MAIN TAKEAWAYS:
- Sylvamo’s new Intelligent Paper helps print service providers adopt a more data-driven approach to direct mail campaigns
- Intelligent Paper offers a centralized online dashboard for real-time mailer tracking and performance monitoring
- Intelligent Paper can help customers qualify for several USPS® postage discounts to enhance cost savingsData-driven print that creates a clearer picture of the performance and ROI of print is key in helping companies optimize their communications strategies. This is perhaps most applicable in direct mail, especially given the recent round of postage increases.
With the ability to offer more detailed direct mail analytics and performance data, print service providers can help customers understand which print communications are engaging and impacting a target audience. Sylvamo’s new Intelligent Paper is a game-changing solution that makes every piece of mail measurable, transforming direct mail into a more connected marketing channel.
I’m excited for the opportunities Intelligent Paper provides, so let’s take a quick look at this new solution to help print services providers work as a more data-driven partner with customers.
What is Intelligent Paper and how does it work?
Intelligent Paper is a collaboration between Sylvamo and direct mail technology provider MindFire that uses digital technology to create smart, connected direct mailers. Whereas evaluating the performance of mailers that use traditional paper involves a lot of anecdotal evidence or even guesswork, Intelligent Paper links each mailpiece to a digital action throughout the USPS® mail cycle and beyond.
The result is a dashboard with real-time tracking and data insights for a better understanding of who received a mailer, how a target audience opened and engaged with it and the actions that were taken after engaging with the mailer.
How does Intelligent Paper work?
Intelligent Paper integrates with the USPS® Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) to track the routing and delivery of each physical mailpiece. Once the mailer has arrived at its destination, Intelligent Paper uses personalized URLS (PURLs) and QR codes to direct each recipient to a unique digital destination.
Using the two technologies, companies can monitor metrics like delivery confirmation, open rates, website visits and conversions in real time via a customized online dashboard. This helps companies see in the moment how audiences are engaging with their mailers and the actions contacts are taking as a result of this engagement.
Not only can this data create deeper and more valuable customer insights, it can also streamline the creation of additional print and digital communication touchpoints to nurture contacts or position similar products, services or offers. Some of the key data points companies can access include:
- Mailpieces sent
- Mailpieces delivered
- Delivery rate
- Informed Delivery® opens and open rate
- Scans to site
- Clicks to site
- Total site visits
This level of performance visibility helps answer the once-problematic question: Did this direct mail campaign work?
With Intelligent Paper, every mailer proves its value with quantifiable data. This proof of ROI helps companies justify print marketing budgets and optimize mailer components for even better results.
What are the benefits of Intelligent Paper?
The biggest benefit of Intelligent Paper is the ability to track mailer delivery and performance in place via an online reporting dashboard that can be customized to meet any number of needs. But Intelligent Paper offers a handful of other key benefits that can help printers enhance their level of partnership with customers to create more valuable, long-term relationships.
A seamless multi-channel marketing approach
Intelligent Paper encourages recipient interaction through personalized digital touchpoints. By bridging physical mail with online experiences, it creates seamless multi-channel campaigns that resonate more deeply with consumers. For instance, personalized URLs direct recipients to customized landing pages tailored to their interests, increasing relevance and boosting conversion rates.
These engaging experiences foster stronger brand connections and customer loyalty. Intelligent Paper doesn't just help send a message — it starts a conversation.
Enhanced sustainability
Incorporating Intelligent Paper into direct mail campaigns also aligns with the continued consumer demand for sustainability. All Sylvamo papers are sustainably sourced and manufactured with environmental responsibility in mind. As a result, Intelligent Paper qualifies for the USPS® Sustainability postage discount, helping companies balance cost savings with a great sense of environmental stewardship.
Simplified direct mail campaign management
Managing and evaluating direct mail campaign performance can be a multi-platform endeavor with unconnected systems or solutions. Intelligent Paper utilizes one centralized performance and reporting dashboard to simplify campaign management and streamline the task of producing performance data based on a wide range of criteria.
Plus, the fact that Intelligent Paper produces live data helps companies keep tabs on performance in the most up-to-the-minute way possible.
Eligibility with USPS postage discounts
Intelligent Paper also helps brands qualify for several USPS® postage discounts for the creation of cost-effective direct mail campaigns that boost response rates and ROI. For example, Intelligent Paper qualifies for the Integrated Technology promotion, which offers a 5% discount on mailers that integrate digital technology components like QR codes that direct contacts to an interactive digital destination.
Additionally, Intelligent Paper is compatible with USPS® Informed Delivery® for an additional 1% discount on postage.
Intelligent Paper is an important step forward in creating cost-effective direct mail that quickly, easily and intuitively demonstrates ROI. As a global leader in paper innovation, Sylvamo can help you create the kind of data-driven print that helps your customers generate revenue and grow their business — something that can help you generate new customers and nurture lasting relationships.
Contact us to learn more about Intelligent Paper.
