The direct mail campaign I chose to create is a Fourth of July discount deal from the existing brand, Patagonia Inc., an American retailer of outdoor sport and recreation clothing. The point of the “Freedom to Explore” campaign is to emphasize the joy of adventure and freedom to explore the great outdoors of the U.S., offering a special discount for the weeks surrounding the Fourth of July holiday. The direct mailers are meant to portray and enforce the campaign through inspirational photos in nature, a QR code to receive the discount, and a call to action to use the hashtag “#FreedomToExplore” on social media to connect with others in the movement. I chose this company because my research found that Patagonia has been successful over the years in creating effective direct mailers through the simplicity of their design and powerful use of images that customers are attracted to. I created this campaign idea because I wanted to do something around the holiday that still included it but did not have the usual flashy red, white, and blue advertising.

The Freedom to Explore campaign is targeted at four demographics: women surfers, men mountain bikers, families who climb or hike, and older couples who ski or live in the snow. I was able to create twelve elements on each postcard that varied for each audience, regarding images, text, colors, typography, and QR codes. For each postcard, I chose a photo for the front that accorded with the audience demographic and fit the theme of Freedom to Explore. I picked visually striking images that showed a person or people doing the sport of the selected demographic and included “freedom to explore” in the Patagonia font, Belwe Bold, as the main title on each mailer. The color and text effects differed on each mailer to stand out against the background image, with the text either being white, black, with or without a drop shadow. The next variable element is the name callout on the front, as I used names for each demographic, for example, women’s surf was “Grace,” family hikers were directed as “The (Last Name) Family,” and couples who ski were referred to as “(Name) and (Name)”. I wanted to use a name callout to make the mailers more personable to each customer. Under the name was a text insert regarding celebrating the Fourth of July, and the variable elements included the discount percentage and the department type based on the demographic. This text also varied in color, again being either white, black, with or without a drop shadow.

On the back of the postcard, I varied the background color on each, choosing colors that fit with each audience and matched cohesively with the image on the front of the card. I picked images of products and models from the Patagonia website that advertised something from the chosen department, along with the model or product, to be something that this audience member could relate to. For example, I used images of a woman and male teen model wearing the styles and products that would be discounted for the family postcard. For each QR code, I set the links to go to the section of the Patagonia website that each audience would receive their discount from. The QR code on women’s surf goes to the women’s swimwear section on the website, where there would ideally be a discount to claim, if this campaign were real. I changed the font on each postcard for “Valid Thru 07/14/24” to appeal to and fit each audience and add more variation amongst the postcards. I changed the fonts on each postcard in the “Share and tag us…” section for the same reason. For example, I chose sleek, italicized fonts for the women’s surf postcard, as I have noticed a trend in women’s fashion advertising being italicized and “quick” moving words, most likely to add a sense of urgency and luxury to the message. Lastly, I added a name and address to each address line to add personality to each mailer, and I researched where people in each audience would live to take full advantage of the discount. As an example, for the couple who ski/live in the snow, I made their fictional address for them to be living in Mount Hood, Oregon, where I found it snows even in the summertime. In total, I am always looking for new ways to integrate variable data to target different audiences and am looking forward to any critiques that would make these postcards more professional and effective in the future.