Fat Face and the multichannel mailer

Of the mailings that landed on my desk in the last few weeks, the Summer 2011 Fat Face direct mail piece immediately caught my attention. The 6-page foldout mailer is a mini catalogue featuring a small selection of men’s, women’s and childrenswear. And while I found the design to be a little “busy” and crowded at times, I like the way Fat Face cleverly uses the mailing as a tool to drive both online and in-store sales.

There are two offers on the cover: Free delivery and a prize draw. To enter the draw customers need to hand in a tear-off section of the mailer to a shop assistant. Presumably, this then allows the shop to capture the customer’s email address and build a fuller picture of that buyer’s activity online and in-store. Alternatively, customers are automatically entered into the draw by shopping with Fat Face’s website. Rather telling, Fat Face doesn’t give recipients the option of posting back the form, or filling it in online without buying something. This demonstrates the two aims of the mailer: to generate an online sale, or acquire the customer’s email address in-store.

The second offer of free delivery adds a further incentive to buy. To qualify for free delivery, customers need to spend £85 or more and enter a media code found on the front page of the mailer at the online checkout. Or they can quote the code to a contact centre agent. This tactic means Fat Face can match back the order to that precise catalogue mailing, important in deciding where to allocate marketing spend.

What all this goes to prove is that the print medium plays a key part in the multichannel marketing arsenal—with a role in driving store sales as well as online transactions. And while none of this should come as a surprise to seasoned direct marketers, Fat Face’s mini catalogue shows just how uncomplicated it can be.--MT