Custom Direct Mail Drives New Business, Influences $22MM in Revenue | Retail
3/12/2026
RRD’s extensive direct mail and data capabilities generate a successful back-to-school campaign for leading retailer
CHALLENGE
A national footwear and apparel retailer sought support to drive traffic and revenue during a key selling period — the annual back-to-school season. The retailer, who had recently acquired an additional brand, desired a direct mail solution that would serve to increase in-store sales, build current customer loyalty, and increase new customer visibility and acquisition.
In addition, the retailer wished to expand the geographic radius of each store’s customer base and drive a substantial increase in year-over-year sales for both stores and individual brands.
SOLUTION
The retailer turned to RRD, a long-time partner, because of RRD’s extensive print, direct mail, and data capabilities. Following in-depth consultations, RRD assembled a multi-layered mail targeting approach, providing each retail store with custom targeting.
Stores were separated into either urban, neighborhood, or rural categories, and assigned a five-mile, seven-mile, or 10+mile ZIP code radius. Assigned radii were then layered with demographic, competitor, and psychographic targeting.
Each store was given a priority weighting based on the previous year’s store sales, and all ZIP code-level targeting was placed within shared mail or solo mail, depending on availability
To serve as the primary print solution, RRD ultimately deployed a two-sided, 4-color, oversized MegaSheet insert. This insert format allowed the retailer to mail as cost-effectively as possible while also grabbing consumers’ attention due to its distinctive size.
In addition to the MegaSheet insert, the back-to-school campaign featured solo direct mail and limited newspaper inserts.
RESULTS
RRD’s ability to combine sophisticated targeting with multiple print options enabled the retailer’s back-to-school campaign to generate high response and drive revenue. Specific results included:
- The campaign influenced $22MM in revenue, including more than $2MM in new business revenue
- More than 280,000 media-influenced transactions
- Direct-mail inserts drove more than 90% of the campaign’s performance
- Both primary media products outperformed their respective response rate benchmarks (>1.0%)