In addiction and mental health treatment, reaching the right person at the right time can be difficult. Competition is high, digital advertising can be expensive, and prospective patients or their families may research their options long before they're ready to make a call.
Heartfelt Recovery Centers wanted a different approach—one focused on building awareness and trust within the communities surrounding its treatment facilities.
By combining consistent direct mail with targeted email marketing, Heartfelt created a multichannel strategy that generated hundreds of thousands of impressions and helped its Hudson location gain 92 patients.
Here's how they did it.
Like many healthcare and treatment providers, Heartfelt had experimented with highly competitive PPC advertising. But competing for clicks can quickly become expensive, especially in an industry where many providers are trying to reach the same audience.
Heartfelt wanted to take a more community-focused approach.
Instead of only trying to capture someone at the exact moment they searched online, the goal was to build top-of-funnel awareness and familiarity before the need arose.
That meant consistently putting the Heartfelt name in front of people in the communities most likely to need its services.
Heartfelt partnered with Taradel to develop a multichannel campaign combining Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) with targeted email marketing.
Rather than casting an overly broad net, Heartfelt focused its campaigns on specific local ZIP codes surrounding its facilities. The team also looked at historical alumni ZIP codes to identify areas that had previously generated admissions.
But targeting was only one part of the strategy. Heartfelt also wanted to create multiple opportunities for people to see and remember its message. That meant using direct mail as the foundation of the campaign and reinforcing those mailings with digital touchpoints.
Hear Patrick explain how Heartfelt combines direct mail and digital marketing:
Once the target audiences were identified, consistency became the focus. Each campaign included:
Instead of relying on one postcard or one digital impression to generate a response, Heartfelt created a coordinated sequence of physical and digital touchpoints.
That combination allowed direct mail to put Heartfelt physically inside local homes while email reinforced the same message between mailings—helping the organization stay visible throughout the decision-making process.
The strategy delivered measurable results.
At Heartfelt's Hudson location alone, the campaign helped generate 92 patients. Across all campaigns, Heartfelt generated more than 600,000 impressions, with seven coordinated touchpoints built into each campaign.
And in an industry where the estimated lifetime value of a patient can range from $5,000 to more than $100,000, those admissions can represent significant long-term value.
92 patients gained
Hudson location
7 total touchpoints
Per campaign
600K+ total impressions
Across all campaigns
$5K–$100K+ patient lifetime value
But the numbers aren't the only proof. Patrick O'Brien, Executive Director at Heartfelt Recovery Centers, shared firsthand what the organization has seen from its direct mail efforts:
Heartfelt's experience demonstrates an important distinction: direct mail doesn't have to be treated solely as a one-time lead-generation tactic. It can be part of a larger strategy designed to keep an organization visible, familiar, and trusted until someone is ready to take action.
One of the most important parts of Heartfelt's strategy was that it didn't stop after a single mailing.
Each campaign created up to seven touchpoints through a combination of postcards and emails, giving prospective patients and their families multiple opportunities to see and recognize the Heartfelt brand.
As Patrick explained, that repeated visibility plays an important role in building trust:
“Marketing at the end of the day is about building trust. We want people in the community to see our stuff, trust our stuff, then see our facility, trust that the program works.”
— Patrick O’Brien, Executive Director, Heartfelt Recovery Centers
Over time, those repeated interactions can help move someone from:
Awareness → Recognition → Familiarity → Trust → Action
That's particularly important for addiction and mental health treatment. Someone who receives a postcard today may not need Heartfelt's services immediately. Weeks or months later, however, they—or someone they love—may begin looking for help.
By staying consistently visible, Heartfelt can already be a familiar, trusted name when that critical moment arrives.
Heartfelt's results weren't built around a single postcard or a single marketing channel. The team targeted strategically, mailed repeatedly, reinforced its message through email, and continued building visibility within the same communities.
When asked what advice he would give other businesses using direct mail, Patrick emphasized the importance of reaching the same audience more than once:
“Definitely hit the geos, hit the locations more than one time. People have to see you in a variety of different places in order to trust your brand. Regardless of whether you're in a consumer sales space or medical space, it's all the same about developing trust at the end of the day.”
— Patrick O’Brien, Executive Director, Heartfelt Recovery Centers
That philosophy is reflected throughout Heartfelt's campaign. Instead of expecting one postcard to generate every response, the organization created seven potential touchpoints using three direct mail drops and four targeted emails.
Each interaction gave prospective patients and their families another opportunity to recognize the Heartfelt name. And over time, that repeated exposure helped build the familiarity and trust that can be especially important when someone is making a decision about healthcare.
For Heartfelt Recovery Centers, putting that strategy into practice contributed to 92 new patients at its Hudson location.
The takeaway for other healthcare providers and local businesses is simple: don't judge direct mail by a single drop. Reaching the right audience matters—but so does giving that audience enough opportunities to see you, remember you, and ultimately trust you.
Want to Hear More From Heartfelt Recovery Centers?
This case study only scratches the surface. In our full conversation, Patrick shares more about Heartfelt Recovery Centers’ approach to direct mail, including how they choose where to target, why they continue to invest in repeat campaigns, and the role direct mail plays in building trust within their communities.
Watch the full interview to hear Heartfelt’s direct mail strategy firsthand.
Want to build a consistent, multichannel strategy of your own? Taradel makes it easy to target the right neighborhoods, launch direct mail campaigns, and reinforce your message with digital marketing.
Plan your next campaign with Taradel and start building the repeat visibility that drives results.