Meet One of Our Account Leads, Shruti!

1) What do you enjoy most about working with direct mail?Even as someone who grew up in the early 2000s digital age and very much considers herself to be an “online” person, at the end of the day, I love the tangible. We live in an increasingly digital world, but human connection and in-person experiences still hold so much value to so many people. I don’t believe that it was a coincidence that after pandemic-era restrictions were lifted, there’s been an uptick in finding third-spaces, creating community, and building in the offline world.

I’m particularly passionate about mission-driven brands and for companies like that, I love that direct mail can be used to add a personal touch to their outreach, increase the emotional connection with their audiences, and create physical pieces that are memorable.

2) What’s one thing clients are usually surprised to learn about direct mail?

The effectiveness of it! Even when I first started in the space, I honestly had no idea how efficient of a channel it is to convert prospective audiences and retain loyal customers.

3) I heard you had a food instagram / content side biz. If you were marketing your food business, how would you use direct mail?

For a food brand, one way I would use direct mail is by providing its audience continuous value. For example, for a spice or condiments food brand, I’d recommend mailing a mini catalog of recipes that encourages recipients to keep the catalog as a reference and over time, causes them to return to your brand. If a brand has expanded its presence to retail shops or is going to have an upcoming pop-up, it could send a postcard or put up a wheatpaste poster within a geo-restricted location so that prospective audiences can experience its products in real life.

4) If you could design a direct mail piece for any brand, who would it be and what would it look like?

So many fashion brands are creating such inspiring work lately with a lot of emphasis on giving back and highlighting craftsmanship. One brand I really admire is Kotn, a clothing brand that celebrates Egyptian cotton by producing high-quality apparel and directly partners with their farming communities to ensure they receive ethical wages, healthcare, and education. I started my career working for a fashion company that directly gave back to the artisans that produced the pieces, so I love seeing other brands with similar missions. There’s a range of offline marketing campaigns I could imagine for a company like this:

• Back-to-School Catalog: Around late August or early September, they could create an elevated, “back-to-school” catalog that showcases their Autumn/Fall collection and also highlights how their proceeds have funded schools in Egypt.
• Subway/Metro Placements: With stores in both NYC and London, they could create banners within each city’s transit system where they juxtapose the busy day-to-day lives of their prospective customers against the more intentional, grounded lifestyle they are encouraging through their work.
• Envelope & Letters: One of the highlights on their website, in my opinion, is a section dedicated to some of the farmers they work with. They could have an envelope/letter format where they highlight individual farmers, their stories, and aspirations as a way to directly connect with their audiences further.

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