The following direct marketing examples are a mix of direct mail marketing (*otherwise known as traditional postal mail marketing), SMS text messaging, email marketing and landing page strategies.
When combined, all of these direct marketing examples garner exceptional results.
The key is to analyze your business model against the niche market, and then handpick only those direct marketing examples from this post that are relevant to your business. If you were to go and apply all these examples at the same time, the results won’t be as good as expected.
1. Instacart
Founded in 2012, Instacart has overseen massive growth in the online grocery & food delivery industry. The business was quick to adapt the quick commerce model, which is one of the main reasons behind their record delivery times.
If you were to place an order for grocery delivery through Instacart, you can expect the package to arrive within an hour or less. As of right now, Instacart is valued over $7.9 Billion.
How They Did It?
Instacart scaled through a combination of direct vs indirect marketing strategies. They relied on word of mouth marketing, and also through a massive network of people wearing the brand’s T-shirt.
The latter strategy reportedly piqued people’s interest over time. Although, wearing t-shirts and putting the company’s name on display wasn’t the main takeaway from Instacart’s success story, it did fare well in the long run.
By banking on word of mouth marketing, Instacart was able to place people wearing the brand’s t-shirt in highly trafficked areas. The effect created a buzz, and garnered amazing results, when combined with various other forms of modern-day marketing strategies.
2. Casper Co.
Nope, this one doesn’t have to do anything with ‘Casper: The Friendly Ghost.’ If you haven’t heard about Casper, it’s the memory foam mattress company with a generous 100 day refund policy.
This policy, alone, eliminates the hesitation factor from Casper, but where does all the confidence in creating flawless mattresses come from?
How They Did It?
The mattress mogul’s approach to direct marketing examples is simple. Casper is known for handing out bright colored envelopes with high quality paper claiming that customers can get by with a flexible 100-day return policy, while being able to enjoy all that the high-quality mattresses have to offer in comfort and style.
One might argue that postal mail ads don’t work as well, Casper’s customers like the nostalgic vibe. They believe that seeing a piece of paper with the company’s name on it, creates a sense of connection which is unlike any conventional online ad copy, or an email that’s bound to get lost in the consumer’s inbox.
3. Hollar | The Best Virtual Dollar Store That’s No More!
Hollar rhymes with ‘Dollar’, and there’s reason for naming the business that way.
The company is known for its virtual dollar store, a dated concept that got revamped through internet and technology. Last year, Hollar secured a series C financing to the tune of $35 Million. Under the supervision of David Yeom, CEO of Hollar, the company has used a combination of different direct marketing example of the last few years.
How They Did It?
Since it’s a virtual dollar store, Hollar relied heavily on direct marketing examples through Pinterest boards. They connected with their audience through visually aesthetic images, strong UX design and infographics.
Needless to say, Hollar’s Pinterest boards effortlessly navigated customers to the company’s website, where they could browse through hundreds of products all day long. Part of Hollar’s direct marketing examples’ success was creating a very intelligent target audience profile.
They relied on past data-driven metrics and focused their direct marketing efforts on acquiring new clients through laser precision direct marketing examples.
Update: As of 2020, Hollar was acquired by a new company. The business is now operating under the brand name: Five Below. You can find out additional information about Hollar’s acquisition here.
4. Harry’s
Up next on our direct marketing examples list, we’ve got Harry’s. They are known for selling a wide variety of men’s grooming kit through e-com platforms. The business is similar to many others out there, but Harry’s managed to crack the nut on direct vs indirect marketing campaigns.
Since its inception in 2013, the brand has gone to great lengths to ensure that its direct-to-consumer (DTC) product is a success. From buying a razor factory in Germany to running countless successful direct marketing campaigns, Harry’s has built a brand worth $1.4B.
Also, they promote subscription based products, where guys have to sign up for a plan, and Harry’s sends them grooming kits at the end of each month, or on bi-weekly basis. Subscriptions eliminate the requirement from users’ end to shop for the same products each month. This way, Harry’s takes control of the men’s grooming and personal hygiene requirements to save time on buyers’ part.
How They Did It?
First, they focused on their most immediate network. These leads were practically guaranteed to have a high ROI because they personally knew the employees who reached out to them. From there, they were able to continue forwarding the message to other people in their own network.
Next, they set up a dedicated landing page through a traceable referral link. Then, they made their landing page simple, yet mysterious — offering only a space to input your email and a message about what Harry’s does. Finally, the cherry on top was their incredible giveaway offer: Anyone who shares the landing page on social media receives free products.
5. Allbirds
Allbirds has cornered the market on footwear that’s environmentally friendly and extremely comfortable. Their simple designs and quality materials (including wool and even sugar cane) are a hit among shoe fans who want an easy, lightweight sneaker.
The privately held international brand was founded in 2014 and has since moved from strictly digital sales to brick and mortar test stores. Currently valued at roughly $1.4B, Allbirds uses a variety of strategies in their direct marketing campaigns. And according to an analysis of their growth marketing strategy, 40% of Allbirds’ website traffic comes from direct marketing.
How They Did It?
When reaching out to potential leads with their Kickstarter campaign, they kept their message simple — a great product (wool running shoes) with two key benefits that were unique and practical. It’s a simple campaign for a simple solution in a market with increasingly complex products.
