One of the oldest means of approaching the target audience is direct advertising media. Direct advertising is most common and widespread form of media which, instead of using indirect medium like magazines or newspaper to deliver message, uses all types of printed advertising which directly connects with target audience. The printed form Of material can be distributed door-to-door, distributed to people who are passing along road sides, fixed under wind-screen of automobiles, sent through posts, or distributed through retailers. When all these information written on printed matter is sent directly through mail, then it is termed as direct mail advertising. Printed matter can be in various forms:
Book-lets
Book-let is a compact form of book which contains 8 to 10 pages which are glued or stapled together so they can be opened as a book. It is normally posted within an envelope.
Catalogues
It is same as book-let in physical form, but is bigger in size and covers a wide variety of products of various firms within it. It is a type of reference book and mostly covers material related to sales.
Post Cards
The most commonly used form Of direct advertising is post card as it is cost effective and has great value. This form Of printed media helps in getting quick and direct response of the receivers. Post cards are used for delivering short messages, informing about next mail, cancellations, accepting an order, teasing the address, making an offer, updating mailing list, and answering to the queries.
Envelop Enclosures
Envelop enclosure is quite confusing term as people usually think of it as a tagged paper enclosed or an attachment with letter. But in terms Of printed material, it stands for a bunch of paper which is posted individually. It can be in the form of stuffer, folder, or circular.
Store Publications
Store publication is a statement or an in-house magazine published by company mainly to promote goodwill and influencing the public opinion. However, it also aims to increase the sales. These are distributed free of cost to the employees, customers and dealers. An effective store publication is one which has appropriate lay-out, format, get-up, language, style, stuff, and colour combination.
Package Inserts
The term package inserts has a wider meaning and contains inserts, packages, and labels. Although package is designed for protecting the product from any damage, easy handling, transportation and Storage, but it is also an effective medium to deliver information about products. Therefore, packaging is considered as a medium to market the product. To make the promotion effective, the message in package should be precise and illustrative in describing the uses and attributes of the product. The brand name or trade mark on package should be visible.
Sales Letters
The sales letter or simply letter is the medium through which company’s products and consumers’ level Of satisfaction is described. It is considered as a company’s silent ambassador. These sales letters, before selling the product or service of the company, first sell its name. The effective sales letter is totally dependent on its compelling, appealing and convincing ability.
Gift-Novelties
Speciality advertising or gift advertising is a media that uses certain valuable and handy items with the advertiser’s name, address and the sales Illessage imprinted on them. These items are known as advertising specialities or gift novelties. These gift-novelties are offered free of cost to some selected customers. These aid in building goodwill of company or are presented as reminders gifts.
