Before retiring in 2024, Dean Bott, Thysse’s President, took one last walk through our Oregon, Wisconsin headquarters—a space he helped shape during his nine-year tenure with the company and more than fifty years in the printing industry.

Dean was known for giving the best tours in the building. For guests who truly loved the craft of printing, those tours could stretch for hours—filled with stories, insights, and small details that revealed just how much he cared about this work and the people behind it.

When Dean announced his retirement, we couldn’t let him leave without capturing one of those tours in video form. This series preserves his knowledge and perspective—a lasting look at the people, processes, and principles that make Thysse: Where You Go With Your Brand®—from the perspective of a true print expert.

Every brand relies on consistent, high-quality messaging to drive awareness, build equity, and drive growth. Commercial printing is about reproducing those messages, colors and overall brand experience in physical form. There’s a lot more to it than putting ink on paper, at Thysse.

Commercial printing is often described as “custom manufacturing”. Unlike most types of manufacturing where industrial equipment, teams and workflows are aligned to produce the same thing at scale, commercial print is a different animal. Variable substrates, graphics, exact colors, page counts, trims, folds and bindings change and feed into a truly dynamic manufacturing environment. 

In this clip, Dean walks through Thysse’s digital toner, high-speed inkjet, and offset printing. These complement Thysse’s wide format technologies, which extend the same color control to signage, display graphics, and environmental branding. Together, these platforms allow Thysse to reproduce color accurately across every substrate, device and asset type produced here.

Dean often emphasized that technology should support creativity—not the other way around. Thysse’s digital toner presses enable short-run printing and variable-data personalization with remarkable efficiency and quality.

Speed and personalization are key to today’s most effective marketing programs. In this video, Dean showcases Thysse’s HP PageWide A2200 roll-fed inkjet press, a powerhouse for high-speed, variable-data printing and direct mail.

Offset printing remains the benchmark for long-run quality and brand consistency. Dean takes us inside Thysse’s Heidelberg six-color press, where automation, LED-UV curing, and G7 color management work together to deliver exceptional results for high-end collateral and packaging.

Printing is only half the story—what happens next transforms it into something memorable. Inside Thysse’s bindery and finishing department, Dean explains how flat press sheets become beautifully finished materials through cutting, folding, die cutting, gluing, and stitching.

Once printed, every mail piece must be assembled and verified with absolute accuracy. Here, Dean demonstrates Thysse’s camera-based inserting systems and USPS mailing services, ensuring each envelope and insert set is perfectly matched and ready for delivery.

In Thysse’s wide format printing division, ideas scale up and come to life. From retail signage and event graphics to architectural and environmental branding, Dean showcases how Thysse produces large-scale visuals with exceptional detail and color accuracy.

Not every printed piece ships the day it’s produced. Many move through Thysse’s print fulfillment center, where logistics, technology, and inventory management converge. Dean highlights how custom-built Brand Portals give clients real-time control over their printed assets, promotional items, and signage kits—all stored and shipped directly from Dane County to locations nationwide.

The tour concludes with Thysse’s commitment to sustainability. For Dean, sustainability isn’t a buzzword—it’s built into how Thysse operates. From solar-powered printing to renewable paper sourcing and right-sized packaging, sustainability shapes every stage of production.

As Dean steps into retirement, his legacy remains visible in every part of Thysse—from the technology and processes he helped refine to the culture of craftsmanship he championed.

Dean’s tour wasn’t just a farewell—it was a way to preserve the knowledge and spirit that shaped Thysse’s culture.

His legacy lives on in the team that carries that spirit forward—continuing to innovate, explore new technologies, and push the edge of what’s possible. Every day, Thysse looks for new ways to create value, elevate brands, and deliver outcomes that move our clients—and our craft—forward.

At first glance, EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) and Saturation Mail can look very similar—especially when focusing only on postage—but there are real differences that can make one vs. the other a clear winner.

Let’s look at each to break down cost and ROI implications.

Cost & ROI

Postage is negligible between the two, but could add up to several cents depending on the mailpiece format. However, EDDM requires you to hit every door on the carrier route(s) where Saturation Mail allows you to filter up to 10% out. If there’s an attribute filter you can use to limit poor-fit households, that’s a 10% print and postage saving.

EDDM does not allow personalization to the individual household, though versioning across carrier routes is possible (there’s some data potential in EDDM). Personalization drives better results, from engagement to data insights, so small savings in an EDDM scenario might actually cost more in ROI. 

Print costs might correlate with mailpiece size.  For example, a single full page flyer could cost less than a smaller multi-page letter, so print costs need to be considered with some added context. However, if a 6” x 4.25” postcard can perform as well as a 8.5” x 11” flyer, then Saturation Mail could help you reduce costs. 

Mailing lists are a cost, but both EDDM and Saturation Mail lists are incredibly inexpensive. The advantage of a Saturation Mailing is the ability to cut overall costs by filtering 10% of poor-fit households and elevating response rates with personalization.

Key Takeaway

EDDM is simple and fast, but it requires larger print sizes and delivery to every door on a carrier route. Saturation Mail is more flexible which can create savings opportunities. Saturation Mail can also be filtered and personalized to perform better and return valuable data insights—especially for ongoing mail programs.”

If blanket awareness in large format mailpieces is your goal, EDDM might be a better choice, but—when all variables are considered—Saturation Mail can emerge as a better choice.

If you’d like to discuss your mailing in the context of all the details, reach out! We can help you navigate your options, pick the best path and give you cost comparisons tailored to your unique mail needs.

So every year, we send out a holiday card. This isn’t an original idea, I’m sure you receive a couple holiday cards every season. But when you think back to last year‘s haul... is there one card that still stands out?

Well, this year, Thysse‘s goal was to be that card. To be the most beautiful and unique card to land on our clients’ desks. Every company has probably had this same goal at some point. Whether for a holiday card, a direct mail piece, product packaging or even an in-store retail experience. You wanted to create something that people would remember, something people picked out from the group, something that delivered that ‘wow’ factor and sparked conversation.

For the holiday card, we kicked things off like we always do—sketching, pulling together mood boards, throwing around ideas as a team. We explored color, texture, format and then settled on a concept that felt timeless, elegant, and just… next level.  

There are a few aspects that really played a role in elevating this year’s holiday card. To start, this card isn’t just something pretty to look at, although we’ll talk about that in a second. It’s designed to unfold like a story as you open it, like stepping into a warm, happy memory that invites you to resonate with the design.

The couple ice skating on the front of the card is a nod to one of my personal favorite winter activities, and I’m sure a favorite for many others as well. I also infused a little company personality, or Thysseness as we like to call it, by featuring an illustration of our headquarters behind the skaters. This helps to bring Thysse intothe scene and adds a branded touch. 

I chose a unique duplex paper for the card. Duplex means it comes black on one side and white on the other. This duplex stock allowed for a rich, elevated black exterior while still allowing for those bright pops of color on the inside. It’s not a stock you come across often, and the quality of the paper is something you notice the second you pick it up.

Now, let’s talk about the finishes that really make this card stand out. I designed a custom diecut window that reveals part of the inside of the card from the front to complete the snow globe look. It adds dimensionality and gives the card that one-of-a-kind look you just can’t replicate.

Instead of using a standard deep yellow gold for the illustration of the snow globe base, I chose a metallic gold ink. It not only elevates it, but printed over the black paper, it gives this faded, nostalgic, almost vintage feel.

I selected two different foils to fill in the rest of the illustration: a shiny silver foil featuring a frost pattern for the ice, and an iridescent opal foil for the snow. The opal foil is used again inside the card to create the effect of falling snow, visible through the die-cut, like a snow globe that’s just been shaken.

Finally, I chose to emboss the “Happy Holidays” text and the ‘Thysse’ nameplate to give the warm message and our company name prominence while adding to the overall tactile and dimensional experience.  

Every decision, from design to materials, was about creating an unforgettable, tactile experience. And then, we brought it to life right here at Thysse. Everything was produced in-house from printing, foiling, embossing, die-cutting and folding. This gave us full control over every last detail and the quality of the finished piece, which is something that really matters when you’re working with specialty finishes.

When the final cards came off the press, they looked… show-stopping. It was exactly what we envisioned. That’s the power of craftsmanship. When design, craft and going the extra mile with specialty finishes come together, the result resonates. It gets noticed. It’s remembered.  

Let’s face it—when it comes to lead-gen tactics, there’s a lot of hype, smoke, and razzle-dazzle out there for prospective advertisers to wade through. It’s our collective fault, as marketers. What can we say? We’re good at what we do. But sometimes, a little back-of-the-envelope math—paired with a look at real human behavior—is all it takes to see through the fog. Assuming you have an envelope handy, of course.

Every industry, audience, and business is unique, so we’ll use cited averages here—and you can calibrate or interpolate for your own situation.

There are a dozen advertising pricing models out there, but let’s focus on the big three: CPM, CPC, and CPA.

CPM (Cost Per Mille / Thousand Impressions):
You pay every time your ad is shown 1,000 times—whether it’s noticed or not. Often used for awareness, though “awareness” can be generous when your CTR is 0.05%.

CPC (Cost Per Click):
You pay only when someone (or something) clicks your ad. Great for driving traffic or leads—at least you know you bought some engagement.

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition / Action):
You pay when a defined conversion happens—a purchase, signup, or download. The most direct ROI-focused metric, but priced accordingly.

On the surface, digital looks like a steal. Display ads average around $10 CPM—$10 for 1,000 “impressions.” Search ads? About $38 CPM. Compare that to a postcard mailing at roughly $420 CPM. That’s print and postage. But whoa—42× more expensive sounds like a nonstarter.

As mentioned, CPM is generally used for broad brand-awareness campaigns. But impressions only matter if they actually create awareness—if they’re seen and processed. If you read The Offline Advantage in an AI-Saturated World, you’ll recall the behavioral science behind this: only about 1% of your visual field is high-resolution, and even objects placed directly in that view can go unprocessed. In a crowded digital feed, the odds of your ad truly registering with the brain are slim. Let’s put numbers on it using the $10 (digital) and $420 (print) examples.

Display ads see average click-through rates between 0.05% and 0.1% (CXL study)—roughly one click per thousand impressions, on the high side. Clicks aren’t impressions, but it’s a useful proxy for real impressions.

Postcards? Even using the conservative end of industry benchmarks, 30% get read—and many sources cite 50–80% (DataAxel). Using the low end, that’s 300 “real” impressions per 1,000 pieces.

Postcards cost 42× more but get 300× better engagement.

In dollars per engagement, that’s $10 per real impression for digital and $1.40 for postcards.

Okay—let’s say that’s unfair to digital. Let’s say real digital impressions are 10× higher than that. The postcard becomes about $0.40 more expensive per true impression—based on the low end for mail and the high end for display ads.

To be fair, let’s see what using a mid-range read rate for the postcard (65%) does to the math: the direct mail impression cost drops to $0.65, somewhere between $0.35 and $8.35 less than digital CPM.

There’s another important caveat that makes print’s value proposition stronger: awareness is only valuable if it leads to immediate action or sticks in memory. Physical mail isn’t just noticed more—it’s remembered longer and trusted more.

The Millward Brown study showed that paper-based marketing stimulates more emotional processing and memory recall than digital. A Hechinger Report analysis confirmed similar results in learning contexts.

But the advantage goes beyond direct mail. Printed collateral—brochures, leave-behinds, product sheets, branded folders—has linger time that digital rarely matches. A postcard on the kitchen counter, a brochure on a desk, a folder on a conference table—these pieces can and do generate multiple exposures over days or weeks.

Digital CPM ads burn budget with every impression, while print often keeps earning impressions long after delivery.

And unlike digital ads fighting banner blindness and phishing fatigue, print gets an extra tailwind: Informed Delivery®. Roughly 30% of U.S. households preview their mail digitally before it arrives (USPS), adding one more impression at no additional cost.

Sure, CPC ads solve some CPM problems—you only pay for clicks. But clicks rarely equal conversions. We want subscriptions, downloads, donations, purchases, or meeting requests.

According to an Agency Analytics report, the median 2025 CPC is $1.80. Most sources suggest it takes about 50 to 100 clicks to generate one conversion—so let’s calculate both:

Digital CPC to CPA Conversion:

• $1.80 × 50 clicks per conversion = $90 per conversion
  
  

• $1.80 × 100 clicks per conversion = $180 per conversion
  
  

According to aUSPS survey, 71% of businesses said their direct mail response rate was between 11% and 15%. A range of sources indicate the “sale conversion” rate for direct mail is between 0.25% and 6%.

Let’s run all four scenarios for this:

Print “CPC” to CPA Conversion:

• @15% → $420 CPM → 150 responses = $2.80 per response (+$1 higher than digital)
  
  

• @11% → $420 CPM → 110 responses = $3.82 per response (+$2.02 higher than digital)
  
  

• @0.25% Sale Conversion → 2.5 conversions = $168 per sale conversion (+$78)
  
  

• @6% Sale Conversion → 60 conversions = $7 per sale conversion (−$83)
  
  

Many mail providers advertise the average “real conversion” rate for mail as 3.5%. This sits right in the middle of the range, so let’s math that out too:

• @3.5% Sale Conversion → 35 conversions = $12 per sale conversion (−$78)

There’s quite a range here, and that makes sense. Just because we serve ads doesn’t mean they’ll perform. All the basics still apply—targeting, messaging, creative, timing—and, of course, your closing process. Maybe you’re able to close or sell immediately, or maybe it takes people to seal the final deal later.

At a sales conversion rate of just 0.47%, print hits cost-parity with digital using the averages above. That’s near the bottom of the normal direct mail performance range (0.25%–6%), so most real-world mailings outperform that threshold—often by several multiples. In other words, print doesn’t need to knock it out of the park to compete; and there’s significantly more ROI potential for well-executed direct mail campaigns.

When digital and direct-mail conversion costs are the same, direct mail still offers more impression value—print impressions are trusted more, remembered better, and often shared.

The awareness value of print is sometimes hard to isolate, and the appeal of lower-cost digital alternatives—like email—is ever-alluring. There are certainly arguments to be made for email in a wide range of use cases, but the now famous J.C. Penny and Nordstrom attempts at replacing mail with email offer insights into how the media perform differently. Both became case studies in change management and marketing that are still taught today. Sales declines were clearly linked to attempts to replace mail programs with digital alternatives—and the mailings for both brands were eventually re-implemented.

We’ve already converted CPC and CPM into what is effectively CPA outside of that specific pricing model. According to Google, the average cost-per-acquisition across all industries using CPA is $45. However, a 2025 PPC report paints a more accurate picture by breaking down search and display categories—and industry differences. Some average as low as $23, most hover around $80, and several exceed $100.

It’s difficult to generalize in useful ways here—and believe me, we’re trying our best to keep this useful, accurate, and actionable. The challenge lies in the many definitions of acquisition, each carrying a different level of difficulty and value. And, again, “acquisition” doesn’t necessarily mean “sale conversion”—in fact, that’s usually the exception.

This 2025 FPS report breaks down Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by industry. It’s a worthwhile deep dive, but here are the key takeaways:

• The high end of CAC hits professional and B2B services at an average $914.
  
  

• Consumer products and local services sit at the low end, averaging $311.
  
  

• The lowest single category, eCommerce, averages $86.
  
  

We’re focusing on ad-cost comparisons—just one slice of CAC—but it’s helpful context. Where CPA differs dramatically from CAC, you can assume there’s a lot more work and cost required to win a true “sale conversion.”

Given how slippery the “A” in CPA can be, let’s break it into two categories—one where “acquisition” means transaction completed, and another where it means lead generated.

This one’s simple:

• Digital CPA: $5 – $300
  
  
• Print CPA: $7 – $168
  
  
• Average Digital CPA: $45
  
  
• Average Print CPA @ 3.5%: $12

The only difference here is we need a lead-to-sale conversion rate. Let’s assume 1 in 5, or 20%.

We already established that $45 is low, but let’s use it anyway:

• Average Digital CPA: $45 per lead → 1 in 5 closes = $225 per sale conversion
  
  

• Average Print CPA: $12 per lead → 1 in 5 closes = $60 per sale conversion
  
  

The truth is, either print or digital could outperform the other depending on variables like audience, offer, timing, and optimization. Meaningful analysis can’t capture every nuance across industries or channels. Still, one takeaway stands out: they’re comparable—both can drive conversions, and either can be more cost-effective.

Another key point: for digital CPAs to remain low, your customer lifetime value (CLV) and/or competition must also be low. Digital ads are auctions; where there’s margin, there’s competition—and higher prices. It’s perhaps the most elegant way to raise prices on advertisers ever devised.

Direct mail works differently. Mail costs are among the few marketing tactics not directly tied to competition. Trade shows, events, and digital ads all become more expensive as their value increases—but mail remains stable. This is an opportunity for brands with high LTV and heavy digital competition.

For example, if digital competition pushes your CPA to $130 while your direct-mail CPA is 4× higher than average at $48, print yields a massive ROI advantage. There isn’t a universal rule here, but it highlights mail’s potential: it can be far more cost-effective than digital.

LOB reports this annually in its surveys of mail-program users:

• 2024: 84% of mailers identified mail as their highest-ROI channel.
  
  
• 2025: 79% — a 5% slip, but the consensus is still overwhelming.

Digital ads and owned digital media are indispensable in the middle and bottom of the funnel. But for top-of-funnel awareness? The math doesn’t lie: Offline communications deliver greater attention, trust, and recall value than digital alternatives—on average.

Comparing the three dominant ad-pricing models makes one thing clear: direct mail can hold its own—and often outperform—digital CPC and CPA campaigns.

AI-fueled digital competition is saturating online channels, eroding efficiency, while direct mail and print exist in a steadier ecosystem—one where traditional value appears to be rising fast.

When teams refine targeting, test and optimize messaging, improve timing, and leverage data-driven personalization, CPM stays constant while CPA falls—which explains why 79% of businesses using direct mail in 2025 report it as their highest-ROI channel.

Ultimately, it all comes down to ROI. Digital channels are vital to conversion. It isn’t possible to maximize ROI without investing in all the touch points your customers hit along their way to conversion. But, print—whether mailed, hand delivered or used in experiential marketing is worth experimenting with. The costs are undeniably higher than digital alternatives at face value, but the math we’ve done makes it clear: print communications offer unique ROI opportunities that can surpass digital alternatives. Most companies with established mail programs identify it as their highest ROI channel. And, as AI fuels new levels of digital competition and sophistication, being present outside of that ecosystem is likely to become increasingly valuable.

In case you missed it: 

• Beyond Digital Fatigue: Why AI is Breaking the Funnel
• The Offline Advantage in an AI-Saturated World

If you made it here, thank you. This article was really written by the author—should I break into first person tense here? (I did use AI for grammatical help.) If you’re wondering why talk about offline communication in a digital publication—you got me! Except, this will also take letter form and go out via personalized USPS marketing mail. So, we’re eating our own cooking here. 

If you would like to talk to an offline communications expert, please reach out. Team Thysse has deep subject matter expertise and industry experience to offer—and we’re happy to share that with you. 

If instead of a subject matter expert you’d like to reach me directly, there’s about a 5% chance I’ll read an email but I’ll 100% open a letter you mail me.

We are wired at birth to look for easy and useful ways to categorize, interpret, and simplify the world around us. Neuroscientists call this neuroplasticity, but there are many everyday labels: “muscle memory” in sports, “playing in the pocket” for musicians. It’s all the same process—our brains get better at what we practice, and they get ruthlessly efficient at ignoring whatever doesn’t serve the task at hand.

That’s why marketing tactics get stale. Our brains are incredible filters, constantly updating their “software” to minimize low-value tasks. The more repetitive and less relevant the stimulus, the faster it’s pushed aside. It’s not malice; it’s biology.

Try this: focus on the letter “s” in this sentence and attempt to read the words around it without moving your eyes. You’ll quickly discover that your eyes only see fine detail in about 1% of your visual field—roughly 3–4 words at a time. Everything else is stitched together by your brain into what feels like a seamless, high-resolution reality. It’s an illusion. And if your brain decides the details aren’t relevant, it simply won’t process them.

The same goes for memory. If information isn’t deemed important to the task at hand, it never makes the cut. We literally don’t see or remember it, no matter how “visible” it technically is.

Here’s a quick one you can try: watch the short video below where people are passing a basketball and count the number of passes made by those in white shirts. Give it your full focus—it’s a bit trickier than it sounds.

Done? Most people who try this miss something obvious: a completely out-of-place character walking right across the scene. How could you miss it? Because your brain was given a clear, structured task. Everything else was filtered out. If you’re already familiar with this experiment, give it a watch anyway—this version features a couple other surprises.

Here’s a write-up in Psychology Today if you’d like more of the backstory.

These aren’t just fun party tricks—they’re hyper-relevant to marketing. If your message doesn’t break through someone’s mental filters, in practical terms it doesn’t exist. This is why entire categories of digital tactics lose steam: subject lines get skimmed past, banner ads get tuned out, demo invites get ignored. The brain adapts. As soon as enough people get exposed to a new tactic, it starts losing efficacy. It’s a digital arms race where an exchange of investment, training and implementation sometimes yields better results. It’s “marketing inflation”, or as a peer likes to put it, “it’s a hamster wheel that spins a little bit faster each month.”

Offline communications bypass these filters in ways digital struggles to. Tangible experiences—a striking lobby, an elevated unboxing, a personally addressed postcard, a catalog instead of a PDF—demand sensory engagement. They’re harder to ignore, and they stick. According to the Millward Brown study and post-COVID research on digital vs. print learning, physical media not only captures more attention, it’s also better remembered and more trusted.

Trust is the kicker. With over 1 million phishing sites and 8 billion spam emails a day, consumers are understandably skeptical of digital-first offers. But a high-quality piece of print, or a real-world brand experience? Those cues still carry weight. They’re harder to fake, and therefore easier to trust.

Offline also creates “double impressions.” Roughly 30% of U.S. households are enrolled in the USPS Informed Delivery® program and these emails receive an average 62% open rate, meaning recipients often see a digital preview of mail before it hits their box. That’s awareness before the tactile experience even happens—and 1.6x the exposure.

This isn’t about ditching digital. It’s about recognizing where it falls short—especially at the top of the funnel—and bringing offline tactics back into the mix. The science is clear: human brains are built to filter out the repetitive and irrelevant. The more saturated digital gets (and AI is only accelerating that trend), the more valuable tangible, trust-building experiences become. 

“Omnichannel”, or even “multichannel” marketing have become jargon. They’re buzz words that make it easy to tune out whatever’s next. Yeah, they’re known to describe campaigns that dramatically outperform single channel approaches, and generally imply offline components. Ignoring the claims, solutions and everything else “omni” goes right back to how our brains work.

So, there’s no specific pitch here. Every brand, industry and market segment is different. Applying the root principles: digital saturation is real, getting worse and is rapidly triggering our audiences to create filters that block messaging tactics in the awareness stage.

Looking for strategic offline communication alternatives is an opportunity. It’s harder to scale and has unique barriers like print, postage, fabrication, installation, travel expense, material cost, etc. But, these barriers are exactly why it works.  

When everyone else is competing on screens, the brands that command physical spaces are skipping lines. It’s science. It’s intuitive. It’s measurable—and, it’s attainable.

For a mathy comparison of print vs. digital, check out this article: The Math: Digital vs. Direct Mail Advertising

If you would like to talk to an offline communications expert, please reach out. Team Thysse has deep subject matter expertise and industry experience to offer—and we’re happy to share that with you.

It’s no secret that brands are under pressure to keep communications flowing. The logic goes: push more content, stay top of mind, and eventually the right audience will respond. But here’s the reality: marketers and growth leaders across every industry are competing in a digital arena so oversaturated it borders on absurd.

According to Statista data, the world generated just 2 zettabytes of digital content in 2010. In 2025, we’re on pace for 181 zettabytes. To put that in perspective: while the global population has grown 19% since 2010, digital content output has exploded by 8,950%. That’s not just growth—it’s an avalanche. And unlike snow, nothing melts. Old content still sits in the mix, fighting for attention alongside what’s new.

Add AI to the pile, and suddenly the avalanche has rocket boosters. Content creation tools are cheap, fast, and nearly indistinguishable from human-crafted work. That means more blog posts, more videos, more graphics—and fewer signals separating great from good, or good from garbage. And while we’re cranking out AI-assisted material at unprecedented rates, here’s the kicker: AI is also consuming it for us.

Take Google’s new AI-generated summaries. Publishers have reported traffic losses so sharp they make banner ad click-through rates look enviable. According to The Guardian (Sept 2025), publishers have seen referral traffic declines of up to 89%. Euronews Next (Aug 2025) reported informational websites lost as much as 55% year over year. Even the giants—Forbes (–40%), CNN (–28%), and Wall Street Journal (–17%)—are feeling the pain, as The New York Post noted in July. Why? Because if Google serves up a “good enough” AI overview at the top of the search page, users stop clicking. Welcome to the era of the zero-click search—where your carefully crafted content fuels Google’s summaries, but earns you fewer eyeballs.

But wait, there’s more. AI used outside of traditional search/discovery platforms are shaping buyers' journeys outside of the ecosystems most digital content is created for. According to Fitch Ratings, AI contributed to a 15% decline in global search traffic, YTD through June of 2025, and this is a rapidly growing trend. It’s an ironic twist—now AI’s consuming the content for us, offering cliffnote summaries that answer questions well enough to cut click-through traffic to the actual content we created in the first place. Until AI is your buyer, this is a challenge.

The squeeze doesn’t stop at search/research. AI-driven filters are making inboxes tighter too. Gmail now boasts 99.9% spam detection accuracy (Gmail overview), meaning promotional content gets shunted out of primary tabs and into oblivion faster than you can say “limited-time offer.” Even if you have an opt-in list, average open rates hover around 32.5%, according to Constant Contact’s benchmarks. That number looks decent until you consider how it’s padded by non-marketing sends and unreliable open-rate tracking. Regardless, if you’re using an email marketing platform you’ll know what your open rates are and how they correlate with other reliable performance metrics and ultimately, conversions.

Meanwhile, fraud and scam sophistication has accelerated. Entire websites can be spun up overnight—complete with AI-polished copy, convincing brand visuals, and even “staff bios.” The same Constant Contact report notes there are nearly 1 million active phishing/scam websites in the U.S., and 8 billion spam emails sent daily.

It’s not just phishing emails, either. Ad platforms like Google reported blocking 5.1 billion ads in 2024 and suspending 39 million ad accounts. Meta pulled down over 2 billion accounts in Q3 + Q4 of 2024. Digital apps like Zelle, Venmo and CashApp—as well as crypto exchanges make it even easier for fraudsters to transact. And, AI makes it easy to create well designed, grammatically correct scam content. It can even help improve scam strategy, though not directly for the LLMs I tested.    

The result? Consumers are increasingly wary of what they see online. Looking “really, really” legitimate isn’t enough anymore. Interestingly, while confidence in branded digital content erodes, AI responses have comparable trust scores to articles written by mainstream journalists. According to a Rutgers study, 48% of those surveyed gave the two identical scores! 

To be clear, digital isn’t broken. AI isn’t the villain. Both remain indispensable for nurturing warm leads, accelerating the buying process, supporting the middle-to-bottom of your funnel and facilitating transactions/conversion. Email nurture streams, social proof, case studies, and retargeting ads still have teeth once someone is engaged. But as a mechanism for driving awareness—breaking through to new audiences, building trust, and filling the top of the funnel—digital alone is becoming both less effective and more expensive.

Rising ad costs. Volatile organic reach. AI filters that hide or summarize before your message is even seen. Add it up, and the equation is clear: if your strategy leans entirely digital, you’re fighting an uphill battle for shrinking attention spans.

And this is where offline communications step back into the spotlight.

Continue reading: 

• The Offline Advantage in an AI-Saturated World
• The Math: Digital vs. Direct Mail Advertising

If you made it here, thank you. This article was really written by the author—should I break into first person tense here? (I did use AI for grammatical help.) If you’re wondering why talk about offline communication in a digital publication—you got me! Except, this will also take letter form and go out via personalized USPS marketing mail. So, we’re eating our own cooking here. 

If you would like to talk to an offline communications expert, please reach out. Team Thysse has deep subject matter expertise and industry experience to offer—and we’re happy to share that with you. 

If you’d prefer to reach me directly rather than a subject matter expert, there are no guarantees an email will reach me—but I will 100% open a letter you mail.

For expected delivery before Dec. 25, the Postal Service recommends the following send-by dates:

2025 Holiday Shipping Dates for Contiguous U.S. (Lower 48 States)

• Marketing Mail: Dec. 12
• Nonprofit: Dec. 12
• USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 17
• First-Class Mail: Dec. 17
• Priority Mail: Dec. 18
• Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20

2025 Holiday Shipping Dates for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories

• USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 16
• First-Class Mail: Dec. 17
• Priority Mail: Dec. 18
• Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20

For a complete list of suggested dates for customers sending packages to military or international addresses, the Postal Service recommends visiting the USPS holiday shipping page.

During the holiday season, customers should always plan to mail and ship packages early to ensure arrival by Dec. 25.

For tips on mailing and shipping preparation, ordering free shipping supplies, packaging guidelines (including restricted and prohibited item information), and Post Office location hours, visit usps.com or the USPS YouTube channel.

Information to help customers prepare for the busy holiday season can be found on the USPS Holiday Newsroom at usps.com/holidaynews.

Direct mail is having a moment—and not just because digital fatigue is real. It's because the brands using it well are treating it as more than paper and postage. They’re treating it as a channel—one that deserves strategy, creativity, and the sort of iterative investment that improves results over time.

If you're applying the "we do this because it's always worked" approach and haven't given your process a scrub, you may be leaving savings, data insights and better results on the table. Our 2026 Direct Mail Optimization Guide offers a systematic overview of how our most successful mail clients approach the channel—from early planning to in-hand impact.

Here’s a look at some of what’s inside—and how it can shift the way you think about print.

We get it. It’s tempting to jump into design or pick a format because it’s what you used last year. But a few small decisions—made early—can dramatically affect how much you spend and how well your message performs.

That’s why we recommend a planning model that works like PEMDAS for direct mail:

• Plan: Define your audience, goals, format and targeted USPS savings

• Engage: Build design and copy that connects

• Mail List: Segment, clean, and identify personalization opportunities

• Deliver: Print and mail with precise timing and USPS incentives secured

• Analyze: Track response and attribute results

• Scale: Refine your campaign and expand from there

This order matters. When you loop in your printer and mail partner at the start, you unlock better pricing, better targeting, and fewer surprises down the line.

Letters, postcards, booklets, self-mailers, flats and dimensional mail…there’s no shortage of ways to get your message into someone’s hands. But the right format depends on more than preference.

Factors like machineability (both in production and mail processing), weight thresholds, aspect ratios, and flap orientation can all affect your budget and deliverability. Knowing these specifications and discount opportunities before creative begins enables your team (or ours) to target them.

Our guide breaks down USPS specs for each format, with quick-reference charts and real-world insights to help you choose the right mailpiece for the job.

Today’s audiences expect relevance. Variable Data Printing (VDP) lets you personalize each piece with names, images, local references, or offers based on data you already have. And, personalization opens up tracking and attribution enhancements.

Whether you’re personalizing headlines, adding location-specific imagery, or offering individual-specific incentive codes, we make it seamless. It’s not just for postcards—letters and flats can be personalized too, unlocking better engagement and valuable data insights.

Design shouldn’t take a back seat to postal regulations—but it should know the rules. Creative touches like metallic ink, specialty folds, and interactive elements don’t have to get in the way of automation or savings. In fact, many qualify for USPS incentives.

Our team helps clients push creative boundaries without sacrificing efficiency. That includes double-checking tab placement, fold strategy, and material weight before it’s too late to adjust.

The USPS offers a rotating list of discounts—some are automatic and retroactive, some require pre-enrollment within windows. For 2026, that includes:

• Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Mail (4% discount)

• Catalogs with product listings (10% discount)

• Continuous Contact campaigns (3% discount)

• Informed Delivery add-ons (1% discount)

• …and several more

Thysse helps you align your campaign with the right promotion and submit any required documentation. The savings add up—and can make a real difference.

Direct mail works best when it’s part of a larger, coordinated effort. The difference between “multichannel” and “omnichannel” is coordination. Omnichannel marketing is coordinated—campaign interactions determine what happens next, when and why. 

Thysse helps clients develop and manage mail data so that it can flow across omnichannel marketing efforts. Custom dashboards and reports offer precise delivery insights and individual-specific actions, like offer redemptions and website visits. We can help you split test, version and carry personalized experiences from page to landing page.

We have the tools, technology and expertise to help you optimize and scale your offline communications—and leverage them in true omnichannel campaigns.

Direct mail can feel like a maze of postal rates, paper weights, and USPS rules. But it doesn’t have to. Thysse’s team of experts brings decades of experience in printing, logistics, creative production, and USPS compliance—all under one roof.

As Business Development Manager and mail expert Julie Ehrke says, “The earlier we’re involved, the more value we can offer.”

If you’re a marketer or creative working in an organization with a direct mail program that isn’t yet leveraging Variable Data Print (VDP), you’re not alone.

Variable Data Print (VDP) has been around for decades—almost every piece of mail we receive includes at least a unique address. Technically, that counts as VDP. But today, the term refers to a much broader and more powerful marketing toolbox. Around 65% of direct mail includes basic personalization, like a name or a variable offer. But when it comes to data-driven personalization powered by true consumer insights, adoption is much lower.

At Thysse, we’ve made significant investments in VDP capabilities because we’ve seen the value it brings. The internet is full of bold claims about VDP performance: "4X ROI" or "300% better response rates." Are they true? Sometimes. But those stats are often taken out of context and used without explaining the real effort required to make them happen.

This article focuses on the process of VDP adoption—not just the outcomes—to give your team a clear understanding of what it takes to implement variable print and why it's worth it.

The Biggest VDP Roadblock

The number one barrier to VDP adoption we see? Process uncertainty. Marketing and creative teams often understand the value of VDP, but they get stuck figuring out how to operationalize it. This puts internal champions in a tough spot when trying to build a roadmap or sell the idea internally.

That’s where we come in. By focusing on the step-by-step process, Thysse helps teams remove roadblocks and build confidence. This article is designed to do the same.

What You’re Signing Up For

Getting started with VDP means understanding the three main components:

1. The Data Source File

This is your mailing list—expanded. It’s the spreadsheet that contains the names and addresses needed for any mailing.  If all you’re doing is name personalization, there’s actually no difference between your mailing list and the data source file. Actually, that goes for any element in your address—and there’s quite a bit you can do with an address. However, the mailing list spreadsheet becomes a Data Source File when it includes additional data, or points to data/assets saved outside of the spreadsheet.

An example of additional data saved in the spreadsheet is a variable offer. Let’s say you want to test “20% OFF” against “25% OFF”. The actual values would be added to the spreadsheet itself.

An example of data saved outside the spreadsheet is a variable image. Testing two different main visuals would entail saving those visuals in an “Asset Folder” and referencing the asset name in the spreadsheet. We’ll get into more detail in a moment.

Think of each row as one recipient, and each column as a variable you can plug into your creative. For marketers, this means campaign strategy starts in the Data Source File—and that spreadsheet becomes the engine that drives creative output.

2. The Layout File(s)

This is your master design template, often created in Adobe InDesign. To add name personalization, dynamic offers, or any other variable element, your designer just needs to define those fields in the Layout File. Variable element fields are named to correspond with column headers in your Data Source File.

You’ll also need to “package” your Layout File so your print partner has access to the fonts and links. That’s it.

From there, your printer’s software can pull and merge both asset categories into print-ready PDFs—one for each recipient. Thysse does this faster than we can print them—which is 500 feet per minute!

3. The Asset Folder

We’ve already touched on this, but when you're ready to personalize with longer copy, images, maps, or scannable codes, you'll need an Asset Folder. This is just a single folder of files—JPGs, PNGs, TXT files and even software tools that create the scannable codes or personalized maps.

One nuance to how this works is each row in the Data Source File includes a filename without an extension.  This enables the printer's software to pull that asset into the layout for each specific recipient. For example:

• Data Source File contains a column called Hero Image and each row gets a value of either HeroImage1 or HeroImage2

• Layout File contains a variable field for the hero image

• Asset Folder contains: HeroImage1.jpeg, HeroImage2.jpeg

Assuming name personalization was included—and with these additional elements in place— your printer can generate a unique print file and mailer for every recipient.

Resource: Download this Direct Mail VDP File Setup Guide

Versioning

Using multiple versions of a mailer in the same print/mail run is a powerful marketing and efficiency-driving approach. On efficiency, versioning enables you to consolidate production of your mailings into a single run, which is more cost effective to produce and mail–and it makes timing print campaigns easier.

The marketing value of versioning is where the magic happens. Let’s walk through the progressive capabilities it unlocks using an apparel retailer example:

Basic Versioning
Say this retailer has three geographic climate zones and two gender attributes to work with. Each climate zone gets a different product mix, and each gender gets a unique version of the mailer, resulting in a total of six. The primary benefit the retailer unlocks is serving more relevant product offers to their audience, while preserving name personalization. 

Improving relevance in this way, and adding name personalization are significant upgrades. The retailer probably would have chosen to use three Layout Files to execute this mailing. Though it could be done with just one, creative teams often find managing additional layout files to be a more intuitive way to manage the process.

Versioning With A/B Testing
Now let’s say the retailer wants to A/B test the main visual in their next mailing. In this scenario, their six versions double to 12. And, they decide to incorporate a single-use personalized discount code to track results. This unlocks new data insights which can be used to improve messaging across all channels, not just mail. Aggregating improvements–small or large, over time drives meaningful growth.

Let’s say this retailer tested 20% of their overall national mailing, reserving the 80% balance until the test is complete. Let’s also say they saw an average 6% improvement across all main visual test winners. The approach boosted overall ROI by 4.8%, and the discount code made attribution clear. The retailer also gained creative insights into what their customer segments preferred, which can be incorporated into other channels and future creative strategy.

Now, with the right advanced math degrees, we might be able to accurately measure the value-ripple-effects the mailing had—but suffice to say, it exceeds that which would be directly associated with the mailing.

Versioning With Advanced A/B Testing
With increasing confidence in their ability to execute VDP and leverage the data, let’s say this retailer’s next move is to refine audience segments. They have income level and age data to work with. They break income into two categories and age into three. This graphic illustrates what this mailing looks like:

Achieving this unlocks new product relevance improvements and enables them to test each segment separately and assess return on ad spend (ROAS). Where before they may have seen positive overall results, this approach enables them to measure each segment and make decisions. Perhaps they discover their youngest male segment is negative across all climate zones and versions. The insight gives the retailer an opportunity to refine offers or cut that segment from future mailings. 

The ROI-driving power of this VDP mail capability is clear, and it adds the missing context around claims that it can 3X your results. It can, but not because you added name personalization to a single mailing. It unlocks a completely different set of tools that can be systematically applied to drive optimization, efficiency and ROI. 

Walk, Run, Fly: Your VDP Adoption Journey

The goal of this article is to help those considering VDP mail adoption do it. The following stage descriptions are intended to help break down the process so you can determine where to start. The key takeaway is: Personalization and versioning offer meaningful improvement opportunities at each stage, so don’t be afraid to walk before you run. Building confidence, experience and scaling positive results is a journey.

Walk

At this stage, all your variable elements live in the Data Source File. That means you're personalizing names, offers, scannable codes, and maps, but not using an Asset Folder.

You’re likely working with simpler formats: postcards, letters, or self-mailers.

What to expect: Expect improved response rates—especially if your mail supports a well-optimized omnichannel funnel. You’ll be able to test and iterate easily, with no extra printing cost.

The key is to treat VDP like a digital channel: test often, optimize continuously, and look for incremental lifts. But make sure your downstream funnel (landing pages, offer fulfillment, sales handoff) is conversion-ready before investing heavily in print.

Run

Now you're using an Asset Folder to personalize visuals, longer messages, or regionally targeted content. You’re managing multiple versions of your layout and running A/B tests within different segments.

This is also when most marketers start expanding their use cases: event triggers (like birthdays or post-purchase follow-up), re-engagement mailings, and campaign automation. Where before you were using iterating with personalized and versioned content, now you’re using triggers to time messages and leverage trigger meaning for deeper personalization. 

What to expect: You’re now able to gather deeper insights into what works. Does a discount outperform a bundle? Does a hero image featuring Product A beat Product B? Can you cross-sell items after a purchase? Does a customer anniversary offer outperform a seasonal offer?

These learnings can inform your broader strategy. And as you test, your campaigns become more targeted and effective across all channels.

Triggered mail is usually still manual at this stage: you or your team export a list and send it to your mail partner. In the Fly stage, that gets automated.

Fly

This is where your VDP process gets sophisticated. Your CRM, CDP, or marketing automation platform automatically triggers mailings when conditions you set are met. Your print/mail services provider stores the layout files and asset library associated with each mailing and receives automated mail orders from you that go directly into our production workflow.

Like with digital ads, you’re monitoring results and making adjustments over time, but executing these mailings is automated.

Some of Thysse’s clients mail dozens of times each week, leveraging use-cases they know work without missing an opportunity.

Complexity may ramp up, too, with higher page count mailers. A 24-page catalog personalized by customer segment, product interest, and loyalty status might involve hundreds of unique assets for each segment. Managing this generally requires additional software integrations, though there are ways to simplify the process with versioning.

Final Thought

This was a lot of information, but hopefully it helps demystify VDP and show that it’s more accessible than it seems. Even a small move from static to personalized mail can deliver meaningful performance gains that pave the way towards increasingly effective ways to drive multichannel growth over time.

The process becomes more complex as you scale, but it’s entirely manageable with the right guidance. And you don’t have to do it alone, or all at once.

If you're ready to take the next step or just want to learn more, reach out. Our team is here to help you navigate the path to better results.

When it comes to direct mail campaigns, postage costs add up fast. Finding ways to reduce expenses while maintaining (or even improving) campaign effectiveness is a top priority for marketers and procurement professionals alike. That’s where the USPS 2025 Incentives come into play—offering cost-saving opportunities beyond the USPS Promotions discounts.

Unlike USPS's promotions, which focus on encouraging creative mailpiece enhancements, these incentives reward volume growth and collaborative mailing strategies. If your business is already investing in direct mail, these programs can help stretch your budget while maximizing reach and engagement.

Let’s break down the two incentives and how you can take advantage of them in 2025.

1. 2025 USPS First-Class & Marketing Mail Growth Incentive

How It Works

If your company increases its use of First-Class and/or Marketing Mail compared to your previous year volume–over 1M pieces, you’ll earn postage credits. The idea is simple: send more mail, save more money.

Key Details

Incentive Period: Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2025 (Likely to continue in 2026)

Registration Window: Dec. 2024 – May 2025

Credit Offered: 30% postage credit on incremental volume above your 2024 FY threshold, and 1M mail pieces, whichever is larger.

• To qualify, your 2025 volume must exceed 1M pieces

• If your 2024 volume was less than 1M, you can still qualify, but the credit starts on volume over 1M pieces

• Credits and volumes are specific to the mailing types and cannot be combined to reach minimum thresholds

Eligible Mail Types

• First-Class Mail presort & automation letters, cards, and flats

• Marketing Mail (including saturation mail, high-density mail, carrier route mail, and parcels)
  
  

How USPS Growth Incentive Credits Are Redeemed

Once you qualify for the USPS Mail Growth Incentive, you’ll receive postage credits based on your increased mail volume. Here’s how those credits are issued and applied:

Credits Are Issued in Stages

• USPS calculates your earned credits at three intervals during the incentive period: in June, September and December of 2025.

  • Credits are issued the following month.

• You’ll receive a 30% postage credit on all incremental mail volume above your 2024 baseline and/or 1M pieces, whichever is larger.

Example
If you mailed 900k pieces of marketing mail in 2024, and 1.5M in 2025, the 30% credit would be earned on 500k pieces. If you also mailed 200k pieces via first class mail in both years, they would not qualify for a credit.  

Applying Your Credits

• Once issued, these credits can be applied to future mailings, offsetting postage costs.

• Credits must be used for the same mail class in which they were earned (e.g., First-Class Mail credits can only be applied to First-Class Mail).

• Credits are valid through December 31, 2026, allowing flexibility in how and when they are used.
  
  

Why This Matters

If your business regularly sends direct mail campaigns, this incentive allows businesses to offset future postage costs by earning credits on increased mail volume. Since the credits are redeemable over two years, you can strategically plan future campaigns to maximize their value.

If your team is planning multi-touch campaigns, acquisition mailings, or loyalty-driven outreach, this incentive can make a significant difference.

2. 2025 10% Marriage Mail Incentive

What Is Marriage Mail?

Marriage Mail is a cost-sharing direct mail strategy where multiple advertisers combine their promotions into a single shared mailpiece or bundle. Instead of one company covering all mailing costs, several businesses split the expense—reducing individual postage and production costs while maximizing reach.

How Marriage Mail Works:

1. Multiple Advertisers Participate

• Each mailpiece includes ads, coupons, or promotional content from at least four different businesses (per USPS requirements for the incentive).

• These businesses don’t need to be related—they can be from different industries targeting the same audience.

2. Mail Is Sent to a Broad Audience

• Typically sent via Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) or other saturation USPS Marketing Mail services.

• Recipients receive a single bundle or oversized mailpiece that contains multiple offers.

3. Businesses Share Costs

• Postage and printing costs are divided among all advertisers.

• The more businesses participate, the lower the per-business cost.

This incentive offers a 10% postage discount on Saturation USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats, including Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) pieces, when combining advertisements from multiple businesses into a single mailpiece.

Key Details

• Discount Offered: 10% off postage for qualifying mailpieces.

• Eligibility Requirements:

• Minimum Advertisers
  Each mailpiece must feature advertisements from at least four different companies.

• Mailing Frequency
  A minimum of 10 mailings within a 12-month period is required to maintain eligibility and may be retroactively enforced via a Postage Adjustment.

• Mailpiece Weight
  Eligible pieces must weigh 2 ounces or less.

• Documentation
  Electronic documentation (eDoc) submission is mandatory for postage payment.

Redemption Process

• Postage Discount Application
  The 10% discount is applied directly to each qualifying mailpiece at the time of mailing, reducing the postage cost upfront.

• Identification
  Mailers must identify the use of the Marriage Mail Incentive on postage statements and ensure compliance is tracked via the Mail Owner's Customer Registration ID (CRID).

Why It Matters for Marketers
By participating in the Marriage Mail Incentive, businesses can significantly reduce individual mailing expenses while benefiting from the extensive reach of combined mail campaigns. This collaborative approach not only lowers costs but also enhances exposure by delivering diverse advertisements to a shared audience.

Example
An HVAC company, a lawn care service, a roofing contractor, and a pest control business could form a mailing partnership—allowing all four companies to reach thousands of homeowners at a fraction of the cost of mailing individually.

How to Take Advantage of These Incentives

While USPS promotions focus on enhancing the mailpiece itself (via tactile finishes, technology, and sustainability efforts), these incentives reward strategic mailing behaviors. Here’s how to leverage them:

• Plan Multi-Touch Strategies Early
  If you anticipate increased mail volumes in 2025, register early to track your growth and qualify for postage credits.

• Identify Partnership Opportunities
  If you serve a specific industry, co-branded direct mail efforts may help you capitalize on Marriage Mail incentives.

• Work with a Certified Mail Partner
  USPS incentives require accurate volume tracking and proper documentation. Thysse’s USPS-certified mail experts can help you ensure compliance and maximize savings.

Final Thoughts

For brands that rely on direct mail, the USPS 2025 Incentives can help you stretch budgets and/or enhance reach. Whether you’re scaling up your mailing efforts or exploring cooperative advertising, these programs provide meaningful cost savings for those who plan ahead.

If you’re unsure how to apply these incentives to your direct mail strategy, Thysse is here to help. Our team has extensive experience navigating USPS programs and optimizing direct mail for impact and efficiency.

Let’s talk about how you can make the most of your 2025 mail campaigns. Contact us today or explore our growing library of direct mail resources.