I’ve been thinking a lot about direct mail lately, pondering whether it could possible work again, or if it has simply become an unforgivable sin against the environment. You see, using email for acquisition just seems awfully risky these days with increasingly stringent CAN-SPAM laws. And, I’m just not comfortable blasting out an email to an unscrubbed list.

Before I would ever feel comfortable sending out a direct mail or email campaign, I would have to come up with a killer creative idea and offer that would compel my target audience to take action. And, I would need a precision database to ensure high response rates and minimal waste. But that’s another post.

And, I confess, I’m at a loss for inspiration. The last creative direct mail campaign I saw was at least 4 months ago, and it wasn’t even addressed to me. I was in my boss’s office and I spotted an unusual relic sitting on top of a stack of papers. No, the relic wasn’t just a direct mail brochure, it was a floppy disk!!! Can you imagine? I had not seen one of these since I was, erh, merely an infant.

Anyway, the floppy disk was imprinted with a custom URL based on the primary domain of www.areyouobsolete.com. Wow! It was the perfect combination of incredibly creative, environmentally friendly (recycling old floppies), and it sparked a curiosity so strong that I was compelled to run back to my office to type in the URL. And, to blog about it.

When I reached my office and typed in the URL, I was greeted with a “We’re Sorry, we do not recognize the URL” message because I had not typed in the personalized URL. Sadly, the folks at Progress Software who designed this ingenious campaign, had neglected to consider that the campaign might just be so clever that it would stimulate strong Word of Mouth and intrigue other possible buyers to visit and learn. A simple catch-all page at www.areyouobsolete.com would have been very helpful.

As a potential prospect for Progress, I might also suggest that they build out a database with all of the buyers in the buying process and send the floppies to each of them. You see, my boss had no interest in following up and he didn’t have time to indulge his curiosity. By sending the mailer to each member of the team, they would increase their odds of success.

Got any great direct mail success stories to share with The B2B Lead? Use the comments field to brag about your recent successes. I’m in dire need of inspiration.