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Bradley S. Kugler is the CEO and Co-Founder of DirectMail2.0, a pioneering marketing technology platform. With over 30 years of experience in starting and running businesses, Bradley’s entrepreneurial journey is marked by resilience and innovation. He attended Miami University and San Diego State University, where he cultivated the skills that would drive his future ventures. Outside the business world, Bradley enjoys indulging in craft beer, boating, and island-hopping in Florida with friends and family.
Bradley’s career began with a 25-year tenure in his family’s recorded media business, which dealt with VHS, CDs, DVDs, and more. Despite his efforts to adapt to the rapidly changing technological landscape, the business ultimately fell victim to digital disruption. This experience underscored the importance of choosing a business model resilient to technological changes and emphasized recurring revenue. Determined to apply these lessons, Bradley set his sights on his next venture with a clear vision.
In 2017, Joy Gendusa, a family friend and co-founder, approached Bradley with an opportunity that fit his criteria perfectly. She proposed transforming a nascent marketing technology platform from her print marketing company into an independent business. Enthusiastic and ready for a new challenge, Bradley embraced this venture, leading to the creation of DirectMail2.0. Under his leadership, the company has thrived, embodying the principles of sustainability and innovation that Bradley values deeply.
DirectMail2.0, an innovative idea from Joy Gendusa, CEO of PostcardMania, was established to address the long-standing challenge of tracking and improving the effectiveness of direct mail. Launched in late 2015 with a small team led by seasoned CEO Brad Kugler, the platform quickly gained traction, enabling print providers to offer a unique, white-labeled solution to their clients. Today, DirectMail2.0 stands as a leader in the industry, having signed hundreds of printer/mailers nationwide and delivering tens of thousands of campaigns, with a vision of becoming an integral part of every direct mail marketing strategy in the United States.
Chris Santomassimo: Welcome back to the Think Factory Podcast. I’m your host Chris Santomassimo from OGC Solutions you can reach as at ogcsolutions.com. We’re really excited today. I’m really excited today to have a friend of the podcast and a friend of certainly the mailing industry. Brad Kugler, who’s the CEO and Co-Founder of Direct Mail 2.0. Welcome to the podcast.
Brad Kugler: Thank you very much, Chris. It’s a pleasure to be here on this fine morning.
Chris Santomassimo: Oh, yes. Any day is a fine morning when you’re doing the Think Factory podcast, right?
Brad Kugler: Yeah.
Chris Santomassimo: Good answer. Good answer. Yes. Let me set the stage a little bit. You know, I’ve spoken before and guests certainly have spoken before on direct mail and the staying power for marketing purposes of direct mail, all of the things we all know. It’s the tactile sensation that you get from the mail and that staying power of the mail that hangs around in your house until you get around to taking action on it way better than digital channels. But the interesting thing about it for me is the the omni channel marketing aspect of what you do and how that really reinforces the direct mail strength, if you will. And Direct Mail 2.0 is really a leader in that industry. So I’d love for you to talk about direct mail 2.0 and and really introduce us to what you’ve got on what you’ve got going.
Brad Kugler: Absolutely. Thanks for the kind words, Chris. But yeah, we believe direct mail to be the most effective marketing tool there is. And just to preface people, people resist it because it’s expensive. And and one of the key things is, you know, one piece of mail is one impression. Now, granted, it’s tactile and it’s physical, and you hold it in your hands. Our major deliverable is that will deliver 8 to 16 additional impressions to the mail recipient. So we all know that marketing works on repetition. And if you get the piece of mail in the mail box and you’re getting 8 to 16 additional impressions that are of the same message, of the same creative as the mail piece, you are much more likely to engage. All right. That is the premise. The value proposition is very simple. If I could give you a 50% lift in your direct mail responses for only a 15% increase in cost, would that be worth it? Now, unless you’re selling very low dollar items like hot dogs one at a time, that makes a lot of sense because what you’ve got is guys selling cars or jewelry or nonprofits or education or any higher ticket items, which are usually the sweet spot of direct mail. This compounds that ROI significantly. A 50% lift does not necessarily mean a 50% increase in our ROI. It could be many times more than that, depending on what you’re selling in those margins, of course. So we often see a compounded are alive, even though it’s only a 50% left
Chris Santomassimo: And that’s on top of the significantly higher ROI for direct mail all by itself as compared to digital channels by themselves.
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