Chicago is known for its dazzling skyline, delicious deep-dish pizza and world-class sports teams. But there’s another reason for our fame – one you might know about if direct mail is part of your brand’s success.
Our city is a mailing powerhouse, with some 40% of all national campaigns launching within an hour of here. Even brands with headquarters in other parts of the country often choose Chicago as the origin point for their nationwide drops.
The reasons are clear. Being in the center of the U.S. puts us at the heart of highway and rail distribution systems, which gives us 3 distinct advantages in producing mail campaigns:
- Lower inbound costs for the materials that go into your mailing – paper, ink, envelopes and more.
- Lower outbound costs to get your mailing to hundreds of USPS facilities that will ultimately deliver your message.
- Speed on both ends: a Chicago-area company can get the goods to produce your mailing faster and get it into the postal stream sooner.
At American Litho, we work hard to leverage these benefits for you. Even so, we realize we’re not the only game in town. That’s why we make it our business to go deeper into what really drives direct mail costs and builds greater direct mail ROI for you.
Working the 25/50 rule
Printing is a favorite place for direct marketers to focus when they’re looking to improve cost-effectiveness. We support this with comprehensive print planning and format optimization services to identify pressroom efficiencies that can turn into real savings. At the same time, we remind all our direct mail clients that success comes from working the full equation.
It’s critical to keep in mind that while printing costs may run as much as 25% of the total spend for a given mailing, postage accounts for 50% or more. This is why we stress having an aggressive postal logistics strategy that seeks to tap every available USPS discount on your behalf.
Solutions that help you take full advantage of co-pal, co-mail and co-mingling options can put your campaign deeper into the mail stream with greater savings. Our postal logistics team works in close partnership with local USPS experts to leverage best practices and stay on top of new discounts that can benefit you.
Putting it all together for you
So if you’re headquartered in Maine, Ohio or Oregon, does it really make sense to move your mailing to Chicago and American Litho?
The best way to find out is to ask us for an all-in review of your current program. We will look at every aspect of your campaign from printing, postage and format and cycle times. Our goal will be to show you how the combined benefits of our location and total capabilities can maximize discounts, increase relevancy and boost your ROI through the roof.
Ready to get started?
Contact us NOW – we’re here to help!
Joe Bulgarelli is a direct mail expert who works to help you get the most from every direct marketing dollar you spend.
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