"Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it." Philosopher extraordinaire "Really good direct mail works like picking your prospect up by the ankles and shaking him until all the money falls out of his pockets." Direct Mail Copy & Graphic Design As consumers, we are often bombarded by different types of advertisements each day. Whether its by television, newspaper, or billboards, advertising has reached us one way or another. Yet, a majority of the ads that we encounter are often meaningless and uninteresting mainly because of the fact that these ads are meant to reach a certain target audience. This perception seems to change, however, when we look inside our mailboxes, pick-up our telephone, and even check our e-mail. We often ponder how marketers know that we have a pet snake, own a certain kind of computer, or even wear 70s clothing. That is because every time we purchase products such as: electronics, computer software, and other products, direct-mail advertising is in the air. Every time we send those warranties and registration forms back to the manufacturer; as consumers we are often unaware that we are sending information about ourselves that will be used as; statistical, personal, and informative data for future marketing purposes. Thus, marketers and advertisers know what kinds of products to target us with. Although direct-mail, or as we call it junk-mail, somehow finds its way to our homes and businesses, it can be considered as a convenient way for us to shop without having to leave the house, since as consumers, we are often pressed for time. In order to understand direct-mail advertising, we will be discussing this unique medium in a broad spectrum of subjects and then give an example of a company that successfully used direct mail advertising. Among the subjects we will be discussing are: what direct-mail ad...
