Idea Art, a cataloger and online marketer of paper products, has jumped on the insert media bandwagon.
Last month, the Nashville, TN company began sending out more than 7.5 million catalog blow-ins and some 89,500 package inserts.
“Insert media is a great vehicle for direct marketers to promote themselves and bring in additional revenue,” says marketing director Rebecca Pierce.
The firm is aiming widely.
“I believe we will be an attractive option for a variety of business-to-business and business-to-consumer advertisers because our buyers are willing to invest a little more to make a good impression on paper,” says Pierce.
“Although our marketing efforts target businesses, our product line just naturally attracts consumers. Idea Art buyers represent a wide range of SIC codes and job titles.”
She declines to project how many advertisers the programs, managed by American List Counsel, are likely to draw.
“We have just launched [them], so it’s a little early to make that call,” Pierce says.
The inserts — which target buyers of promotional paper products — must be no larger than 8-1/2 by 11 inches and weigh no more than a quarter of an ounce. Also, they must be boxed and labeled “insert material,” with advertiser name and quantity within each box, according to Idea Art.
Idea Art is one of the latest to try to cash in on the movement toward making greater use of insert media.
“We’ve seen more growth in catalog blow-ins in the last two years than we saw in the previous 10,” said Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president of Estee Marketing Group, in an earlier interview. “It’s good for both the inserter and cataloger because of the incremental revenue for the cataloger and as another source of names for the inserter.”
He noted that the costs of blow-in cards are maybe half the cost per thousand of renting lists for straight mailings. But he cautioned that response rates are much lower.
Package inserts in catalog merchandise shipments also are apparently growing.
“A lot more catalogers are accepting inserts because it’s a cheaper way to make money,” says Jim Lynch, vice president at Millard Group Inc.
Network
