The odd-shaped mailings are called CMM (Customized MarketMail). We’ve done several odd-shaped die-cut pieces and they’re really neato!

There are higher postage rates & size limitations, though. BUT they lowered the postage considerably last year on these.

Info from USPS site here:
http://www.usps.com/customizedmarketmail/welcome.htm

I know this is a general statement, but I think direct mail can work wonders if its don’t right and you don’t abuse it by sending advertisments to people on your list every week.

As a consumer I don’t mind receiving flyers announcing sales and such from places I actually shop at, but I do get annoyed when credit card companies send me offers multiple times a week.

So I think its a fine line between whether something is considered junk mail or not, but I do think direct mail campaigns can be important for certain types of businesses.

I also think the quality of the paper you use can really make a big impact a well.

I found a flyer yesterday that was printed on some really nice matte card stock and it had a really nice texture to it and it just felt more expensive and looked higher quality which I think can work wonder in terms of branding and what people associate with the companies name.

In regards to actual size/proportions of the mailer itself, odd or non-rectangular sizes can create quite an impact visually and can create a better ROI than a traditional postcard…for a price.

Often the most significant issue with a square or oddly shaped mailer is often the surcharge and/or extra postage the USPS charges for the non-machine-able size. You can mail just about anything via USPS as long as you pay enough for postage and any additional surcharges for them to handle odd or different sized pieces.

One other rather inexpensive idea I’ve come across is to round corner the mailing piece, which the USPS in the last year newly allowed as a machine-able mailer with little or no add’l surcharge. One of our largest direct mail clients has found this to be a good way to make their pieces stand out from the crowd of direct mail pieces that end up in your mail box and gladly pays the extra bindery cost to have this done for most of their campaigns.

there’s my 2 (and possibly more) cents. enjoy!