There’s a reason people call it junk mail — as much as 99% of direct-mail ads are ignored, or cursed at, before being tossed into the trash.
But Shawn Burst saw potential amid the unredeemed coupons and “This week only!” offers: What if it was possible to combine a direct-mail campaign with social media and other Web technology? What if he could make junk mail extremely valuable — not just to the people who get it but also to the marketing groups and businesses that send it out?
Two years ago, Burst founded Dukky, a company dedicated to exactly that idea. After 15 years in the direct-mail and printing industries in New Orleans, Burst knew that the most effective campaigns have a good offer and a good mailing list. But he also knew that even the best lacked strong customer engagement and truly measurable results.
“We’ve been on this mission to build a tool that would give every business, big or small, an intelligent lead-generation tool that closes all the holes,” Burst says.
What Burst and his Dukky partners developed is, simply, a souped-up lead-generation device. It makes print advertising trackable, and it lets marketers watch the progress of their campaigns in real time. It builds a deep database — the all-important mailing list — as it goes along. And by adding social media — giving respondents a chance to share the promotion on Facebook, Twitter or some other outlet — it can make the despised coupon-in-the-mailbox a full-on, viral-marketing phenomenon.
See full article at: The Future Has Been Delivered to Your Mailbox – TheStreet.
