Direct Marketing Archives

October 7, 2026

AI + Direct Marketing: Who, What, Where, When—and When Not To

For many marketers, the first encounter with artificial intelligence has been surprisingly mundane. Write a headline. Draft an email. Create a social post. Generate an image. Produce ten versions of an ad. Those capabilities are useful. But the bigger opportunity isn't simply using AI to create more marketing. It's using AI to make better decisions about who should receive marketing in the first place—and who shouldn't. Who should receive the offer? Which channel should we use? When should we communicate? Which message is most appropriate? And perhaps most importantly: When should we do nothing at all? That's where AI starts becoming much more interesting. From Generating Content to Making Decisions AI adoption among marketers has accelerated rapidly. Salesforce's 2026 State of Marketing research found that 75% of marketers are using AI, with personalization among its leading applications. Yet 84% still report running generic campaigns. That disconnect tells us something important. If AI enables an organization to create twice as many...

September 9, 2026

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

Your Website Visitor Just Left. Should You Send Them a Letter?

For decades, direct mail campaigns have generally started the same way. Build an audience. Select the people you want to reach. Develop the creative. Produce the mail. Send it. Digital marketing changed that process by allowing marketers to respond almost instantly to consumer behavior. Visit a website. Click an email. Start an application but don't finish it. Each action creates a signal—and potentially triggers the next communication. Until recently, that next communication was usually digital. Today, it doesn't have to be. Advances in data, identity resolution, marketing automation and digital print technology are creating a new opportunity for marketers: trigger-based direct mail. Instead of sending thousands or millions of pieces according to a predetermined campaign calendar, organizations can use individual consumer behaviors and events to determine who receives mail, what they receive and when they receive it. In other words, direct mail is beginning to behave a lot more like digital marketing. What Is Trigger-Based Direct Mail? Trigger-based direct...

May 20, 2026

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

Direct Mail Delivers

Add Tangible Advantages with Savings from the USPS In an era of overflowing inboxes and "scroll fatigue," direct mail has staged a powerful comeback. While digital ads can be swiped away in a millisecond, a physical mailpiece demands tactile engagement. Research shows that nearly 80% of consumers act on direct mail immediately, compared to just 45% who deal with email right away. Direct mail works because it is tangible, trusted, and targeted. It provides a sensory break from the digital noise. And when it’s integrated into a modern marketing mix, direct mail doesn't just complement digital—it amplifies it by driving higher response rates. To help businesses harness this power, the USPS offers several programs and significant discounts designed to make direct mail more accessible and affordable. Here is how they break down for different levels of business needs. 1. Local Growth: USPS Programs for Small Businesses For small businesses looking to dominate their local neighborhood...

June 21, 2024

in Marketing

by Beth Harvath

Why Use a Marketing Agency If You Have a Solid Internal Team?

A friend who works for the internal marketing department at a large international corporation recently asked me, “Why do clients choose to work with outside agencies like yours?” As someone who has spent his entire career as a creative on the agency side, I at first took offense. But my pragmatic sensibility quickly took over and after a short pause, I said, “Lots of agencies sell themselves on creative talent and brilliant ideas that may never have a chance to germinate in a corporate setting … but I think it’s often a matter of economics and urgency. By using an external agency, a company like yours can quickly ramp up to get an important campaign out the door without hiring a bunch of people.” We were out for a day of skiing, so I wasn’t in the mood to elaborate and talk shop. Looking back, I quickly realized that this was...

May 23, 2023

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

DCI Digital Campaigns Bring Home Two Awards

Last Thursday, May 18th, President and CEO Nick Lanzi had the pleasure of attending our region’s premier direct marketing awards show. Held at Manayunk’s unique Platform Thirty, The Philly DMA’s Benny Awards treated local direct marketers to another delightful evening of comradery and celebration of success. Speaking of celebrating, DCI was the proud recipient of two awards for our digital work over the past year. Our “Playbook”educational e-Book for ArmadaCare was a winner in the Digital Sales Enablement category. Developed to help ArmadaCare elevate the value of supplemental benefits to HR professionals, the Recruiting & Retention Playbook beat the control in terms of open rate, clickthrough rate and response rate. We attribute its success to the value of the content, including compelling statistics from our client, which was wrapped in a theme that clearly resonated with the needs of HR departments. In the Digital Social Media category, our “YES Plan” campaign took...

January 25, 2023

in Marketing, Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

2023 Direct Marketing: Top Trends and Predictions

With the unexpectedly rapid recovery of 2021 and 2022 in the rear-view mirror, and inflation slowing as we entered 2023, we are left with a big question mark on where the economy is headed. Will inflation plus rising interest rates trigger a recession, or will the Federal Reserve’s policies deliver the “soft landing” everyone desires? In either scenario, businesses are likely to spend more conservatively and look for highly measurable marketing tactics that have the largest impact on the bottom line — i.e., exactly what direct marketers aim to do regardless of economic conditions. Here are some of the top ways we expect businesses to benefit from direct marketing in 2023: Increased emphasis on B-to-B marketing: According to the White House, over the last two years, Americans have applied to start 10.5 million new businesses, the strongest two years on record. Layer onto that the fact that B-to-B markets have higher-value purchases...

September 27, 2022

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

What it takes to win a Telly

Filming three versions of a DRTV spot with six actors, multiple extras and props in an outdoor location is akin to herding cats in a hurricane. Fortunately, our partners at Center City Film and Video are pros at managing what looks like controlled chaos. After months of concept and script development, we watched our creative vision come together in one frenzied day of shooting. The What Matters TV spot was conceived out of a need to appeal to a broad audience during open enrollment for individual health insurance. Together with our client, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, we knew our spot needed a setting that could serve as a common ground for a diverse group of people. We landed on a public park. Specifically, we chose the Philadelphia Navy Yard’s Central Green which had all the ingredients needed for a one-day shoot composed of numerous scenes. After a rain...

May 20, 2022

in Uncategorized

by Patricia Uhrich

Direct Choice honored with Best of Show at Philly DMA awards

Last night’s Benny Awards Celebration was extra special on many levels. First of all, it felt so refreshing for everyone — our agency family and the greater Philly direct marketing community — to be together in person. That honestly would have been enough for an amazing night out. To our good fortune, the night became progressively better as we were awarded for our work across three marketing categories: Interactive – Social Media Winner: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina “What Matters”. As part of a multi-channel campaign for individual health insurance, our social media campaign leveraged the star of our TV spot to garner attention. Each ad promoted affordable plans that can “check all the boxes that matter to you” for as little as $0 a month. Outdoor Campaign – Other Media Category (Outdoor, Transit, Posters, Point of Purchase): Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina “Healthy Blue +...

Direct Marketing Tag

AI + Direct Marketing: Who, What, Where, When—and When Not To

Your Website Visitor Just Left. Should You Send Them a Letter?

Direct Mail Delivers

Why Use a Marketing Agency If You Have a Solid Internal Team?

2023 Direct Marketing: Top Trends and Predictions

What it takes to win a Telly

Direct Choice honored with Best of Show at Philly DMA awards

directchoiceinc