Why Direct Mail Deserves a Place the Modern Marketer’s Toolkit
For a PFL roundtable, three seasoned marketing professionals gathered to unpack how direct mail — thoughtfully executed and well-integrated — can pierce the “digital clutter,” build meaningful connections, and drive measurable business outcomes.
Led by Jennifer Bellin, Chief Marketing Officer at PFL and a veteran direct mail practitioner, the conversation brought together diverse perspectives: Gretchen Swann, Senior Principal Marketing Program Manager at Paycor; Rob Willingham, Director of Marketing at LexisNexis; and Paul Bobnak, Direct Mail Evangelist at “Who’s Mailing What.” Together, they shared how they got started with mail, what motivates their strategies today, and why direct mail deserves a place in every modern marketer’s toolkit.
From Manual to Strategic: How It All Started
For many marketers, the route into direct mail wasn’t planned — but it became purposeful.
Gretchen Swann recalls Paycor’s early experiments with direct mail. “We were basically mailing things out ourselves from our office,” she said, describing a time of hand-assembling packages, wrestling with spreadsheets, and dealing with returned mail due to bad addresses. The results were promising but the process wasn’t scalable—yet.
Rob Willingham’s entry was equally organic. “I don’t have a direct mail background,” he admited. When he inherited the channel at LexisNexis, direct mail was little more than ad-hoc gift cards and small gestures from sales reps. Identifying an opportunity, Rob piloted a structured approach that became the foundation of a broader, more strategic program. “Direct mail soon became a new channel of pipeline that’s continued to expand,” he explained.
For Paul Bobnak, the journey came through deep immersion. Taking the reins at “Who’s Mailing What”—a repository and analysis hub of thousands of pieces of mail each year — Paul learned “all the rules you’re supposed to follow and the rules that you can break.” His perspective, forged by constant exposure to mail campaigns across industries, brings seasoned context to how teams think about mail today.
Why Direct Mail Still Matters
As the dialogue shifted toward objectives and priorities, a theme emerged: direct mail isn’t just a novelty; it’s a strategic asset that drives pipeline, engagement, and revenue.
Willingham made it clear: “My priority is to make money and drive pipeline,” he explained. In a digital age where prospects are inundated with emails, he sees direct mail as an experiential channel that can surprise and delight—something that stands out compared with routine digital touchpoints.
Swann echoed this perspective from the B2B world. “We get so many emails people are quick to delete them all,” she said. For Paycor, direct mail is a way to break through, grab attention, and spark curiosity that leads to real conversations with sales teams.
However, the value of mail goes beyond novelty. As Swann put it: “It’s almost unusual when you get an actual physical piece of direct mail.” That rarity translates into engagement—a moment of connection that digital alone struggles to achieve.
Strategic vs. Tactics
The panel was quick to point out that direct mail isn’t an isolated tactic—it is part of a cohesive strategy. For marketers craving better results, thinking holistically matters.
“Direct mail really is breaking through more than other channels right now,” said Swann, pointing to the discipline’s ability to augment and uplift other campaigns. For B2B teams, that often means weaving mail into broader nurtures and journeys that span digital and physical touchpoints.
Willingham’s pilot ultimately wasn’t just about sending mail—it was about establishing processes, measuring impact, and earning organizational trust. His early success enabled the channel to scale, proving that, with the right strategy, direct mail can mature into a consistent growth driver.
The Mailbox Advantage
What becomes clear from the roundtable discussion is that direct mail’s value isn’t a throwback to “old-school” marketing—it’s about crafting memorable moments that connect with people in ways digital rarely can
Whether hand-assembling packages in an office or piloting a new ABM channel, these leaders found that intentional mail, used strategically, doesn’t just reach audiences—it resonates with them.
