Deliver Magazine July 2005Date Submitted: 7/15/2005

Forget to-do lists – sticky notes are on the must-do list for direct marketers.

You need a reminder to find the latest budget numbers, so you scribble it on a sticky note and tack it onto your computer. You ask a colleague for client contact info and leave with it on a sticky note. Your daily to-do list: scribbled on a sticky note, of course.

So, why not use those yellow sticky notes for your next marketing campaign?

The Medical Management Institute did and achieved some stellar results. MMI, a privately held Alpharetta, Ga., company that markets educational materials to the medical industry, wanted to increase response rates and reduce costs at the same time. So, the company put repositionable notes (RPNs) — the term for sticky notes that go on mail pieces — on the outside of the envelopes.

“We used an RPN comparing competitors’ prices with ours and listed our phone number and Web site at the bottom of the note,” says Bobby Keene, MMI director of marketing. By calling attention to the offer with the RPN, MMI lifted its response rate by more than 45 percent.

Marketers have grown to love this unique tool for its low cost but high rate of increasing incremental response from customers.

AAA Rentals used RPNs to get 600 customer responses to a campaign designed to secure rental agreements for a variety of home products. And Opera Colorado successfully used RPNs to promote performances, generating more than $123,000.

RPNs, which can be applied by almost any printer or lettershop that has the equipment, are structured to work with all Postal Service™ sorting equipment so they can be processed like any other piece of mail.

The notes must be approximately 3 inches square and can be placed on any flat mailing, periodical or direct mail piece. The notes must not interfere with access to the mailing label, but can be placed in various spots on the envelope or mailer. Companies should choose printers with selective messaging capability to improve the efficiency of the operation.

With the right offer, an outside tag can produce a better response rate. Consumers still have to open the mailing to see if the offer is right for them, but the tag can increase the life of the mailing and a company’s return on its investment.

Keene agrees. MMI used RPNs during a test campaign in August 2002 and for five subsequent mailings — all of which lifted response rates.

“The note actually improved the life of the direct mail piece, as we found that many customers actually ‘posted’ the note for future use,” says Keene. “We achieved a higher profit margin from existing customers and added non-customers to our direct mailing list.”

MMI had been producing a four-color direct mail piece for this campaign, but reduced costs by using the colorful RPN on the outside of the envelope.

“The campaign cost $7,000 less than the prior year,” Keene says. “We were able to use black and white printing versus color because the RPN piqued the recipient’s curiosity to inspect the contents. We’ll use RPNs again this summer and fall with the same message, as it is actually building brand identity for MMI.”

Simply put, RPNs help keep a company top of mind among consumers.

Information and regulations for using repositionable notes can be found in the new Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual at section 709.7.0 or visit www.usps.com/repositionablenotes for more information.

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