I read about epic direct mail campaigns online all the time. My printer friends often share excellent examples of this highly personal advertising tool on social media; every time I see these posts, I get a little green…with envy. But I finally found myself on the receiving end of an amazing campaign from one of my favorite companies, Moz (formerly SEO Moz)! If you’re not familiar with Moz, I strongly suggest you start following this tech company immediately. They sell top rated SEO software, and they’re an outstanding inbound marketing resource. They’re also quite quirky and fun, a brand with a lot of personality. Their CEO, Rand Fishkin, is a real hands-on leader—watch his weekly Whiteboard Friday videos and you’ll see exactly what I mean.
Despite Moz’s reputation for digital dominance, they’ve clearly mastered offline outreach as well. I believe Moz’s strategy serves as a blueprint for leveraging online social communities and industry influencers in the real world. Yes, I just implied that I’m an influencer. In my mind I’m highly influential, and that’s all that matters.
From G+ to My Doorstep
Anyway, I happened to see a post from my friend and fellow marketer Megan Pritts on Google Plus about Moz. She’s a Moz user, and ran into some technical issues a while back. Their support team resolved the problem, and sent her a box o’ swag to say thank you for her trouble. Great way to build customer loyalty, right? She posted a pic, and I replied with a comment about my serious case of Moz envy (my bosses won’t spring for an account no matter how much I beg). A Moz community manager jumped in right away. I was told to contact their social team, and viola, a week later I got this in the mail:
I only wish I had my real camera at work and not my crappy cellphone. At least I was able to capture the goodies in front of my whiteboard in true Moz fashion. Suffice to say I got way more than I anticipated. I figured they’d send me a few stickers, maybe t-shirt to rock around the office. Instead they sent me almost exactly the same items as a paying customer, including several fine examples of print branding. The little notepad appears to be embossed, which adds a nice tactile element to the piece. I can’t emphasize this point enough—embossing in print actually serves a purpose, unlike the pointless Photoshop effect plastered throughout thoughtless web designs. The threaded binding makes for a delicate, classy notebook, and made me curious enough to Google the manufacturer’s website (Moleskine). Now I know where to get my next sketchbook! Seriously, paper lovers, you’ll love this site.
Moz also made die cut stickers featuring their mascot, Roger, the most loveable robot on the interwebs, along with their logo. Still, I fell in love with the Roger USB drive instantly. I’m sure these cost a pretty penny to produce, but they’re worth the extra cash because they’re absolutely perfect for the target market. Moz knows us SEOs are always on the go with our laptops in hand. Flash drives help us maintain our sanity, and now I have a reason to smile every time I save a file. Priceless.
Have you ever received anything this cool in the mail? Share your swag stories in the comments below!
Katherine serves as the Online Marketing Director at PrintFirm.com. She fell into online marketing in 2010, and built her career around this dynamic field. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from California State University, Northridge (Summa). When she’s not writing, Katherine enjoys photography, skateboarding, graphic design, and chasing her dog around with her husband.
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