Yes, direct mail campaigns are still a thing

As someone who rarely receives anything in the mail but spam, getting used to the idea of mail as something our customers wanted was tough for me. But in the rural water industry there are still many who want the tactile sensation of a brochure in their hands. Designing for print collateral has been interesting because it allows for more exposition than a quick banner ad, but also brings the challenge of filling that print with relevant information.

The big packet you see in the feature photo is a brochure mailed out to member systems to get them registered for the TRWA Fall Management Conference. Many TRWA members choose to register by mailing out this form and sending it back to us (I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true). Also included in the brochure is a full agenda for our different conferences so that members can see if it will be worth the investment for them to come.

Aside from brochures, there are times when flyers are the right choice. For example, the flyer above went out in a welcome pack we gave to booth holders at one of our big conferences this year. We needed to book some more advertisers for 2021, and we knew where they’d be. In addition to converting the graphic to an eBlast we sent out to all of our associate members, those in person had a chance to scan this code and get signed up. We did end up getting some magazine ads booked with first-time advertisers.

A big push for the Texas Rural Water Foundation this year has been the creation of the Veteran Career Center, a service free for veterans to apply for jobs in the rural water industry. I created this graphic to include in welcome packets at conferences. It’s simple, offers all of the basics and will get people familiar with the program. The VCC is something TRWA is going to be pushing over and over again, so the tactile sensation of a flyer was important to me to get people to a baseline that encourages them to sign up after they’ve been exposed a few times. Another great feature of this graphic is that it’s dimensions are super adaptable for half page ads in TRWA magazines.

Besides marketing materials, the practical needs of a conference-heavy schedule mean print design projects. As a communications specialist, even temporary collateral needs to look polished and say positive things about the company. So, maybe it’s just a ticket to a fish fry, but I’m gonna make it look adorable.