Just the other day when I was doing a routine check on my mail (I mean the physical mailboxes at home, let’s not be too web savvy for a while), I pulled out a stack of promo junk that almost made my head spin – flyers from the local dry cleaners, magnets and business cards from plumbers, booklets for community dance classes, coupons for pizza n pasta. After sifting through the pile for a while trying to find something that can attract my attention, I couldn’t bear it anymore and chucked the whole thing into the bin. I couldn’t help but think to myself – that’s not the result I would want if I was the one doing the mailout.

Promotion is becoming more and more of a commodity as people grow more immune to the effects of marketing in modern society . Sure, doing a mailout can get you exposure for your brand, but it is no longer enough to actually bring business to your door. How many people will actually remember what that piece of paper in their mail was, let alone there’s always a zillion other pieces of paper next to it? The customer’s got to at least remember your brand first, right? As graphic designers, these are some questions to consider when helping your clients with their campaigns, because if your designs can prove better conversion rates, that’s how you can build your reputation and 1-up yourself from other designers.

Consumer expectation for quality and surprise has risen immensely over the years. Glossy and colourful is no longer enough – there’s full of it in the streets and on the web – and don’t think a nice looking photo will always do the job either! What you need to do is to go that extra mile with your work to captivate your audience and make sure they can engage with your message.

How about a bit of die-cut and special finishing?

If you are looking to differentiate your design, it makes sense to leverage print techniques such as embossing, raised print or hot-foil stamping, as these are effective ways to capture your audience’s attention on first impression. Add to that a custom-shape cutout or round edges and you instantly increase both value and visibility for your promo piece. When you are not only stuck with the boring old rectangle, the possibilities become endless – perhaps for ongoing campaigns, you can devise a set of custom-shapes that are meant to be collected by end-users, or maybe one campaign could physically be a key that unlocks a package from another.

Just as gloss and matte became the standard in today’s direct mail marketing, I anticipate die-cut and special finishings will soon become the future standard for mailouts. Although most would argue that the cost of custom-shape/special finishing printing is much higher, the increased effectiveness of the design is usually well worth the extra cost. Clients are usually willing to pay extra as long as the campaign works and can produce better results.

Here are some inspirations on effective use of custom shapes and special finishing to get you kick started: