Meet The Mailers: Mail That Demands Attention

In this episode, I talked with Tiffany Narwick-Krivos, VP of Business Development & Sales for ShipShapes. Headquartered in Park Forest, IL, ShipShapes specializes in Customized Market Mail (CMM) pieces designed to boost engagement and response.

A self-described “Jill of all trades”, Narwick-Krivos showed numerous examples of shaped mail pieces produced by ShipShapes during our discussion. Despite a higher cost, she said, CMM pieces are worth an investment for customers.

Among the many topics we covered:

• Tiffany’s background in the industry
• ShipShapes development of Customized Market Mail
• The value of using shaped mail
• Other unique pieces
• Her favorite recent direct mail campaign

Here are some questions and answers from our conversation (edited for clarity and space):

• Can you tell us a little bit about Image Works in general? You know, the company’s other products before we get into talking about mail?
  

Image Works Manufacturing Inc. is our parent company. They started in the 1970s. Tom Becker became president and CEO in 1992, and we specialize in manufacturing and printing on plastics and metals. We’re a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that creates unique and innovative ideas with prompt service and fast turnarounds. Each of our specialized divisions – we have industrial graphics, retail displaying board, and decal promotional products all under our realm. They help you enhance customer loyalty and create a positive image that leads to increased business. So we do inserts, handouts, clings, details, mouse pads, counter mats, just to name a few. But anything creative and out-of-the-box you could think of we pretty much handle.

• Let’s talk about all of these shaped mailers. Customized Market Mail … I remember when that was introduced about 2003 or so and ShipShapes has been the pioneer premier company using this format. So can you explain to the audience what Customized Market Mail is and also the goal or goals for using a ShipShapes mailer?
  

Well, Tom Becker petitioned with the United States Postal Service to establish a new class of mail specifically to allow advertisers to send unusually shaped pieces through the mail without an envelope. And on August 10th, 2003, the USPS created Customized Market Mail, the first new class of mail since Express Mail was created in 1977.

But down to the nitty gritty of Customized Market Mail, the smallest piece you can mail is at 3.5” by 5” and the largest size is a 12” by 15″. Your weight may not exceed 3.3 oz. The thickness of the postcard could be as thin as a .007 to as thick as a 3/4 inch. So voids and holes are permitted in the pieces. With ShipShapes, marketers can deliver realistic samples of their products and services into the hands of their target audience in any shape imaginable. I mean, we’ve created mailings from racing cars and bottles of milk to stop signs, bears, frying pans, and puppies …it’s just whatever shape you can imagine we can do.

• I have one which is from one of the zoos in my area, which is this giraffe shape …so talking about the “why” of them… we know that these pieces grab somebody’s attention immediately and they help the brand or the company stand out …but besides that, how much better are response rates, generally speaking, with a ShipShapes mailer and how does the cost or the ROI per piece compare to just a regular mailer?
  

Our mediums are designed specifically to be the mail piece that captures someone’s attention when they check their mail in their mailbox. At the same time, we strive to generate a response … our call to action. And the cost is probably about 2 times the cost of your conventional mail. However, clients have reported 6 to 10 times the increase in response rates. So with just those numbers, they pay for themselves and then some.

• You showed in your examples [that] there’s a lot of different kinds of companies that use them, but are there specific customer types or industries that it really works well for?
  

So Paul, it’s literally across the board. I mean, you mentioned the zoo, so a zoo could do it. Automotive … retail. Food, you name it. It’s insurance… banks … like it’s just across the board.

• Thinking ahead, once the campaign’s been printed, what are the logistics for getting into the postal system? Because I imagine there might be some real differences for people to take into account compared to a standard kind of piece of mail, a postcard or a letter campaign that they’re used to mailing.
  

Because of their unique shapes, CMM pieces are required to be drop shipped to each end user’s DDU or local post office for hand sorting by the carriers. The delivery is quick and efficient, being in hands within one to four business days from the mail drop from our facility. A ShipShapes mailing could be closely timed to precede or follow other channels of integrated marketing. So they allow you to test your creativity and send a truly dimensional piece of any shape or design. You can empower your marketing message and reach your consumers with unique formats that demonstrate your product and encourage responses.

• So the company also works with customers to create other types of unique and customized direct mail designs. And when I was at the National Postal Forum, I saw some really great examples. Can you talk a little bit about those as well?
  

Our creativity does not stop at CMM for ShipShapes. We’re continuously developing and obtaining USPS approval for innovative direct mail pieces, including our plastic and clear cards that mail at automated flats and they may feature transparent areas. You could have peel out coupons … they also qualify for Every Door Direct Mail.

In addition to our clear cards, we have our Top Notch mailers, which is white plastic peel outs. You could do any peel out shape on these. So this [shows mailer] is a luggage tag in the shape of a heart that peels out. And that qualifies to mail at postcard and letter rates.

And then we also have these awesome frame mailers where this peels off the front [shows mailer]. So this was done for a university and you could put a picture – a six by four picture – on this and hang it up. It also integrates a QR code … if the university’s prospecting for new students like “hey, look at, imagine you’re, picture yourself at this university.” They scan the QR code and it takes you to all the information to apply to the university.

We also have cling mailers. You could do any shape cling. This peels off [shows mailer]. You could apply it to any smooth surface, so you could also do any shape on these. This mails at letter rate and and then we also do irregular shaped bifolds, so these also mail at postcard letter rate.

We do metal mailers. The metal mailers have a reflective surface. It’s aluminum finished, but you could do mirror images, which is really cool. Also mail at postcard letter rate. So it’s pretty much endless possibilities on whatever your mind can create or imagine we can create for you.

• Is there one tip that marketers should really think about before they commit to using this kind of format, whether it’s the ones you just showed or CMM?
  

If you’re planning on maybe as an example doing a clear piece, make sure you’re actually utilizing the substrate and have like, at minimum, 25% of your piece clear or transparent because if you’re going to pay a premium for it, you definitely want to utilize the material correctly.

• So what kinds of trends do you see in the direct mail world in general?
  

I feel the direct mail world is always evolving, right? I’m seeing increasingly way more creative and tactile mail formats that stand out in the mail. Omnichannel integration with QR code engagement, which some of the samples I showed you.

Also, augmented reality with Layar apps that you get the piece and it plays a video once, you scan that. But sustainability and eco-friendly… all of our pieces are recyclable.

• This is a question I ask everybody: what’s one direct mail piece that you may have received recently that really made you stop and pay attention to and maybe even respond to?
  

So I’m going to be biased here because we create really cool pieces, right? So this [shows mailer] …we did this for the National Postal Forum, and my husband …when I got home, he’s like, “Oh my God, did you see this mailer, did you guys do it?” and he was looking through it because it’s binoculars.

And so it’s [the headline] just like ‘searching for the ideal mailing and shipping solution’… when was the last time you actually picked up a piece of mail and looked at it, right? It was just “Oh my gosh, look at this!”

Here is our conversation (with all questions and answers). We’ve added timecodes for your convenience.

Thank you very much, Tiffany, for sharing your perspective and your expertise! To learn more about ShipShapes, visit their website at ShipShapes.com.

Your comments and ideas are very important to us in making your Who’s Mailing What! experience even better for you. Through these engaging talks, we hope you’ll take away practical tips, insights, and personal stories to inspire and build your own success.

If you have any feedback — or are interested in sharing your story and viewpoint with our wide and diverse audience on “Meet the Mailers” — please reach out to me. I’d love to hear from you!