Insert-media pieces are suddenly enjoying renewed popularity

When Jill Eastman Vidal was working for a catalog company back in the mid-1990s, she thought insert media seemed like a great marketing tool – but didn’t get why so many of her industry peers disagreed. “I wondered, ‘Why aren’t more people using this?’” recalls Vidal, now director of third-party marketing for gift retailer 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

The reason: insert media had long ago gotten a bad rap. To many marketers, the idea of distributing their promotional materials by bundling them with other companies’ direct mail pieces seemed low-rent and undesirable, the marketing equivalent of hitchhiking to work.

Apparently, a decade makes a difference. Today, Vidal is among a growing group of marketers who are rediscovering the reach and value of insert media and adding some newmedia twists to the time-tested tactic. Suddenly, a term like “high-quality insert-media campaign” can no longer be considered an oxymoron.

Certainly, the perception of insert media has gotten a boost in recent years from the efforts of companies like 1-800-FLOWERS.com, which has teamed with a range of upscale brands. For instance, the company often allows its marketing materials to ride along with materials from Omaha Steaks, the gourmet foods distributor, and premium coffee maker Gevalia. “These are not down-market companies, and you’re not reaching a down-market consumer,” Vidal points out.

So why has an approach developed a half-century ago become so attractive again, even to high-end brands? Simple, says Vidal: “It’s affordable.”

Not surprisingly, interest in insert media rises whenever mailing costs do. Insert campaigns typically carry about one-third to one-fifth the cost of other direct marketing efforts, Vidal says. And if two companies agree to distribute each other’s inserts, the expense decreases even more.

In such cases, “the only costs are commissions to the broker and manager of the program and printing costs,” she explains. Even upscale companies are attracted to such savings – especially if they’re reaching customers with a proven willingness to spend cash.

Many companies also view insert media as a potential alternative to increasingly regulated approaches such as telemarketing and bulk e-mailing. For some, like 1-800-FLOWERS.com, the insert approach is now so attractive that they’re in it on both sides: their materials ride along in other companies’ envelopes and boxes, and they accept passengers for their outgoing shipments.

For its part, Omaha Steaks uses a variety of insert-media options and relies heavily on package inserts because “they have long proven to be successful,” says Beth Weiss, corporate communications director for the company. “We feel that higher-end companies are returning to package inserts as they are a proven media option, providing an acceptable return on investment.”

What’s more, the brands that allow others to ride along can often provide potential “piggyback” companies with detailed, updated customer demographic information. For instance, 1-800-FLOWERS.com‘s customers tend to be married 30-somethings with average household incomes of about $75,000. They’re educated and interested in fine foods and beverages – hence, the partnerships with Gevalia, Omaha Steaks and other high-end brands.