Treasures of My Desk

I don’t care how corny this sounds but I absolutely love the direct mail pieces from the US Post Office!

I’m a pack rat, I admit it. I love keeping things around; you never know when you’re going to need them! It’s that time of year again, time to clean out my desk because I can’t fit one more piece of paper in the drawers, and the files and folders stacked on top of my desk are getting kind of tipsy … they’re just asking for trouble. So in the midst of cleaning out my desk I ran across my file of direct mail samples I’ve been collecting the last year. There were a few that finally made it into the recycling bin, a few I just haven’t decided if they’re good enough to last another year in my desk, and then those handful that have definitely made it to the next round.

I must say, if you’re not on the US Post Office direct mail list, it’s time to get on it; their creative/designers have come up with some great stuff over the last year. Three of the five pieces that made it into the save pile are all from the USPS.

The first one, is one of the most true to life file folders I’ve ever seen designed/printed. It’s a six page piece that looks like an actual file folder; handwritten notes across the whole thing, binder clips, scraps of paper, post-its…surprisingly like all those folders I pulled from my desk and recycled, but not this one! This one has highlighter marks all over, even a napkin with a coffee ring on it and notes scribbled across it… the designer did a fabulous job graphically. The mail piece itself is promoting a free DVD about Results-Driven Marketing in the Down Economy and the entire piece, copy and design, is a perfect compilation.

One of their other pieces was quite entertaining, I even got a shirt out of the deal! It comes with the classic “Hello my name is” sticker as the address label on a plain white envelope. I couldn’t help it; I wanted to see what was inside. You open it up and it has nearly a dozen (sticky, usable) “Hello” badges but they are just beyond entertaining…Hello my dream job is , Hello my biggest pet peeve is, Hello my office nickname is, Hello my favorite way to look busy is… ! Those proved to be quite entertaining around the office! They send you to a personalized URL to fill out some personal “Hello my…” information and then print your customized shirt with a series of six “Hello” badges on it that describe you to a tee and mail that out. I love my shirt! What was the point of the mailing? Personalized and Database Printing… what a great way to prove your point that personalized mail is more enticing and interactive.

I love well built direct mail pieces, big kudos to the designers for the USPS this year!

Sadly, I didn’t find a million dollar check hiding in my desk, but these sure did make me smile. What treasures are hiding in your desk?



Ashley Keller
Project Coordinator
Dunthorpe Marketing Group, Inc.