A lot has changed in direct mail over the years. But then again, a lot has stayed the same. There are some basic direct mail principles that are as important today as they were more than 50 years ago - principles and strategies that must be considered well before any creative begins:

• People are still looking for the same things they've always wanted - better health, popularity, easy payments, money, beauty, discounts, convenience, affection, free stuff, etc.
• Strategy is the most important part of any direct mail campaign - this requires in-depth assessment of mailing and production costs, the offer, the list, the message, qualifying leads and consummating the sale.
• Speaking of creative, it needs to be exciting, inviting and visual - if it's going to make the reader work, you know where it ends up.
• The address and the return address must be correct - on an envelope, pay very close attention to the label, postage and return address. For direct e-mails, make sure you have the correct name and subject line.
• Successful direct marketing motivates the reader to respond.
• Like any successful performance, leave them standing in the aisle wanting more.
• And remember, this principle applies, just as it did over 50 years ago -"'Free' is the greatest word in marketing."

Originally it was intended to be a landscaping job, but after careful thought, it became a "bridgescaping" job. As part of the Kansas City Convention Center Grand Ballroom Project, a decision was made to place abstract decorative panels on the eastern guard rail of the Wyandotte Street Bridge over Interstate 670.

This site-specific modular system features full-color landscape graphics of trees and other plant life that are native to the Kansas City area. Each decorative panel fits into a rectangular slot, and each panel has its own fluorescent light, thus providing a softly lit pedestrian walkway that connects the vibrant Crossroads district to a rejuvenated downtown. Not all of the rectangles are filled with art. Some are filled with wire mesh, which offers a beguiling panorama of native flora transitioning into urban towers.

Digital Lagoon was selected to print these large-format decorative panels for the Wyandotte Street Bridge. In all, it took 47 full-color panels printed directly on a special frosted acrylic, with each panel measuring 22 x 97 inches. A walk across the bridge now offers a unique and colorful perspective of the city through graphic windows. At Digital Lagoon, we consider it a privilege to be a part of our community's downtown renaissance.

The Learning Exchange

www.lx.org
The Learning Exchange is an educational not-for-profit 501(c)3 focusing solely on two experiential learning venues—Exchange City and EarthWorks. Digital Lagoon worked with The Learning Exchange to create a fun, kid-friendly atmosphere using the latest Flash technologies while keeping the site useful and informative for educators. Digital Lagoon also incorporated a database for storing all electronically captured information. This allows The Learning Exchange to run reports based on the Web site forms.

The Search for a Better Engine

Google recently announced the rollout of its universal search technology that will be released within the next few months. Universal search is a sophisticated engine that draws on all different media types and information sources to provide optimum search results.

The most obvious change is the addition of dynamically generated, navigation links that include Web, images, video and books. For example, a search for Nosferatu, the 1922 classic horror movie, results in a typical link to the Internet Movie Database as the top result. But the third result includes a thumbnail that when clicked lets you view the actual full-length movie without having to leave the search results page. Google's database of over one million book titles is also now integrated into the search results.

A search for the term "python" illustrates another feature of the new technology. Google categorizes the results, providing navigation links to Blogs, Books, Groups and Code. In the last case, clicking on Code will take you to links of code done in the Python programming language.

Google also announced a new Google Experimental site where users can try out services still in development. One is a search that provides results in a timeline format. For example, if you are researching a specific field, you can click on various dates along the timeline to find historical breakthroughs. A Map View search shows locations around the world where conferences are planned for that field.