterbox is possibly the most intimate way of communicating with another person in this fast-paced, churn & burn, Junk Box, Clutter-filtered, Spam resistant world we live in today.

 

The only thing preventing your businesses’ flyer from reaching the hands of a resident these days is a “No Advertising Material” or “No Junk Mail” sticker on their letterbox, and EVEN the number of letterboxes with THOSE stickers on them is on the decline as more and more people seek connection and intimacy.

 

They can do that by receiving your catalogue or brochure in their letterbox, which allows them to physically feel and browse at their leisure.

 

But don’t be fooled, letterbox distribution is not as simple as it sounds, which is the mistake most people used to make. You can’t just stick your business card or a basic flyer in the letterbox and expect a flood of calls or inquiries. People are far more discerning than that these days...they demand the bells, whistles and SMART call to action because we don’t just want to give away our money to just anyone. We expect you to earn our money by proving you are a professional and I can trust you.

 

And the ONLY way you can earn someone’s trust on a flyer is to ensure that your flyer is well-crafted, expertly designed, using appropriate colours and it has a strong Call To Action! Without these elements well managed your direct mail piece will fall short of delivering you the kind of response that would make you excited and produce the Return On Investment you want. That is how you ensure that your letterbox distribution campaign is extremely effective and why it MUST be part of every business's multi-channel marketing strategy.

 

 

At GDR Media Group we not only have the experience that four decades brings with it but because we are committed to providing our clients with the highest standards, smartest strategies and applying the latest technology, science and data to ensure your message achieves the highest ROI – we apply the strictest levels of integrity and work ethic to plan out your campaign because it is our mission to make your marketing meaningful and make it matter!

 

Let us explain why Letterbox matters and how it works...

 

What is Letterbox Distribution?

Ever checked your letterbox and found an advertising flyer from a business in your local area? A menu from the local pizza store or Chinese restaurant, the gym, the local club, the plumber, electrician, hairdresser, or grocery store... Well, that’s what we are talking about... All these flyers are part of a local business’s local area marketing letterbox campaign.

 

An example of an effective flyer design we created, printed and distributed for Made in Italy

 

Letterbox distribution is the delivery of printed media directly to the letterboxes of your customers. It generally consists of a printed brochure, pamphlet or handout that has a strong call to action, is cleverly designed to attract the attention of the reader, has additional information that leads the reader to go online and check you out, it might also contain a “special offer” or redemption code, and so much more.

 

The ultimate objective of that flyer/brochure is to get your brand, your business, your name in front of the resident so you stay top of mind when they are ready to buy whatever it is you are selling, whether it is a product, service or good.

 

*FACT: When it relates to small ticket items, as in things that are around or under $100, research shows that people are more likely to make impulsive decisions based on the easiest and fastest option available to them. That is why smart restaurants and especially pizza places and Chinese or Thai restaurants, use Letterbox Distribution as their primary source of marketing.

 

However, the research also shows that if people need a service (plumber, electrician, accountant, etc.), or are looking for a higher-priced item, (computers, cars, washer/dryers, clothes, shoes, etc.) if they have received a brochure in their letterbox advertising those items, they will first search that brand’s range before reviewing a competitor. This gives that brand a huge advantage as stats show more people will tend to go back and buy the first item they saw/researched even if it might be more expensive...it is the first-place advantage. No one can ever take that away from you.

 

How Does it Work?

Essentially what we do is come up with a strategy identifying your target market, where they live, what their buying habits are, the best time to advertise to them and how, then we devise a strong call to action, design an attractive flyer that will grab their attention; we print it and then launch the distribution campaign to those targeted households.

 

Our team of walkers, or if you prefer to use Posties from Australia Post, (we offer both solutions), go out into the field, map in hand and deliver to the household letterboxes in those targeted streets. Our walkers all use GPS monitoring so we can track progress, delivery time and completion to ensure that your flyers were delivered on time and to the right locations.

 

 

Our Field Supervisor is also in the field during the delivery period overseeing the delivery to provide physical visual proof of delivery and ensure no delivery is below our high standards.

 

There are two main letterbox delivery methods that we use to deliver our client’s flyers. These are:

SHARED DELIVERIES

This is the most affordable form of letterbox distribution. Here the flyers are delivered by our walkers, house-to-house, but are grouped with up to 2 other items. That means multiple flyers, but no more than 3, are delivered in unison, to someone’s letterbox alongside yours. Shared deliveries also run off a basic map, meaning you can't choose certain sections of a map, the whole map must be delivered to. You can still choose the suburb and parts of a suburb based on the boundaries of the maps, but you’ll have less control over choosing specific streets or blocks within a suburb.

 

While this method is more affordable than solo or exclusive deliveries, you do run the risk of losing impact and being sidelined because your pamphlet is going out with several other businesses which could distract the recipient from your flyer. However, there is a way to overcome this and that is by making your flyer pop or really stand out with a cracker design. A pamphlet with bright use of colours and images can make it jump out at readers which is what you want yours to do. We are not playing a game of hide and seek with your business, we want to be upfront and in your face, so they can’t miss you.

 

Even changing the shape of the flyer to something related to your brand or industry can really have your brand’s campaign evolve to be MORE than just WORDS on a page. Stuck for ideas?

 

 

Luckily for you, we are not 🙃.  We pride ourselves on our creativity and innovative ability! We’ve worked with many brands like yours and helped create unforgettable letterbox campaigns.

We love to do the same for your brand.

Get in touch with us today

 

SOLO / EXCLUSIVE DELIVERIES

If, on the other hand, you are after a very specific target demographic, it might be more beneficial to choose the solo delivery method as opposed to the Shared as the overall effectiveness of the campaign will be far greater and the cost more controlled, while return and results should be higher.

 

Like the description suggests, this method means your flyers are delivered to letterboxes without any other item and so they go into the letterbox on their own. It immediately makes your brand stand out because it is the only central focal point, not having to compete against others for the spotlight.

 

Furthermore, solo deliveries allow the business to determine where specifically your flyers are delivered. This can be narrowed down to streets and blocks within a specific area through customised, socio-demographic, thematic mapping that allows you to narrow in on your target market and deliver to them where they live. There is a lot of intelligence that goes into such targeted campaigns. It is a bit like spying but rest assured all parameters, platforms and tools we use are open source or legally available for the use of marketing agencies with specific licenses to access and use.

 

So don’t worry, you can be super smart and super legal at the same time.

 

This is something every smart business should investigate?
Get in touch with us today!

 

What Do We Do Differently?

With over 40 years of experience in the print and letterbox distribution industry, GDR’s bread and butter is our print and distribution service. However, that doesn’t mean this old dog hasn’t got new tricks! In fact, this mature puppy has graduated to play with the super minds of the millennials who led the rampage of the digital era through technologies that have now transformed nearly every facet of our lives and especially how we do business.

 

 

We have continued to learn, grow, expand, reinvent, pivot and out-perform all our competitors in the same space because we are early adopters and true believers in progress and evolution. Whilst we have held hard and fast to the principles, processes and systems that allowed us to thrive and survive for the past 4 decades, we have layered our learning and our capability with intelligence, know-how, technology and most of all creative expression that sets us truly apart from the rest of the field.

 

Here are some of our new strategies:

Unorthodox Designs
As mentioned before, we pride ourselves on our creativity. We are passionate about making marketing meaningful and this is reflected in our approach to letterbox campaigns. Traditionally print media gets a reputation for being very plain and repetitive, however, this does not have to be the case if you allow our creative team to design your material.

 

Printed media is an opportunity for a brand to really do something different. Unlike other forms of marketing, printed campaigns are physical. Think, your customer could be literally holding something representative of YOUR brand.

 

It is an opportunity for you to flex your creative muscle and produce something memorable.

 

QR Code Technology
As the use of QR codes in our daily lives has been accentuated due to COVID, so has our ability to use them in printed media. Taking advantage of this new-found familiarity people have with QR codes, using them on a flyer can allow them to quickly access your website, or view a video, etc. This captures your audience and keeps them with you longer as well as reducing frustration and time for the customer who is time-poor. This is a great way to make your call-to-action more engageable. In addition, it allows you to track the customer journey through from who scanned your QR code, through to who made a purchase allowing you to measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

 

Scan our QR code to watch why storytelling is in our DNA.
*Think* you could be directing people to your online content too…

 

GPS Tracking Technology
At GDR we use Wikiloks, a tracking technology software that allows us to track our walkers through GPS. This ensures deliveries are of a high standard, making our services more reliable than those who don’t use tracking. All of these measures are in place to ensure that your letterbox campaign is accurately delivered to the right location.

Want to learn more? We’re always up for a chat so give us a call today: 1800 657 797

 

What we can do for YOUR brand

By partnering with us you’ll have access to not only our resources but our 40 years of experience working with brands such as yours. Together we’ll create a meaningful, memorable campaign that will intimately engage with your audience through quality design, print and a targeted, reliable delivery service.

 

When you partner with us, we promise to:

  • Devise a smart marketing strategy that will crush your competitors;
  • Design a creative flyer that sets you apart and makes customers engage with your brand;
  • Produce a targeted distribution plan that identifies where your target market lives and create a campaign that delivers your flyers to their letterboxes;
  • Ensure the highest quality of distribution with no wastage, no dumpings, and extreme reliability using technology and tenacity to ensure delivery is undertaken correctly.

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