Advertising postcard
Encyclopedia
An advertising postcard is a postcard used for advertising
purposes (as opposed to tourism
and greeting postcard
s). Because the postcard begins as a blank sheet of paper, the options for what may be advertised are endless. Postcards are used in advertising as an alternative to or complementary addition to other print advertising such as catalogs, letters, and flyers
. Advertising postcards may be mailed or distributed by other means.
mail pieces, such as letters, because the recipient can see the message without having to open the piece of mail. However, they suffer disadvantages also. Because of their relatively small size, they cannot carry much content, and as their contents cannot be hidden from view, they are not viable where privacy or security are concerns.
Many traditional businesses use direct mail advertising postcards. Common examples include:
Though postcards have traditionally always been rectangular in shape, certain postal authorities, such as Canada’s Canada Post Corporation, do allow certain non-rectangular shaped cards to be mailed. This has given rise to new marketing concepts such as round postcards or cards specifically die cut to match the theme of a particular campaign.
Generally found more often in venues frequented by the younger people (age 18-35), advertising postcards can be found in, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, cinemas, art galleries, museums, theatres, hotels, retail sites, universities and high schools.
Patrons can take them for free, and the success of the medium relies clever or discreet advertising slogans, attractive or ingenious images and production on good quality card stock with a traditional postcard back. One of the marketing concepts is that the cards are so attractive that people want to pick them up, save, show, or post them to a friend and say "have you seen this?". They can become print viral marketing
.
A characterising feature of the cards is that they carry the publisher/distributor’s name and logo. The postcard displays usually have between 10 to 20 slots, and cards are changed on a regular basis so there is a continuing supply of new material.
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
purposes (as opposed to tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and greeting postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s). Because the postcard begins as a blank sheet of paper, the options for what may be advertised are endless. Postcards are used in advertising as an alternative to or complementary addition to other print advertising such as catalogs, letters, and flyers
Flyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
. Advertising postcards may be mailed or distributed by other means.
Direct-mail
An advertising postcard that is sent in the mail directly to the recipient. An organization may send advertising postcards to their current customers, prospective customers, and/or names and addresses to which they want to target their advertisements. Direct mail advertising postcards offer an advantage over other direct marketingDirect marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...
mail pieces, such as letters, because the recipient can see the message without having to open the piece of mail. However, they suffer disadvantages also. Because of their relatively small size, they cannot carry much content, and as their contents cannot be hidden from view, they are not viable where privacy or security are concerns.
Many traditional businesses use direct mail advertising postcards. Common examples include:
- Realtors - advertising new listings
- Political campaigns - getting the message out
- Doctors / Dentists - appointment reminders
- Others - lawn care, oil change, movie rentals, etc.
Though postcards have traditionally always been rectangular in shape, certain postal authorities, such as Canada’s Canada Post Corporation, do allow certain non-rectangular shaped cards to be mailed. This has given rise to new marketing concepts such as round postcards or cards specifically die cut to match the theme of a particular campaign.
Non-mailed
An advertising postcard which may also known as a freecard or an adcard is a postcard which is designed and used to advertise or raise awareness of a company, service or cause. Some of these postcards have insufficient space to include a postal address and a message on the reverse side.Generally found more often in venues frequented by the younger people (age 18-35), advertising postcards can be found in, nightclubs, restaurants, bars, cinemas, art galleries, museums, theatres, hotels, retail sites, universities and high schools.
Patrons can take them for free, and the success of the medium relies clever or discreet advertising slogans, attractive or ingenious images and production on good quality card stock with a traditional postcard back. One of the marketing concepts is that the cards are so attractive that people want to pick them up, save, show, or post them to a friend and say "have you seen this?". They can become print viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
.
A characterising feature of the cards is that they carry the publisher/distributor’s name and logo. The postcard displays usually have between 10 to 20 slots, and cards are changed on a regular basis so there is a continuing supply of new material.