Part of the Orange Element crew had the pleasure of visiting a client’s direct mail manufacturer, IWCO Direct. We traveled two-and-a-half hours to Hamburg, PA for a 2-day training from their expert staff, which included a tour of their printing and lettershop facility.
Besides an official “Direct Mail Certified” certificate to hang at our desks, we were able to bring our new direct mail knowledge back to Baltimore, which includes postal service requirements, personalization logistics, and a newly found appreciation for mint M&M’s (seriously, go get some).
We’d like to thank IWCO for the hospitality and plentiful Italian food, and point out our favorite things from the trip.
Aaron, Principal:
“IWCO’s direct mail training academy was fantastic. Their team and presenters were well-organized and clearly experts leading the industry forward. There were several key lessons that we will be incorporating into our own strategic and creative work. I think my biggest takeaway was a better understanding of commingling and high density discounts. We’ll be able to increase testing and segmentation, ultimately helping put us that much closer to having a one-to-one conversation with a customer’s unique needs.”
Andy, Design Director:
“The level of engineering that IWCO puts into producing a single piece of mail was highly impressive, and was revealed to us through a wide range of educational sessions, both in the classroom and on the floor. From analyzing client data, to print technology, paper stock, production and mailing efficiency, we learned how hard IWCO works for their clients, allowing them to communicate to a wider audience and ultimately impact more customers’ lives.”
Hannah, Content Developer:
“I never really thought about what happens after we send off the copy and art files to print. But seeing the massive warehouse, hundreds of thousands of copies of a direct mail piece, and hundreds of dedicated workers checking the quality of each piece – it was just mind-blowing. So for every direct mail piece I help write in the future, I’ll always have those printers in my mind, shooting off 12,000 copies an hour for millions of customers across the nation.”
Kendall, Designer:
“I really enjoyed seeing the printing process from start to finish. Understanding the way direct mail packages are constructed inspired some ideas for when we develop direct mail in the future. I didn’t realize how many opportunities for customization there are and I look forward to incorporating some of these opportunities into our work. Also, the employees of IWCO were all extremely knowledgeable in their field and their excitement about their work made it very hard to not get excited with them.”
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