Can You Feel This? How to Effectively Use Texture in Direct-Mail Marketing

Imagine running your hands over the butter-soft leather seats of a luxury car. Consider how a soothing caress from a mother can calm down a baby. Recall what it feels like to step barefoot on your freshly cut grass.

The sensation of touch is the first and most basic of human senses. And it can make a mighty impact.

Your sense of touch has the power to shape the way you look at the world: your thoughts, your beliefs, and even your purchasing decisions. Research has shown that “tangible materials leave a deeper footprint in the brain.”

Texture often requires greater examination than mere sight or sound alone. It may even evoke an emotional response, causing you to actually engage with the material rather than simply observing it.

This means that adding a textural element to your direct-mail marketing campaign could be just the ticket you need to make a lasting impact on your prospective customers and ultimately influence buyer behavior.

Take for example The frank Agency’s textured mailer for a Mercedes Benz air conditioning promotion (seen in the featured image). The car interior feels like plastic and contrasts the smooth feel of the cool air blowing from the vents. When thumbing through their mail, recipients can instantly feel the difference between this mailer and their other collateral.

Here are other ways a textured piece of direct mail can stimulate your customer’s first and most primal language.

Appeal to Emotions

A common reaction to a tough day at work, a breakup, or major loss is snuggling under a soft, comfy blanket. This doesn’t happen by chance. It seems negative emotional states trigger a craving for touch, particularly from soft textures. This can come in handy for various business owners, such as a psychotherapist or a massage therapist. Using materials with a velvety feel may lend a sense of comfort to prospective clients.

Appeal to Identity and Lifestyle

Texture can also connect to a customer’s sense of who they are, or even who they’d like to be. Therefore, a mailer sent to high-level executives on heavy cardstock with raised, ornate or metallic letters or patterns may impart a feeling of sophistication and exclusivity. Or, perhaps you’re targeting millennials who like to have the scoop on the latest innovations. You might send this crowd mailers printed in thermochronic ink that’s activated with touch. They’ll be impressed by the technology and interested in what else your company can offer.

Appeal to Enthusiasts

Those who know your industry well are most impressed when you link texture to your brand itself. Consider sending carpenters a piece of wood, finished or unfinished. Mail expert backpackers a swatch of the high-quality material used to construct your tents and sleeping bags. This helps them fully engage with your products, and helps your brand stay on the forefront of their minds.

To make the most use of texture, think about what your target audience desires and how your product can fulfill that need. Then, design direct-mail marketing materials that activate and engage as many senses as possible.

For more information about including textures into your direct-mail marketing campaign, or for more case studies of our previous work, contact The frank Agency today.