02


Spring 2020


DIRECT MAIL


TRISH WITKOWSKI ON USING Direct Mail in the COVID-19 Recovery


t


he extended period of time that hundreds of millions of people around the world have spent mostly


confined to their homes in recent months has made this one of the most challenging times in history to be a marketer. While these professional obstacles pale in comparison to what some individuals and communities have experienced, the recovery process will indeed depend on businesses succeeding. Aside from a select few professions, most


of us have been asked to help by doing—well, nothing. By staying home. Professionally, as people who like to create, communicate, and drive actions, this makes for murky marketing waters. Is it inappropriate to advertise products when people are falling ill and jobs are disappearing? Should you be sending direct mail or turning all efforts to digital advertising? The slope is as slippery as ever.


DIGITAL VS. PHYSICAL Still, for companies to remain in business, they must continue to be noticed. They need to have some form of outreach and marketing. “As marketers, we’re all


walking on eggshells,” says Trish Witkowski, an expert in direct mail and the CEO of her company, Foldfactory. “Nobody wants to seem too opportunistic or tone deaf regarding what’s going on. It’s a real conundrum for businesses, as marketing and sales are being asked to continue selling but also to


tiptoe while doing it.” Witkowski believes the underlying issue that we have all been feeling in recent weeks is a lack of connectedness with one another, and she believes that people are looking to brands and businesses for guidance, for some sign of normalcy, and in some cases, for an escape. “Though we are connected digitally


right now, we’re seriously lacking tangible experiences on a day-to-day basis,” Witkowski says. “The novelty of Zoom meetings and virtual happy hours will soon be gone.


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