Color makes a world of difference from the very first impression. Copy and content are obviously of the utmost of importance when trying to get your message received by a target audience. However, you can’t just talk the talk anymore. In today’s cluttered marketing environment you have to shout your message. And, nothing shouts louder than color!
In addition to a logo or an icon, a company’s brand that also includes colors will actuate a direct connection to a customer’s recollection of that brand. Without color, a brand or a marketing medium’s power is weakened. Color can also be very emotional. You may not consciously “think” about color, but subliminally your brain still processes and interprets its meaning.
When communicating with a customer or prospective customer with any marketing campaign, color, along with a strong message increases the emotional response rate and stirs quicker action with your intended target. Color makes a significant contribution to the effectiveness of any printed collateral or marketing materials. It differentiates and helps develop a unique connection with products, services and your company or organization’s identity. If you want to receive a higher rate of response to your next marketing message or advertisement, color will greatly increase your chances for success.
Color and Direct Mail
Direct-mail campaigns are designed to get your targeted market’s attention and encourage a response. Whether it’s a self-mailer, an envelope mailer, a catalog or brochure, each format has its own inherent response characteristics. Color can be the “game changer” to all media! Color can be used to increase the appeal of the mailing itself or it can also be used to support the offers. Products in color are more realistic, offers more compelling, and logos are more recognizable. One axiom of direct mail states that a response is driven by three elements: 40% is your list, 40% is your offer, and 20% is your creative influence. Each can be enhanced with color.
Of course, with any mail campaign you’ll want to start with a good list. Make sure your list is accurate and composed of the people you want to reach. You want to target the ones who can buy your products or services, or who have bought your products or services in the past. But once you’ve settled on your list and an appropriate offer, the next challenge is to choose the appropriate creativity to get a reader to open and read your message. This is where color can make the difference.
Using color directly on the envelope, for example, can encourage people to stop, look, and open the mailing piece as soon as they receive it. This leads to a higher response rate, and ultimately a more successful direct-mail campaign. When color is used appropriately within your creative layout to reinforce an offer, it maximizes the chances of a desired response to the key components of your mailing campaign.
When adding the element of on-demand, variable data printing to your mailer, you will also increase your response rate by personalizing your message with “color on the fly”. The more targeted the application of color is, the better your response will be.