Sam Martin

 “Hey, send me a postcard when you get there!”  Famous last words of family and friends as I leave for a vacation and I always smile and say “Will Do!”  Problem is - I never do.  I am notorious for walking into gift shops and perusing the spinning racks of postcards thinking 'HA' that one’s kind of funny or is that picture really from here because I have not seen anything that looks like that. 

It has honestly been a while since I have handwritten and sent anything in the mail unless there is a check stuffed in it dated for the same day it's due.  But this week I found a solution to all of this after reading an article on Adage.com.  A company called Hippopost, located in Canada, has created a marketing software tool where you can upload a picture from either your computer or phone, write a message and they will print and send it to the recipient.  And the best part is it's all for FREE! 

So what's the catch, well there is no real catch for me as the user.  The recipient of the card though is going to not only get an awesome picture of my vacation but they are also going to get hit with an advertisement from a brand sponsor of my choosing.  Currently the sponsors involved are national brands, however their efforts will aid local advertising campaigns.  By spreading brand awareness "Hippopost is hoping advertisers will find the sponsorship opportunities compelling, the pitch being that people won't readily throw away postcards that capture priceless moments from friends or family."  Makes sense.

I feel like this adverting concept has a lot of growth potential.  Being part of a company that works with local store marketing for franchises, I foresee this idea being a great addition to co-op advertising efforts.