An envelope has only two purposes, according to Grant Johnson, President and CEO of Johnson Direct, a successful and well-known marketing company.  One is to securely carry its contents from origin to destination, and its other purpose is to get opened.  I couldn’t agree more that these are the two major jobs of the envelope.  It sounds simple on the surface. 

To insure success for both of those requires know-how and creativity.  We rely on the experience of our manufacturing employees to make products that accomplish the goal to deliver content intact.  We also work to create new products we know will attract attention.  These engage recipients with the envelope and serve to get the envelope opened with the promise of a valuable offer.

The envelope of today is expected to perform flawlessly on a wide variety of printing and inserting equipment.  That’s where know-how comes in.  The product has to be exceptionally consistent during the part of its lifecycle as a production raw material.  The process of creating the mailpiece has to be cost-efficient and is usually time-sensitive.  The envelope plays a major role in that process. 

Getting opened is another issue altogether.  The creative part is the heart of marketing.  We sell envelopes to many marketers and have always focused on creating uniqueness in the mailbox.  You know the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”  The envelope is tasked with making that good first impression.  In the last few years, we have found new ways to get recipients to interact with the envelope.  Whether it’s a different way to open it, or an imbedded repositionable note and hidden window, there is nothing like new ideas to help marketers compete. 

It is great to have goals like carrying contents and getting opened, but someone said a long time ago, “It’s about the journey.”  I have to agree with that, too.  Because if it hasn’t been, what have we been doing for the last 105 years?