IDM Award in Direct Mail

Module 1: Direct mail and its place in the media landscape

• Understand the development of direct mail and its place in the history of marketing
• Identify the features that contribute to making direct mail uniquely powerful
• Appreciate the strengths of direct mail and the role it plays at different points in the customer journey

Module 2: Planning for direct mail

• Understand and evaluate your marketplace
• Develop a business case for direct mail
• Be able to set goals and formulate budgets

Module 3: Defining your customers

• Identify why targeting is central to the planning of your direct mail campaign
• Be able to pinpoint the right target audience for a given campaign
• Assess how to use audience information to refine a campaign

Module 4: Databases and lists

• Know how best to maintain your customer data in-house
• Identify what data you need to capture in order to communicate with your target audience
• Be able to select and buy quality/reputable external mailing list data

Module 5: Creative

• Develop an awareness of the formal approaches to generating good creative
• Understand the basic principles of good copywriting and design
• Be able to put together a creative brief and evaluate it

Module 6: Production

• Be aware of the key processes involved in the physical delivery of direct mail
• Understand the different formats and materials and what can successfully be mailed
• Identify what represents ‘quality’ in respect of direct mail
• Assess what is needed at each stage in the direct mail production process
• Be able to confidently brief stakeholders at each stage in the process and evaluate briefs produced by others

Module 7: Evaluating your campaign

• Identify the role of testing and analysis in developing direct mail
• Be aware of the basic principles involved in testing
• Understand the infrastructure requirements in developing a successful testing programme
• Identify basic benchmarking skills

Module 8: The law and social expectation

• How Direct Mail fits into the GDPR
• Mail’s GDPR advantage
• Direct Mail and cross-border campaigns
• Using Direct Mail and personal data
• Consent and Direct Mail
• Legitimate Interests and Direct Mail
• How to communicate Consent and Legitimate Interests
• Special categories of data and Direct Mail
• Using and selling lists – implications for Direct Mail

Module 9: Integration

• Assess the comparative strengths of a range of media
• Understand how to approach planning and buying as part of an integrated campaign

Module 10: Direct mail ‘Hall of Fame’

• Be aware of how some direct mail campaigns have achieved success
• Identify how various marketing tools and techniques are used to enhance direct mail campaigns and achieve positive response/sales
• Consider existing creative approaches that make direct mail a welcome and enjoyable experience for the recipient