A recent article on Digiday points out that with brands trying to diversify the advertising mix, some are turning to direct mail to try to stand out. One brand in particular, Parachute — a bedding and lifestyle brand — recently sent a conversation-starting catalog that featured a “woman repotting plants in her bedroom with dirt all over her bedroom carpet.”
“We’ve been investing in catalogs for a number of years now,” said Parachute Founder Ariel Kaye, in the article. “We’ve noticed over the past six, maybe nine months there’s been an increase in catalog circulation for a number of brands. It has really made the mailboxes crowded.”
That’s where the interesting cover concept came alive. The team brainstormed ways to get recipients of the catalog to open it up.
“If we want to be this lifestyle brand — that is the goal — and build awareness in a more meaningful way, then how do we make it so that if we’re one of the 12 [catalogs in someone’s mailbox to make sure] we’re getting the eyeballs?” said Foujan Volk, VP of brand and marketing at Parachute, in the article. “We have to pique interest to get them to open the book.”
A crowded mailbox makes standing out crucial to a brands success with direct mail. According to Digiday, “direct marketing accounts for roughly 12% of Parachute’s marketing budget. The rest of the ad budget is dedicated to Facebook, Instagram, ads on streaming platforms, affiliate marketing as well as newer channels like TikTok.”
