Royal Mail has launched a new industry resource to provide intelligence, inspiration and innovation for marketers and help them make the most of direct mail in their integrated marketing campaigns.
Aimed at the UK’s top 3,000 advertisers and 500 key agencies, the Mail Media Centre online resource – http://www.mmc.co.uk – will serve to reinforce the value of direct mail in the current communication mix and demonstrate how it can boost results.
It showcases examples of great creative, provides expert advice from industry authorities on how to maximise return on investment and features all the latest industry research from a variety of independent sources, including Nielsen.
The site is free to view and subscribers can register to receive all relevant updates. New content will be added constantly ensuring that anyone considering direct mail has immediate access to all the latest solutions and statistics.
Royal Mail has ambitious plans to evolve the resource quickly to include new features such as monthly trackers, increased expert commentary and the latest web functionality applications.
Antony Miller, Head of Media Development at Royal Mail, said: “http://www.mmc.co.uk is central to our strategy to grow the entire mail market. We are committed to supporting the industry through provision of up to the minute information and research, expertise and innovation. We are determined to ensure advertisers have the right resources available to truly understand the benefits of mail, how it works with other media and ultimately how it delivers results.
“In these difficult times, it becomes even more crucial for those in the direct marketing industry to have the very latest in skills, knowledge and insight at their fingertips. The wealth of information provided through mmc.co.uk will provide an invaluable resource to facilitate agency pitches and client business cases in this time of tightened budgets.”
He added: “Royal Mail has launched a number of initiatives underlining the value of the mail as an advertising channel. Royal Mail’s “Sensory Mail” for example, enables marketers to build brand by engaging three or more of the senses, while Matter, Royal Mail’s latest innovation launched at the back end of last year, literally allows advertisers to get a tangible representation of their brand into their prospects’ hands.
“It is exciting innovations such as these and mmc.co.uk that are driving the direct mail industry into the 21st Century. It is for this reason that we are extremely confident that mmc.co.uk will shape up to be an extremely important resource for brand managers, media agencies and the direct mail community.”
The innovative http://www.mmc.co.uk website has been designed and created by top 10 DM and digital agency TMW. TMW’s strategic and creative approach was geared around creating a modern, exciting, fresh view of mail and how it works alongside other media channels – pioneering the role of Direct Mail in today’s 21st Century digital landscape. Its approach was to create a website that would generate real excitement and inspiration amongst marketing practitioners in DM agencies, media agencies and advertisers.
TMW was also instrumental in helping define the different target audiences and their needs. This was essential to ensure that the site appealed to all, depending on their level of needs and knowledge in terms of using direct mail, as well as for providing highly targeted and relevant content, tailored according to the end user’s profile. In addition, TMW created the brand identity for mmc.co.uk, including a bold new logo and a colour palette which includes a modern twist on the Royal Mail branding by incorporating a striking aqua blue.
Isabel Campos, Business Director at TMW, commented: “It was essential that http://www.mmc.co.uk provided end users with an experience beyond their expectations. Our in-depth understanding of the target audience, combined with our strong heritage in terms of web design and usability, has ensured that the website is contemporary and engaging, while reflecting the core principles of innovation, inspiration and intelligence.”