A very strange package was delivered to my office the other day. It looked odd, like nothing I’d seen before come through the mail. At about 10″ wide by 6″ high, with a zipper along the top, it reminded me of a vinyl pencil case that I had as a kid. There was a mailing label stuck on with my name on it, as well as actual postage stamps.
Everyone in the office was looking at it, thinking the same thing, “What the heck is that?” So obviously I unzipped it and looked inside.
There I found several pages of info from the sender, a printing company that I had never heard of before. I get direct mail from printing companies all the time — calendars, posters, brochures — most with very pretty pictures and colors. Most I toss.
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The info inside the zippered bag was not fancy or particularly pretty. But it gave a name to something I didn’t really know existed: “Lumpy Mail.” Turns out, that’s what irregularly shaped mailings like this are called. The letter went on to say that the point of lumpy mail is that it gets opened, and remembered. I couldn’t argue that!
I will definitely keep this sample in my files. In our digital age of marketing communication, lumpy mail might be a great way to stand out for a special mailing. It certainly has me thinking of ways to incorporate it into future marketing that I design.
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