In the film Ghostbusters, mild-mannered cellist Dana Barrett is haunted, and later possessed, by a demonic spirit by the name of Zuul. Zuul, communicating through Dana, declares itself the “The Gatekeeper” and proceeds to cause a great deal of trouble for Peter Venkman and his team of rogue scientists.

As marketers, we face gatekeepers every bit as scary as the demonic Zuul. Office managers, secretaries, and administrative assistants frequently filter the mail, keeping our direct mail pieces from reaching their intended targets. When the decision makers on our mailing lists never see the pieces, our hard work and our budgets are wasted.

Recently, Jibe Media and IAT teamed up (crossed the streams?) in order to overcome this common promotional problem. IAT, a provider of software and hardware solutions for the collections industry, had identified 100 prospective clients and wanted to communicate its message to each of them. Recognizing that a standard direct mail piece would not make it past the gatekeepers and onto the intended targets, Jibe produced a set of four high-impact, dimensional mailers. Because of their perceived value, the pieces were less likely to end up in the Ecto containment unit. Importantly, each piece communicates a central piece of the company’s core messaging.

Initial campaign results have been extremely positive. Of 100 recipients, the first piece received an astounding 31 responses, several of which have already signed service agreements with IAT.