I get a lot of direct mail advertisements where I live and I actually enjoy collecting and looking at the stuff I get. I like to see which direct mail pieces work and which don’t and which sizes catch my attention. Recently I received several direct mail pieces all in the same day that were varying in size but all square. I hadn’t received any square advertisements in a long time and my only guess is that some companies are trying new ways to get our attention.
I think the square advertisements do a better job at sticking out amongst the massive piles of mail people get. Once in a while I see some very customized pieces, but it all depends on the budget of the company. The simple change to a square format probably isn’t too expensive and I would guess they are seeing better results from it at least until that gets old too.
Start Your Own Direct Mail Collection!
I would recommend collecting pieces you get in the mail so you can start your own ephemera collection. Its nice to have physical pieces to look at for inspiration when you are working similar project and before you know it you will have a large collection including lots of great specialty printing pieces. Soon, you may find yourself collecting piece of ephemera from everywhere you go!
Has anyone else noticed a change in direct mail advertisements recently?