In-House Direct Mail Software: A Smart Strategy for Modern Brand Leaders

It’s no secret that we’re constantly bombarded with digital marketing content. But here’s a surprising fact: direct mail is making a notable comeback and today, it is more relevant than ever. From brochures and catalogs to personalized mailers and beyond, print has recently been reclaiming its place as one of the ultimate marketing tools.

The appeal of something physical offers a unique way to capture attention, and this can have a big impact. With customer demand for tailored experiences at an all-time high, brands are increasingly recognizing the value of personalization.

[CHILI publish’s Brandwidth report](https://www.chili-publish.com/research/brandwith-2024/unlock/) found that 98% of graphic professionals observed a rise in personalization projects, driven by the need for more tailored, impactful outreach.

Read Brandwidth 2025 Report

Studies also show that direct mail engages audiences longer and more deeply than digital content. So, if you’re reconsidering your outreach strategy, now is the perfect time to look at how direct mail could deliver powerful benefits to your business.

The Resurgence of Direct Mail

Why this renewed interest? The overwhelming barrage of rapid-fire digital marketing content has been testing the limits of consumer interest for some time.

Direct mail, especially when guided by data-driven insights, creates a unique connection that digital alone struggles to achieve. It’s why established big brands like J.Crew are re-embracing the power of physical catalogs as part of a strategic blend of print and digital outreach.

And while direct mail creates lasting impressions, today's technologies also allow it to seamlessly integrate with your digital strategies. This avoids complexity and ensures your content doesn’t end up in marketing content silos.

So, for businesses looking to differentiate themselves and cultivate a stronger brand presence, direct mail presents a compelling opportunity.

Direct Mail’s Big Impact for Large Brands

While the comeback of direct mail is universal, it’s proving particularly valuable for large-scale businesses.

Unlike digital ads that are often ignored and even blocked, a well-crafted mailer grabs attention by reaching audiences in a way that feels more personal and engaging. It signals value, inviting the recipient to pause and interact.

This improved engagement often translates to impressive ROI for larger campaigns. Research shows that physical mail results in higher response rates than digital-only campaigns. So, if you’re a business focused on scalable results, this could give your marketing impact a significant boost.

With CHILI GraFx powering our Direct Mail Automation, we saw outstanding results: 37K QR code scans. Our redemption rate soared to 14%, compared to just 0.87% in prior campaigns. 38% of recipients joined our loyalty app. CHILI GraFx has truly transformed our approach to direct mail, turning engagement into measurable growth.

Gary Howard

Creative Director, UK - Precision Marketing

Moreover, when direct mail is used as part of a multichannel campaign strategy, it amplifies the effectiveness of digital outreach, creating a coherent brand experience that can also contain unique interactions between digital and physical mediums.

Integrating direct mail into your marketing mix is therefore a smart strategic move. Many large businesses looking to enhance customer relationships and stand out are already seeing the benefit of making direct mail a pillar of their marketing.

It’s Time to Invest in Direct Mail

Why now? Because market conditions, paired with shifting consumer behaviors, have created an environment ripe for print-based marketing outreach.

Firstly, digital fatigue is real. Consumers are bogged down by the endless stream of online ads. The result is they simply ignore digital-only campaigns. Direct mail, by contrast, offers the appeal of something tangible.

Additionally, new technology means direct mail is more strategic than ever. With data-driven marketing, businesses can create personalized campaigns that integrate flawlessly with digital strategies. This enhances customer experience and amplifies brand touchpoints.

The advent of AI is also transforming direct mail. Platforms like CHILI GraFx with its AI-assistant, GraFx Genie, are streamlining production by automating complex workflows, from data integration to personalized content generation. This level of automation enables brands to produce high-quality, tailored print materials faster and more efficiently, allowing for agile responses to shifting market demands.

For large businesses looking to create impactful audience connections, direct mail – augmented by AI – is quickly becoming a cornerstone of comprehensive, multichannel marketing plans.

Bringing Direct Mail In-House: A Smart Move for Big Brands

If you’re trying to maximize the marketing potential of a large business, bringing direct mail in-house offers compelling advantages.

High on the list is cost control. The price of outsourcing has become increasingly unpredictable due to a tangle of fast-rising ink, paper, logistics, and staffing costs. In-house operations provide a much more predictable path to control operational expenses.

Brand consistency also benefits from bringing direct mail in-house. With in-house control, managing personalized mailers and ensuring brand integrity across elements – such as visuals, messaging, and QR codes – is far more streamlined. This is crucial for maintaining a strong brand image across multiple targets and becomes even more essential when you generate multichannel output.

The challenge of efficient data connectivity is equally addressed through in-house operations. Integrating approved data sources through simplified connectivity or APIs into adaptive templates allows businesses to maintain personalization effortlessly without cramping creativity.

As an example, CHILI GraFx provides smart templates that adapt in real-time to connected data inputs while keeping brand guidelines rigorously intact. This enables automated, rapidly scalable production that is error-free and print-ready for high-quality output.

Another gain is time-to-market. In-house automation tools reduce content set-up time as well as simplifying variable data print-production workflows, leading to faster campaign launches. With 84% of brand teams reporting product launch delays due to workload, according to the CHILI publish Brandwidth report, the ability to reduce production time and launch campaigns faster has become a competitive advantage. Combined with robust integration capabilities, platforms like CHILI GraFx empower businesses to create, scale, and target campaigns efficiently, enhancing overall marketing production and agility.

We serviced 2027 stores and sent out 4,536,519 mailings, reaching over 4 million households. Every single mailer was uniquely tailored to each household. While this might seem like a production nightmare, it wasn't.

Gary Howard

Creative Director, UK - Precision Marketing

What to Consider Before Bringing Direct Mail In-House

Ready to bring your brand’s direct mail operations in-house? Here’s a checklist of what to consider before making the shift:

Capabilities

First, evaluate whether your business has the technical capabilities to support in-house production. If not, partnering with an integrator is the best route. Platform providers like CHILI publish make both paths by providing a SaaS platform with robust and open APIs, as well as extended partner networks.

Investment

Naturally, there’s an initial investment needed to bring direct mail in-house. Again, a platform like CHILI GraFx provides the essential tools for streamlined template management, data-driven content customization, and production of high-quality, print-ready output, while ensuring that brand guidelines are upheld.

Integration and Disruption

Integrating new tools can be disruptive before they become fully productive. A phased introduction, including staff training, is therefore often the best approach. Assess your team’s technical know-how and consider upskilling where needed to get scalable, consistent direct mail production without overwhelming your staff.

Scalability

In-house direct mail operations should be set up for rapid scaling. A platform like CHILI GraFx streamlines everything from template creation to the production of print-ready files, allowing for quick adjustments as demand grows. This approach not only accelerates time-to-market and maintains quality across campaigns but also ensures that your production can expand seamlessly to meet future growth in the marketing landscape.

Conclusion: Make Direct Mail Your Competitive Edge

Direct mail is a strategic tool that consistently outperforms digital-only methods. As businesses navigate crowded markets where consumer attention is dwindling under the pressure of digital overload, physical mail presents an opportunity to make a real impact.

Bringing direct mail in-house can amplify these benefits. By investing in robust tools like CHILI GraFx, businesses can streamline operations, ensure brand consistency, and optimize personalization – all while reducing costs and accelerating time-to-market. Now is the time to elevate your marketing with the impact of direct mail.

Book your Demo!

Ready for a one-on-one demo of CHILI GraFx specially tailored to your Direct Mail Automation needs? We have a fully loaded Discovery Environment ready for you to experience. Request a CHILI GraFx Discovery Environment, and we'll book a specialist to get you up and running.

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