10 Benefits of Using Postcards for Branding Events

Direct mail postcards are a unique way to promote your event and grow your business. When used effectively, these promotional mailers have the ability to foster personal connections with your audience. Because consumers are constantly flooded with digital sales pitches, a cleverly designed postcard can have a huge impact at the mailbox. 

Before getting into the benefits of postcards, it’s crucial to understand why branding your event is essential for success. Many readers may be wondering what ‘branding’ even means. Is it a corporate colour palette, a motto or maybe a logo? 

A brand is actually a combination of many things. It helps consumers navigate the marketplace, and identify the companies that resonate with them. Ultimately, your brand should stand for a set of values and benefits. With time, the brand should become associated with quality and customer satisfaction. 

When organizing an event, one of the best ways to convey your brand is by mailing postcards. From their tangibility to compact size, here are 10 benefits of using postcards for your next marketing initiative. 

1. Tangibility

In today’s age of digital communications, there’s something special about receiving an item in the mail. A postcard’s tangibility is what makes it so memorable. It can be tacked on to the fridge, passed around at the dinner table or placed on your dresser as a quick reminder. Tangibility is key when branding your event because your postcard will help it stand out amidst all the digital clutter. 

2. Already opened

Postcards are standalone pieces that arrive opened and ready to read. This is extremely beneficial in that your recipients won’t have to fumble around to see your pitch — they’ll read it as soon as they pick it up without any barriers. 

3. High impact

A postcard isn’t a lengthy multi-page report or a complex tri-fold brochure. By design, it gets right to the point. Make sure your message is impactful from the start. Space will be limited, so narrow down your text to only the absolute essentials. All the effort spent designing your postcard and identifying your target audience will be wasted if the message is unclear. Also, never make your recipients hunt for event details. Clearly lay out the date, location and purpose of your gathering. 

4. Attract more customers

Direct mail postcards can come in a number of different shapes and sizes, such as die cuts. Step away from the traditional rectangle, and consider a design that features creative edging or even eye-catching cutouts. Attract customers to your event with good use of colour, innovative graphics, and custom fonts that stand out from all the other things landing in the mailbox. 

5. Versatile

A postcard can not only serve as a flyer to get the word out about your gathering but can also be used as a discount voucher to purchase products at the event. Printed postcards can be as versatile as you allow them to be. Just about any message can be conveyed through a well-designed postcard. 

By creating a multi-purpose mailer, your recipients will make a conscious effort to hold on to it, as it will be useful again down the line. The goal of direct mail postcard marketing is to create a piece that’s highly useful and engaging so recipients will think twice before tossing it in the trash.

6. Highly customizable

Postcards can be customized to speak to your target audience. If you’re holding a community event that would appeal to a wide range of people, you can personalize each postcard so it resonates with a specific demographic. Use images that resonate with seniors when mailing your variable postcards to elderly residents. Then print out a more contemporary variation of your message when mailing that same postcard to millennials with children. 

Variable image printing is the most efficient way to create highly-customized mailers. This laser printing technique allows elements like text and images to be changed from one postcard batch to the next, without interrupting the entire printing process.

7. Affordable

Postcards offer high-impact marketing for a relatively low investment. This all ties back to the postcard’s smaller size in comparison to traditional brochures, flyers and catalogues. As one of the cheapest forms of direct marketing available, postcards can be printed at a fraction of the cost. The postage rates also tend to be lower for lighter pieces of Personalized Mail (formerly known as Addressed Admail), and for Neighbourhood Mail (formerly known as Unaddressed Admail). That’s why promotional postcards are often the mailer of choice for event organizers, no matter how big or small your budget may be. 

8. Quick to launch

Because postcards are relatively simple and straightforward, it’s quick and easy to launch a postcard branding campaign. If you’re working with a graphic designer, for example, it shouldn’t take them much time to come up with a creative theme; and because most postcards require no special preparation for mailing, they can be sent out relatively quickly, even on short notice. For addressed mail, Troi Mailing Services can also pre-print a postal indicia — a postage paid indicator — directly onto the postcards during the bulk printing process, which saves setup time for addressing. 

9. Stealth

There may be times when you don’t want your competitors to know about an event you’re hosting, in case they try to imitate your ideas. This can be a problem if you’re promoting your brand and event via web, TV or radio. In this instance, postcards offer a stealthy or focused way to keep your promotional initiatives under wraps. With direct mail branding, your postcards will be seen by your intended recipients. 

10. Measurable

The effectiveness of your postcard campaign can be easily tracked and measured. Your team will know exactly how many postcards were mailed out, so you’ll have no problem identifying how much your inquiries, traffic and sales have increased. Use a unique code or discount number for each direct mailing to track responses. Your event’s attendance numbers will also be a good indicator of whether your postcards were a success. 

For more information on creating and printing a postcard marketing mail campaign, please call Troi Mailing Services in Canada at 1-866-486-0423 or contact us here.