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AlPHAMAIl
Only 28,
CHRIs NEwMAN
hasbecome a leader in direct thanks to a zealousapproach to marketing creativity.
e caught the advertising bugwhile pursuing a double degreein ne arts graphic design andadvertising at Iowa State Uni-versity, then saw his passionfully bloom during internshipsat Baltimore’s Round2 designagency and the Martin Agency Student Workshop. Chris Newmanis just 28 years old, and his career is redhot. Currently a senior art director at EuroRSCG Chicago, the young advertising maverick has earned mul-tiple awards for his work on behalf of several brands. But it’s New-man’s endishly clever array of mail campaigns for Sprint Nextelthat have the direct world buzzing.While many of his Gen-Y peers focus almost exclusively on theInternet, Newman has made marketing headlines by applyingWeb-inspired dynamics to that tried and true response-getter— direct mail. “I always try to create direct mail pieces that willget people to want to interact with them,” says Newman. “Maybeit’s because I’m so used to having the Internet. It’s about takingthat online interactive experience and bringing it into a directmail/print form.”rue to his philosophy, Newman’s direct mailers veritably scream, “Play with me.” ake his award-winning 2009 mailer,“ackle Everything Faster.” A B-to-B Sprint project that gives fresh
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meaning to the phrase “reeling ’em in,” the cam-paign was engineered to entice primary decisionmakers at vertical businesses. Devising a tacklebox that he dubbed a “solutions tool box,” New-man placed his enticing teaser message clearly on the outside of the box, cautioning recipients,“Don’t let this one get away.”Inside the box, recipients are presented withshing supplies, including lures, shing wire,bobbers, sun block and more. Also included is abrochure promoting Sprint’s work-grade commu-nications and a business card for a Sprint salesrepresentative. Sprint produced more than 500boxes for the campaign, with more than 5 percentof recipients rising to the bait.Ten there’s Newman’s 2008 back-to-schoolSprint mailer, “Dissection.” It allowed morethan 600,000 college student recipients to vir-tually dissect a frog by tearing open a centervertical perforation revealing a card detailingSprint’s latest phone components.Both pieces underscore for Newman theunique sensuality of direct mail. “What makesdirect mail so appealing is finding that you caninteract with the piece,” he says. “Since directmail is tactile, the goal for me is to have peopleopen it up and examine it. here’s somethingpowerful about being able to hold somethingin your hand and explore it on your own,whether it’s peeling something back,or scratch ’n sniff, unique stickers ordifferent print techniques. It’s defi-nitely a ‘real’ experience, as opposedto a virtual experience.”Which isn’t to say he doesn’tknow how to leverage virtualexperiences with mail. Considerthe B-to-B mailer he designed forSprint Mobile Broadband: It placedrecipients into virtual, lifelike workingenvironments including a coffee shop anda diner — a creative device Newman used toshow that consumers could transform any setting intoan office using the service. More than 10 percent of recipients responded, while Newman nabbed two empo Awards for the project.He has also won several other honors, including a 2010Emerging Leader Award from the Chicago Direct Marketing Association and several AMBI Awards from the Kansas City Direct Marketing Association. Te
Chicago Sun-Times
hailedNewman as “a man on a mission … to dispel the misconcep-tion that direct mail pieces are dull.”
sky’s THE lIMIT
Hailing from Sioux City, Iowa, New-man expressed his creativity from ayoung age, exploring drama, pho-tography, art, music, choreography and even politics (he was studentbody president in high school). Toseearly experiences serve him well in hiscurrent job. “Trough acting and otherartistic experiences, I learned how to putmyself in the mindset of others,” Newmansays. “When you’re acting, you really have to think,Who is this person and what would be relevant to them? Onepart about marketing and advertising is that you’re market-ing to a dierent audience every day, whether you’re targetingmobile moms, college students or a boomer audience. [Art] isa great way to step outside of yourself and be someone else.” And direct mail aords him the chances to unleashsome powerful artistic impulses. “I love it when I get these[direct mail] assignments,” Newman says. “Te challengeis always great … but the sky’s the limit when it comes toconveying something.”
MAn on A MIssIon:
ewman is dispellingthe misconception that mail is dull with a cleverarray o campaigns or print. You can’t helpbut engage with his dimensional pieces, whichhave included a tackle box (above). He evenound a way to make a fat mailer interactive,letting college students virtually dissect a rog bytearing open a peroration to reveal new phonecomponents (let).
“ wHAT MAkEs DM so APPEAlING
is nding that you can inter-act ith the piece. Since direct mail is tactile, the goal for me is to have peopleopen it up and examine it. ere’s something poerful about being able to hold something in your hand and explore it on your on … It’s denitely a ‘real’ experience, as opposed to a virtual experience.”
— w
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