The consumer’s relationship with the mailbox has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. With most aspects of daily life going digital, the volume of significant mail has decreased and incoming white mail is often viewed skeptically and opened near the family shredder.
Does that mean direct mail is dead? Hardly. In fact, the opposite is true, as we directly see consumer retailers, travel companies, and local merchants taking advantage of the slimmer letterbox to convey their brand message with authority and power.
Earlier this month, Wise Marketer hosted a webinar with Home Chef, the Kroger-owned meal kit company to discuss their successful use of direct mail as a key part of their acquisition and growth campaigns. Home Chef has a stated goal of “bringing people around the table,” which is an important and distinctive advantage of direct mail.
The company that has been leading the innovation in direct mail as an effective consumer connection tool is Valpack. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, FL, Valpak is the nation’s leading direct mail distributor and for more than 50 years has introduced millions of consumers to exciting offers and opportunities.
Valpak pioneered the idea of connecting consumers with local retailers with the goal of “shopping local” long before it became the subject of national marketing campaigns. The result? Valpak can be the highlight of the month for many consumers when they visit their mailbox. Local execution has been made possible by a network of about 140 local offices that provide customer service and market insight to business owners in neighborhoods across 42 US states.
Today Valpak announced the launch of Premier Plus, a powerful new national brand advertising solution that turns the back of Valpak’s iconic blue envelope into an eye-catching billboard. The solution will leverage Valpak’s reach of 100 million impressions in high-value US homes with 100 percent visibility.
The full text of the press release is included below. We had the opportunity to connect with jay loeflerValpak Revenue Director and mandy febusVice President, Customer Engagement & CRM Operations for additional information on the release of this new product.
Jay shared that Valpak has seen 15 percent growth since Covid and that its reach now extends to 41 million households. Mailings are set to a monthly cadence, although some markets may receive 2-4 per month depending on demand and opportunity. Valpak has been using the back of its outer envelope for promotional purposes for some time, but the Premier Plus product will leverage the entire OE like a billboard. With a 93 percent open rate on its current shipments, Valpak received strong support from its retail partners for this approach and bolstered interest with national research.
“We’re quantitatively driven,” Jay said, “we employ research to make sure we’re on target with specific business offers and we use a combination of phone call tracking, unique coupon codes and barcodes to measure conversion rates.” “.
Valpak is already working with a variety of brands, including DTC retailer Harrys and Walmart Plus, and has already scheduled much of the 2023 calendar for promotion using Premier Plus.
Mandy Febus shared, “We are announcing the product now and our first partner is scheduled for a national launch in December 2022. You will see this vision come to life throughout 2023 when our national retail partners clearly see the value of leveraging the entire back of the envelope. There will be 100 percent readability for each offer.”
Publisher’s note:
Jay Loeffler, Chief Revenue Officer for Valpak, is responsible for Valpak’s local, franchise and national sales strategies, including the retail grocery, CPG and consumer healthcare business segments for SKUlocal.
Mandy Febus, vice president of customer relations and CRM operations, is responsible for marketing and communications strategies at Valpak. Mandy brings 15 years of experience working in marketing and marketing technology platforms, with B2B experience in the healthcare and life sciences industries, where she spearheaded a variety of global marketing efforts.
To learn more, read the full press release below.
ValPak press release
Valpak launches Premier Plus, a powerful omnichannel advertising solution that transforms the iconic blue envelope into a billboard for national brands
Solution combines data-driven insights across 41 million high-value households with impactful advertising and omnichannel marketing integration to deliver exceptional results for leading brands including Tennis Channel, HGTV, Legoland, Shutterfly and Panera
St. Petersburg, Fla. (October 25, 2022)—Valpak, the leader in U.S. home data, direct marketing and omnichannel media solutions, today announced Premier Plus, a powerful new national branded advertising solution that turns the back of Valpak’s iconic Blue Envelope in an eye-catching billboard receiving 100 million impressions in high-value US homes at 100% viewability. Advertisers can use Premier Plus to deliver the right message to the right households while integrating a range of digital and omnichannel marketing extensions.
Valpak’s offbeat ads have been shown to drive exceptional recognition and measurable results for national brands including Tennis Channel, HGTV, Legoland, Shutterfly and Panera. With the introduction of Premier Plus, Valpak has now dramatically expanded the size and graphic appeal of these ads to fill the entire back of your Blue Envelope, creating opportunities for powerful visual advertising. Valpak Blue Envelope offers a rich and valuable variety of national and local advertising offers and content directed at households across the United States. It is widely recognized and anticipated by consumers across the country, with tests showing it has an open rate of 92% of all targeted households.
“This partnership continues to deliver great benefits and we hope all of our friends at Valpak are as excited as we are,” said Cory Chapman, HGTV’s vice president of marketing. “This partnership is a perfect opportunity in combining campaigns.” HGTV’s “Farmhouse Fixer” saw a 29% increase in viewers and a 20% increase in female viewers in just six weeks after its announcement on the Valpak envelope.
“Valpak has been a critical partner in supporting our television and broadcast programming goals,” said Neil Roberts, chief marketing officer of Tennis Channel, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting Group. “Leveraging various Valpak products, we’ve run very targeted programs all the way to featuring our coverage of the French Open on the cover of Valpak’s 41 million sachets.”
In addition to its innovative envelope billboard advertising, Premier Plus reaches millions of homes through a variety of digital channels, including the U.S. Postal Service’s Informed Delivery Service. Informed Delivery is a free USPS service used for about 50 million households. Subscribers receive preview images of your email directly to their mobile devices via email and an easy-to-use dashboard. Through its partnership with the Postal Service, Valpak is able to create fully enhanced graphics of its envelope that display Premier Plus advertising, giving consumers another channel for brand engagement.
“We hope that national brands and their advertising agencies will closely watch Premier Plus as they evaluate the best media buys to reach and engage consumers,” said Jay Loeffler, chief revenue officer for Valpak. “Valpak reaches more than 41 million homeowners and families with an average income of $130,000, offering advertisers a powerful alternative to television or outdoor advertising. Advertisers achieve about 100 million media impressions and 100% viewability among target households.”
“Valpak’s unmatched household data insights and targeting capabilities at scale based on demographics, location, income, home value, purchase history and more create opportunities to segment a brand message to increase its impact. Valpak’s wide range of digital media and measurement tools and solutions bring even more value and accountability to advertisers,” added Loeffler.
ABOUT VALPAK
Valpak is the leader in US home data, direct marketing, and omnichannel media solutions for local and national businesses and brands. 34,000 businesses trust Valpak, the nation’s leading direct mail company, to drive sales and brand awareness through easy-to-measure, results-driven direct marketing and digital advertising solutions that work. Its deep data insights into US households allow Valpak to segment and target consumers and neighborhoods to maximize ROI for advertisers and offer the highest levels of transparency and accountability. For decades, Valpak has helped consumers save, businesses grow, and neighborhoods prosper. Its network of nearly 140 local offices provides unparalleled customer service and market insight to business owners in thousands of neighborhoods across the U.S. Each month, its Blue Envelope of savings is mailed to 41 million households demographically selected in 43 states. Visit valpak.com/advertising to see what Valpak Direct Marketing can do for your business and connect with Valpak on Twitter: @Valpak and Facebook: @ValpakAdvertising.
