Who doesn’t love the idea of a “new year, new you?” Whether that means different personal goals, the desire to switch up a workout routine or even simple things like a jazzed-up haircut, updated wardrobe or taking up a new hobby, a “new you” is always fun to dream about.
We feel this as humans, consume content about this as consumers, and encourage these campaigns as marketers.
Here’s our new take: As humans, consumers and marketers, mailers should consider your own “new year, new you” goals. Specifically, testing new and different formats when it comes to direct mail.
We understand that you have tried & true formats that work for your business. In some cases, your format may even be a part of your brand. We’re not saying to leave that behind, but we are saying to try something else as you never know what you may uncover in terms of results.
Looking at today’s economy paired with complications of tracking results in digital, you are facing headwinds in 2026. By testing new direct mail formats, you may uncover efficiencies that put your marketing dollars to better use, such as…
Higher engagements rates: Direct mail has significantly higher engagement rates than digital marketing, such as email, about 4% more!
Increased ROI: Direct mail generates an average ROI of 29%, making it one of the most effective marketing channels when the strategy is right… that’s where we come in!
Personalization: We all know personalization is important, but have you tested new tactics, or revisited why something is working or not? Personalized direct mail has a 20% higher response rate vs. non-personalized (pair this with Informed Delivery or another USPS incentive and it will be even more impressive!).
Integration with Digital: We realize we said engagement is higher with direct mail (which it is!), but the ultimate success story is properly integrating your offline and digital channels with each other. For example, by including a QR code, some brands we work with have experienced a 63% increase in response rates.
Ultimately, by testing different formats – think postcards, catalogs, letters – brands often find some perform better than others with specific demographics or campaigns. For example, an oversized postcard can yield 10% more engagement than standard sized postcards.
This is just an example of the things we’ve learned working with our wide variety of brands. Partnership is at our core, so let’s discover together how your brand can be its best self, beginning with your direct mail strategy.
Source:
OpenAI. (2025). Key Statistics. In ChatGPT. Retrieved October 31, 2025, from https://www.openai.com/chatgpt