Give your design some punch with pop-ups

Have you ever received a direct-mail piece that was so different that you saved it and put it in your “I wish I’d thought of that” file? My files are filled with an abundance of great designs. The ones that literally stand out from the crowd are of the pop-up variety. Just like when I was a child, some of my favorite books were the pop-ups or the ones with the pull tabs. I was so fascinated with these that they never lasted long in my hands because I would open the page or pull the tab over and over again until it didn’t work anymore. Now being older and only slightly more restrained, I still am fascinated by them. There is a large range of configurations from the simple angled gutter fold that makes the midsection of the piece flip up when opened to the complex die cut variety. Among the complex examples are the group that automatically pop-up when you take them out of the envelope. This is accomplished with a stretched rubber band. As marketing professionals, our goals are for the people to respond to our call to action. At the very least, the piece should be remembered. The more dynamic and memorable your piece is the more likely it will be remembered. One drawback of these intricate pieces is cost. Your quantity must be fairly large to make them cost effective. If your quantity is low and a custom die cut is out of the question, consider using a stock die cut, saving the expense of creating the die. Or make the piece customizable for multiple mailings; add a tag that hangs from a sting or glue on a custom piece, for instance. There are many venders that specialize in pop-up and die-cut pieces with an inventory of stock dies waiting in the wings. Some of them are even imprintable. These places not only offer pop-up solutions, they usually have options such as telescoping and pull-tab pieces.