Video Mailers vs. Standard Direct Mail

Direct mail still works, but not all formats of direct mail work the same way.

A standard printed piece can still help create awareness, reinforce a message, or support a campaign.

But if the goal is to get stronger attention, create a better first impression, and move targeted prospects into real conversations, then new-age video mailers have proven to be a better alternative than typical direct mail pieces.

Standard Direct Mail Can Still Be Effective

Standard direct mail pieces are familiar.

Postcards, letters, brochures, catalogs, and dimensional mailers can still help companies engage prospects, promote offers, and stay visible. Their performance can also be tracked more now than many marketers realize.

For instance, USPS Informed Delivery gives business mailers actual digital impressions and interactions that can be tracked. Likewise, campaign URLs, PURLs, and UTMs help connect mail responses back to web traffic and conversions in Google Analytics.

That said, measuring performance is only part of the story.

The bigger question is this: what kind of engagement does a direct mail piece create once it gets into someone’s hands?

The Weakness of Standard Direct Mail

This is where many campaigns fall short.

A printed piece may get attention but not feel interesting enough to create a conversion or get shared within an organization. More than anything, that usually depends on two things:

• What it’s about
• If decision-makers even see it

That’s the biggest problem with standard direct mail.

In other words, it may or may not get seen, and standard direct mail often struggles to create enough interest to move a conversation forward, especially when the audience is made up of decision-makers who already receive too much ordinary outreach as it is.

As a result, standard direct mail often works best when the goal is broad exposure, simple offers, or reminders of appointments or opportunities.

What Video Mailers Change

A video mailer changes the experience of a targeted prospect immediately.

Instead of asking them to read static print and decide whether a message deserves more attention, it stands out from other direct mail right away.

It looks different. It feels exciting, and it immediately delivers:

• novelty
• motion
• sound
• story
• explanation
• brand personality

All in one piece, like a TV commercial they can hold in their hands.

That’s a very different kind of direct mail.

And it’s the primary reason why video mailers perform so well in moments that matter most.

Improved Conversations and Conversions

The strongest case for video mailers isn‘t that they’re more interesting than typical direct mail pieces.

It’s that they often produce much better results.

In a Google Review, Jennifer Parks from Stansberry Research wrote that MediaFast’s video mailer outperformed their print marketing pieces by 79.4%. That’s not just a creative win. That’s a measurable campaign result.

Abby Albers from IVX Health shared that MediaFast video brochures helped her company “generate meaningful leads and establish lasting relationships with medical offices that might not have worked with them otherwise.”

Mark Glesne from HarperCollins Publishers said MediaFast made their mailing flawless in process and execution and that it had a great impact on their marketing campaign.

Those are important distinctions because they point to the real difference between standard direct mail and video mailers.

To be more specific, one is often just trying to get noticed while the other has proven to be more effective at creating meaningful conversations and conversions.

Video Mailers are More Targeted than Standard Direct Mail

Here’s another key difference.

Standard direct mail is often used for broader campaigns. For instance, it can be useful when a company wants scale, repetition, or lower cost per piece.

Video mailers are different.

They’re usually better for targeted lists and higher-value opportunities. For example, they make the most sense when an audience is specific and the sender wants to create a stronger impression than ordinary print pieces can deliver.

That’s why they tend to work well for:

• Executive outreach
• ABM campaigns
• High-value sales
• Premium follow-up after meetings
• Fundraising
• Product and service launches
• Invitations
• Hard-to-win accounts

In other words, while standard direct mail tends to be better suited as a volume play, video mailers are more of a quality-of-engagement play.

Measuring Performance and Trust are Valuable

Marketing has become obsessed with analytics, and rightly so.

Companies need to know if the money they’re spending is producing the results they want.

With that in mind, companies who use video mailers typically want to know:

• Who opened them?
• When did they open them?
• How long did they watch their video content?
• How many times did they watch their video content?

Without question, making decisions based on data is important, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story. In some cases, collecting data can actually work against you.

Here’s why: position tracking with video mailers means a SIM card has to be included, and there’s no way to opt out like you can with a cell phone or web page.

Sure, having performance data is nice. However, without proper disclosure and consent, tracking a targeted prospect’s location creates real privacy and compliance issues.

It also tends to break trust, which is damaging for a business.

With that in mind, that’s why we don’t include position tracking components in the units we sell. There are also ways to track performance without violating privacy. To learn more about this topic, visit video brochure analytics.

Which Format is Better?

The answer to that question depends on the job.

If the goal is broad, low-cost outreach with a simple message, then standard direct mail may be perfectly fine.

However, if the goal is to create a stronger impression, deliver a message more clearly, increase the possibility of internal sharing, and improve the chances of a real conversation, then video mailers usually perform better.

That’s why this isn’t an argument that standard direct mail is outdated.

It’s actually an argument that format and presentation matter more than many marketers think.

Final Thoughts On Video Mailers vs. Standard Direct Mail

Standard direct mail still has a role, and its performance can now be tracked better than in years past.

However, when companies need more than just visibility, video mailers tend to perform better because of their appeal and video content.

Because of this, direct mail is no longer limited to only motionless content.

Senders simply need to choose which format best fits their needs, and then track performance in ways that don’t violate privacy laws or damage trust.

If you’d like to experience a video mailer in person, click this link to request a FREE SAMPLE.