If you consider envelopes to be little more than direct mail delivery vehicles, you’re missing a golden opportunity to earn trust by reinforcing your branding. Envelopes are marketing devices that serve as extensions of your brand and can lend a competitive advantage at the mailbox. In fact, consistent branding can increase revenue by as much as 10 to 20% (Marq).
A strong envelope design lends insight into your brand, helping to establish solidarity with your audience and boosting recognition beyond the mailbox. Here’s how envelopes can tell your brand story.
Brand Logo and Colors
Envelopes featuring your logo and colors have a powerful presence that contrasts against the bland, all-white envelopes others routinely send – and a signature color can boost brand recognition by 80% (Reboot).
Consider unique and interesting ways to incorporate your brand logo and colors into your envelope designs. Ideas include:
- Full-color backgrounds
- Background patterns
- Oversized logos
- Brand colors on envelope flaps or across the bottom
- Logos or colors revealed through envelope windows
- Branding on the back
Size and Shape
Envelope size and shape can boost brand recognition. For example, you can:
- Send oversized envelopes to stand out in a stack of mailers
- Add shape-cuts featuring your logo or brand colors
- Add windows shaped like your logo to your envelope
Textures, Finishes, and Embossing
Textures, finishes, and embossing offer striking visual appearances and tactile sensations, highlighting your brand in a way your audience can see and feel. Examples include:
- Vertical embossed logo
- Linen-textured paper stock
- Bubble-embossed background
- Soft touch coating
- Bright, glossy paper
- Elegant matte paper
- Shiny metallic paper
Inside Tint
Inside tint is another great way to promote your brand with envelopes. Ideas include:
- Custom tint featuring your logo and brand colors
- Security tint that suggests strength and trust
Consistency is Key
Consistency is key to branding, so incorporate similar design attributes for all your envelopes to increase brand recognition over time. Consider the following examples of branded envelopes.
Auto Insurance Company
A well-known auto insurance company consistently uses the same brand colors and mascots on every mailer. Its envelope design emphasizes the brand with edge-to-edge colors across the flap and bottom.
Credit Union
A credit union employs a blind emboss seal on all its envelopes, suggesting credibility and prestige while fostering trust.
College Football Program
Branding isn’t limited to businesses. A major college football program sends large envelopes featuring a full-color, patterned background and oversized logo on matte paper stock. Collectively, these attributes reflect the program’s esteemed reputation.
Envelopes aren’t mere direct mail delivery devices; they’re extensions of your brand that, over time, can foster trust, influence perception, and even improve response rates.
