Cote adds, “We hope that this white paper will provide businesses with useful and practical tips to help make its direct mail greener.”

Additionally, green direct mail not only demonstrates a business’s commitment to the environment, it can also help to save money in certain cases.

“The Four R’s of Green Direct Mail” provides specific tactics that can be easily employed. For example, reducing materials used is one of the easiest ways to get started and includes actions such as linking to online content; using press-efficient formats; fine-tuning targeted mailing lists; and more.

And, while many marketing departments have some type of recycling program in place there are ways that businesses can also encourage their customers to recycle and make the process even that more effective.

Another “R” – reusing – may prove to be the most difficult to implement, but it may also have the greatest number of options to choose from. Finally, a business should “respond.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a company tooting its own horn,” says Cote. “If it is making efforts to become ‘greener,’ there are several ways that it can communicate this to its customer base. Everyone will benefit.”

About The Ballantine Corporation:
Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering direct marketing services to companies nationwide.

View the white paper here: http://www.ballantine.com/2011/10/10/green-direct-mail/ .

“Our IMB white paper provides readers with detailed insight into how this new barcode system works,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing for the Ballantine Corporation. “It shares specific mailer dimensions; shows people how to create and use an IMB; and explains the difference between basic and full service.”

Until recently, the United States Postal Service (USPS) had planned to make the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) a requirement by May 2011. Despite the fact that this date has now been pushed further out, it’s still important to prepare for the changes now.

The IMB offers improved delivery, better mail tracking and greater accountability. Two of the most important new features are: each piece of mail is now uniquely identified and tracked; and free address correction services are available. This latter feature also improves delivery and reduces cost.

A video that provides step-by-step instructions on how to read the IMB can be viewed here: http://www.ballantine.com/2009/07/01/read-decode-intelligent-mail-barcode/ .

About The Ballantine Corporation: Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering direct marketing production services to companies, nationwide. For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

“Our new technology works fast and provides measurable results,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing for The Ballantine Corporation. “This integrated direct marketing program can be used by almost any type of business, but is ideal for those already using direct mail and e-mail.”

So, how does iDirect work? First, Ballantine sends out a direct mail piece to a company’s house file with a personalized URL (PURL). The direct mail piece is tracked using the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) and, when it is reported as delivered, an e-mail is triggered to the same house file to reinforce the marketing message.

For instance, a cruise line wants to announce a special spring package to previous passengers. Rather than choosing between sending out a direct mail piece or sending out an e-mail blast, the cruise line can do both in one campaign with the enhancement of a personalized URL.

PURLs are included in the direct mail piece and e-mail to drive the customer to a personalized web page. It can even process credit card orders if needed. These PURLs are customized to gather responses and full reporting is provided for the PURL, the e-mail and the delivery of the direct mail piece. An appropriate follow-up strategy can then be developed.

Ballantine can also handle all aspects of copy and design making the iDirect program a turnkey service.

About The Ballantine Corporation:
Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering direct marketing production services to companies, nationwide.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

For example, Ballantine predicts that in 2011, marketers will see advancement in Smartphone strategies; multi-touch marketing will remain an effective strategy; social media integration will continue to explode; and more.

Even the classics are getting a new twist. By May 2011, the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) will be required by the USPS. This will provide marketers with mail-tracking capabilities making timely follow up easier.

“Other improved direct marketing trends will include data enhancement and a shift in mailer designs,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing for the Ballantine Corporation. “For instance, many of our clients are now choosing the ‘slim-jim’ magalog. It provides a large amount of creative real estate and still mails at letter rate.”

The bottom line is this: Marketers will of course continue to market in 2011, but in many cases, with a technological and/or efficiency upgrade.

To directly download a PDF copy, click here: http://www.ballantine.com/dmtrends2011.pdf .

About The Ballantine Corporation:
Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering turnkey direct marketing services to companies, nationwide. Their Ballantine iDirect program combines direct mail, e-mail and personalized URLs with a twist to boost response. For more information about Ballantine, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

While some of their most popular imprinted promotional products include: pens, bags, caps and shirts, many clients today are asking for more tech-savvy items such as USB drives and iPhone skins. The sky’s the limit as Ballantine has access to more than 3,000 product ideas.

No job is too big or small. For example, one client requested 250 imprinted bags and another – 50,000 personalized iPhone skins. Both projects were met with top-notch, experienced customer service and delivered on time.

“Many of these items are used either as part of a direct mail campaign, for tradeshow giveaways or as corporate gifts,” adds Cote. “Promotional products are the perfect way to keep your name out there or to enhance an integrated direct marketing program.”

About Ballantine Corporation:
Founded in 1966, Ballantine Corporation continues to evolve and to meet current client demands in today’s rapidly changing marketing environment. From creative to printing, mailing and digital marketing services, Ballantine truly is a full-service direct marketing production company.

For more information about The Ballantine Corporation, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

The first option when seeking a direct mail vendor is to hire a full-service advertising agency. The second option is to hire a direct mail production company; and the third is to work directly with various printing plants.

This direct marketing white paper delivers information at a glance. It is written in an easy-to-read format and provides helpful tips as well as advice for working with the vendor after selection has been made. It also provides pros and cons for each option.

For example, Ballantine advises that while an ad agency may be great at designing an impressive, unique format for a direct mail campaign, the format may not be cost effective. Companies must ensure that budget guidelines are put in place and press efficiencies fully understood at the start of the creative process.

To directly download a PDF copy, click here: www.ballantine.com/dmvendor.pdf

About The Ballantine Corporation:

Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering turnkey direct marketing creative and production services to companies nationwide, including digital marketing services.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

“Having these specific lists allows businesses to design a much more focused campaign,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing for the Ballantine Corporation. “In turn, companies will also save money because these campaigns will be narrower in scope, targeting only prospects most likely to convert.”

This direct marketing white paper also provides trend details on e-mail marketing; green marketing; advancements in digital printing methods and how companies can benefit; and how to integrate web-based campaigns, direct mail and social media into a seamless and effective marketing campaign.

And, finally, the state of the economy has pushed companies to examine every penny spent when it comes to its marketing budget achieving an attractive ROI. Each action needs to be efficient and responsive. Businesses can now track effectiveness through advanced measurement tools to determine the success of all steps involved in a campaign.

To directly download a PDF copy, click here: www.ballantine.com/dmtrends2010.pdf .

About The Ballantine Corporation:
Family-owned since 1966, The Ballantine Corporation is a New Jersey-based company offering turnkey direct marketing services to companies, nationwide.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

Ballantine Corp

To date, the Ballantine Corporation has provided these new clients with a wide array of services and products that include, but are not limited to: oversized postcards, envelope packages, brochures, self-mailers, double-postcards, stamp-sheet mailers, variable data printing, copy and design and personalized URLs.

“It’s evident that our new business efforts to attract companies from various industries have paid off,” Ryan Cote, director of marketing, Ballantine Corporation, says. “We’re looking forward to watching these clients grow their businesses and we understand our key role.”

About The Ballantine Corporation

Founded in 1966, The Ballantine Corporation offers turnkey direct marketing production services to companies nationwide. In addition, they also offer creative graphic services and personalized URLs.

Ballantine will be exhibiting and speaking at the upcoming CircDayLA conference to be held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on October 1st. They are also exhibiting at the DMA conference; booth 2322, October 18-20 at the San Diego Convention Center.

For more information, visit: www.Ballantine.com .

“Since we provide a wide variety of direct marketing services, we have access to a large pool of highly-skilled vendors that we trust on a daily basis with our client’s projects,” says Ryan Cote, director of marketing, The Ballantine Corporation. “This tip sheet is a direct result of their expertise and ours.”

The direct marketing tip sheet contains practical tips that can be implemented today for positive results tomorrow. Categories include: creative, PURLs, email, mailing, envelopes and printing.

Here’s a quick preview of actionable tips:

For creative, did you know that customers prefer the look of foil over paper by 16 percent? Direct marketers can increase response rates simply by using silver or hologram labels.

And, based on Ballantine’s experience, staff reports that PURLs work best for lead generation, not for direct sales. However, they encourage direct marketers to test it out because results can of course vary.

If e-mail is the chosen direct marketing medium, before launching, make sure to test how it will look in different e-mail browsers such as Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo!.

If mailing, always design a folded self mailer so the finished fold is on the bottom. This allows one wafer on top rather than two on the bottom and saves money.

What about envelopes? If you’re looking for an attractive, but inexpensive envelope, check out flexo printing and a web-style envelope. Flexo printing has come a long way and it can also produce half tones and solid coverage.

Finally – printing tips. If a continuous form has large areas of solid print or heavy copy, running it on a UV press will minimize any potential offsetting issues.

For all 50 tips, download here: www.ballantine.com/blog/direct-marketing-white-paper/ . (Note: registration required.)

For additional information on current direct marketing news and advice, visit: www.ballantine.com/blog .