Consumer Technology
Two-Way Direct Mail Program Management

AP+M was tasked with creating a cost-effective, daily mailing program for our client so they could contact their customers to request the return of intellectual property and/or a digital box when their customers changed service (two-way mailers).

There would be multiple versions of two different mailers, secure daily data transmission, complex data processing, variable printing and mail delivery.

Complex Customized Design
A custom two-way mailer was designed for the intellectual property that included specialized pockets to hold the returned product. The process for the customer was designed to be simple – receive the mailer, place the product in the pockets, remove a flap, seal and mail back. AP+M engineered the mailer to come off of the press completely finished and ready for outbound mailing. This included printing, scoring, perforating, folding and gluing to form a two pocket return envelope with remoistenable glue flap, and fugitive glue sealed ready for mailing. Mailers were placed in inventory and pulled for addressing each day.

Creative Problem Solving
The second mailer needed to make it easy for the customer to return a small electronic box for recycling instead of throwing it in the trash, which in turn would go into a landfill. We determined that the electronic box could ship using a bag instead of an expensive carton. These mailers needed to include a customer specific pre-printed return label and a bag folded to fit inside the letter-sized outbound envelope.

Cost Saving Technique
All mailers were designed to take advantage of co-mingling with other mail in order to receive lowest postage rates based on higher mail-pool density.

Custom Processing Application
AP+M developers created a custom application to automate the data flow of daily file retrieval, processing of multiple files, appending the original files with mailing confirmation, and sending the appended files back to the client the following day.

Automating the data processing steps for multiple daily files ensured data integrity and eliminated mistakes throughout the process.

Outbound postage using co-mingling ensures the greatest possible postage discounts. The cost efficiencies and the high return rate for both intellectual property and electronic boxes confirms the success of the program.