Revlon Mail Insert

This booklet was a pilot for a suite of new insert formats created for Valassis, a leader in media delivery and one of the largest coupon distributors in the world.

RedPlum mail inserts (recently rebranded RetailMeNot Everyday) have been in newspapers and bulk mail since the 1970’s and have not kept up with increasing consumer or retailer expectations. I worked with Harland Clarke's New Product Development team to rethink this product. Based on research and earlier iterations, we produced a versatile, editorially-driven print vehicle for promotions that accomplished several goals:
• provided a more engaging experience for recipients with the inclusion of relevant content (recipes, how-to’s)
• bridged the gap between print and digital using imperceptible barcodes, Facebook Messenger/kik codes linking to chatbot experiences and SMS
• a small size optimized to print in house at low cost
• a more portable piece that is less prone to damage during handling, plus a higher end appearance
• a templated layout that balances design flexibility with efficiency in graphic production

The front cover is short and reveals coupon content inside. When all of the coupons are detached, the booklet becomes square which is one of the design features encouraging longer shelf life. Inside, a Facebook Messenger code linked users to related video content and the coupons were paired with detailed product information.
Following are concepts that preceded this pilot. ​​​​​​​

A circular concept requested by German grocery chain ALDI paired relevant editorial & links to online content with product information.

Health & Wellness CPGs paired with WebMD editorial content. The RedPlum Connect app utilized Digimarc's Mobile SDK which allowed users to access online content by scanning imperceptible barcodes in the print booklets. We denoted these areas with a brightly colored circular icon.

A booklet concept with editorial content from The Drive, paired with auto-related advertising and offers.

In an earlier phase of this project we came up with a number of formats and produced three of them as high fidelity physical prototypes to test with users. I came up with the wallet concept on the top left. After user interviews and stakeholder input, the short-cover booklet concept was refined and advanced to the sales team. I set up InDesign templates for the booklets themselves, helped create accompanying documentation, prepared proof sheets on final paper stock to develop watermarking specs and created assets for an RP app prototype.

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