The well-known purveyor of donuts, Krispy Kreme has broken new ground in direct advertising with their “give us ten, we’ll give you twelve” promotion. The offer of “buy one dozen get a second dozen for a dime” was recently mailed to 10,000 residents in Orange County, CA, and was designed in the shape of the familiar red and green donut box. These coupons are the very first Customized MarketMail™ (CMM) — a new Standard Mail advertising product from the U.S. Postal Service — that allows companies to send cleverly shaped mail pieces to consumers sans envelope.

"Krispy Kreme does not traditionally do direct mail, but with the approval of Customized MarketMail, we were able to develop a much more exciting marketing piece to mail to our customers,” said Amy Inabinet, Marketing Manager, Krispy Kreme. We designed an eye-catching promotion, featuring an open box of donuts and a special offer on the back. We expect this new mailing opportunity to provide a better response than traditional mailing efforts.”

“The Postal Service is changing the way businesses mail and we’re pleased to have Krispy Kreme as our first CMM customer,” said Nick Barranca. “This new product offers advertisers and direct mailers an opportunity to deliver a highly-targeted message that differentiates their product and provides maximum impact in the mailbox,” he added. “CMM can be used to launch new merchandise, announce an important event, build brand awareness and drive traffic to stores, companies or web sites. “We look forward to working with new customers and helping them develop innovative ways to market their business.”

Customized MarketMail is different in that it allows advertisers to match the shape of the mail piece to their products. They can reach new heights creatively and stand out from other mail pieces, attracting customer attention. Within certain size, weight and thickness limitations, CMM can be almost any shape and design the mailer desires.

Now some of you are wondering, "I've mailed die-cut mailers before, what's the big deal". From now on, there's no need to stuff your die-cut pieces into envelopes. CMM can be mailed just like post cards which helps cut time and cost. There's a few catches, no value added or extra services are available with CMM which means no returned pieces. If a post card is undeliverable, it will be discarded by the post office handling the piece.

Postage rates are a bit higher with CMM as well, 57.4 cents for Regular Standard Mail and 46 cents for Nonprofit Standard Mail. CMM must be setup in the same way bulk mail is setup. You will need a bulk mail permit and mail in sets of 200 pieces or more at a time. If you are already sending bulk mail, we recommend that you give CMM a shot. Imagine the look on your clients face when they receive your next post card cut in the shape of their dream home!

For more information on Customized MarketMail, visit http://www.usps.com or email us at cmm@qrealestatepro.com and we will help you get started.