🔒The Best Postcards expands in Cheshire as direct mail marketing holds steady amid digital shift

In an era when most eyes are focused on social media sites like Facebook, X and TikTok, one might think the days of businesses marketing via “snail mail” are nearing an end, if not already over. While the volume of direct mail marketing has fallen over the past few years, many businesses still rely on it as a way to reach and retain customers. According to the U.S. Postal Service, 57.5 billion pieces of direct mail were sent in 2024, down 3.2% from a year earlier and down more than 28% from 2015. Yet, businesses continue to utilize direct mail marketing as a significant part of their advertising budgets. That’s no surprise to The Best Postcards, a direct mail marketing firm that’s expanded its Cheshire footprint over the past few years amid a growth streak. Founded in Branford in 2018 by CEO Andrew Ettinger with just 11 employees, the company now has 56 workers and is headquartered at 30 Grandview Court, a 29,650-square-foot Cheshire office and production building it purchased in December 2021 for $1.75 million. In October, The Best Postcards acquired a second Cheshire property — a 20,000-square-foot former food-processing facility at 21 Diana Court — for $2.1 million. Chief Operating Officer Ann Hogan said the new building will serve primarily as warehouse space for now. “It will most likely also be a rental for anybody else that needs warehouse space,” she said, “but it was just a good time for us to expand now for needs in the future.” It’s been quite a journey for The Best Postcards, considering it started from scratch in an 8,000-square-foot space in Branford. Today, it serves clients in all 48 contiguous states, from Hamden-based K&J Tree Service to Planet Fitness, which operates nationwide. Hogan said the company has grown by offering one-stop shopping. “It’s definitely having everything under one roof,” she said. “A lot of the other marketing companies that do the same kind of mailers that we do, they don’t print their own materials, they don’t ship their own materials. So we have control over every step of the way with a client.” Adding to its distinctive setup, the company also operates with a global leadership team: Ettinger now lives in Costa Rica, while Chief Financial Officer Joseph Raby is based in Israel.

Press room

At its Cheshire facility, professional-grade laser printers hum as The Best Postcards’ staff turns out postcards, brochures and marketing materials for clients nationwide. The operation includes a Kyocera printer that prints on offset paper, often used in books and brochures, along with an ultraviolet printer that uses UV light to print on a variety of materials — primarily yard signs. The company also operates cutting machines capable of handling cardboard, metal and glass.

The production floor’s centerpiece is a massive Heidelberg offset press, which can be used to quickly print longer runs of brochures, direct-mail pieces, letterhead, posters and paper-based labels and packaging. Company officials declined to share revenue or sales figures, but Hogan said Best Postcards continues to grow and is considering adding a second press, which would be set up in the new building. “Just the way we’ve expanded since 2019 has been exponential, year over year,” she said. If the company adds equipment in its second location, it likely would add more staff as well, she said. Best Postcards employs a mix of skill sets, including graphic designers and data analysts. Staffing levels haven’t been affected by artificial intelligence, Hogan said. “We don’t use AI for any of our artwork, more for task management,” she said. “Our data team sometimes uses AI to make workflows, that kind of thing. But it’s not used for anything directly. AI is not creating any mailers. It’s not choosing routes for mailing.” While she concedes that other direct mail marketing firms may use AI in those ways, The Best Postcards believes clients still “really like a human touch.” She noted that while AI can create images, it’s often difficult to edit them. “You have to go back to the drawing board each time,” Hogan said. “Whereas with our designers, they’re doing the same thing AI can do,” but also can quickly make changes desired by clients.

Better ROI

That human connection, Hogan said, is also why direct mail remains a powerful marketing tool for businesses competing in a digital world. “What we find is that for every 10 pieces of mail you’re getting, you’re getting 100 emails,” Hogan said. “Are you opening those emails?” She noted that most people delete a marketing email without opening it. When that happens, potential customers don’t see color schemes, logos or any branding, she said. “Whereas when it comes to you in the mail, even if you get five of them a day, you’re going to remember it,” Hogan said.

Charles Brooks, professor and chair of the marketing department at Quinnipiac University’s School of Business, said digital marketing has ironically helped revive interest in direct mail by creating “digital fatigue” among consumers bombarded with emails and pop-up ads. “It’s becoming much easier to block digital ads,” Brooks said. “So in those cases, direct mail provides another avenue for companies to be able to reach consumers.” While consumers can opt out of email or text messaging, he added, “there’s really not that option to opt out of a direct-mail piece that shows up in your mailbox.” Hogan said that while digital marketing can sometimes be cheaper, it doesn’t always generate the same results. “It’s all about getting that piece in the mail, and you have to physically touch it,” she said. “You have to look at it before you’re putting it away somewhere or throwing it away.” A 2023 survey from Statista found that direct mail campaigns had a 160% return on investment — outperforming email, paid search, digital displays, social media and text messaging. Brooks said some companies, including luxury brands, are now blending both approaches through “trigger mailing,” in which a consumer’s website visit prompts a physical mail piece to be sent to their home. “They may not be able to identify your email,” he said, “but they can identify your physical address, and that will trigger these direct-mail pieces.” The hope is, he added, “that you’re going to go back online and finish that purchase.” Helping businesses boost their return on investment, Hogan said, involves far more than mailing postcards. The company also helps clients keep their names visible through equipment stickers, door hangers, yard signs and valve tags — anything that puts a business in front of customers when they need a service. “So, as long as you’re branding, you’re going to be successful, because those people are going to remember who you are,” Hogan said.

Building brands

Hogan, 33, has built her career at The Best Postcards from the ground up. She got her start in direct mail marketing while studying criminal justice and forensics at the University of New Haven, taking a part-time job at an established business, where Ettinger worked. When Ettinger left to start The Best Postcards, he invited Hogan to join him. She eventually left college to work full time at the company, moving up from graphics assistant to office assistant before leading its email department. She was later promoted to operations manager and, in 2020, became chief operating officer. “I’m helping people build their companies and helping people build their brands,” Hogan said. “I love what I do.”